Aside from the sways in market and hype, and their influence on the number of visitor, I often wonder how the SEM/SEO is being treated. One of the areas of potential growth (hopefully a healthy one) is the local boards. There are some local boards that have way more potential, just comparing the number of posts to the population.
Sure, there are many other factors that play their role (regulations, IP block, per capita income, etc.), but it does seem that at some point, perhaps SEM/SEO might be adjusted/boosted to give Bitcointalk more visibility in certain areas.