Web Design vs SEO: search popularity over time

I've recently been arguing the case the while Web Design isn't dead as an industry it is, however, dying. While in the late 90's and early noughties, Web Design was the buzz term and everyone needed a web designer to get online, nowadays the focus is more on how to market online. Web Design alone isn't enough, hence the rise of SEO and other related industries such as Social Media Marketing and the emergence of the Digital Marketing Agency.

Web Design, on the other hand, is largely being devalued due to the saturation of the market with designers and low cost suppliers such as 99designs et al. So if you're currently pitching yourself or your small web agency as a "Web Design Company," you should really start thinking about the long view and whether it is a sustainable business model (certainly for the SME market anyway; web design still has a home in branding agencies covering the larger enterprise market).