Anyone who has been in the business of SEO for long is well aware that this is one of the fastest moving industries in the world. You have to be able to pay attention to the latest SEO trends if you’re going to stay ahead of the competition and preserve your ranking.
This guide is going to introduce you to the seven primary SEO trends you have to pay attention to this year. And if you follow these trends you will be well on your way in being a better marketer who understands not only SEO, but how to effectively grow your business.
- Higher Google Ranking Doesn’t Correlate to Organic Clicks
Just because you have a number one ranking website doesn’t mean that you become king of the Internet. The number one spot still has to compete with visual ads and paid search results. It’s still a worthy goal to aim for, but it’s definitely not something that you should become obsessed with.
There are other ways to promote your brand.
- Rich Answers are on the Rise
Rich answers are those webpages that provide a huge amount of information on a specific topic; usually general ones. Unfortunately, publicly available resources tend to form the bulk of rich answers, making it difficult for you to compete.
However, focusing on getting your site featured as part of a rich answer can be hugely beneficial. 2016 is the year to change direction on rich answers.
- Page Speed is Becoming More Crucial
With the rise of video content, a lot of site owners are investing in it. The problem is that they are slowing websites down. You need to remain aware of page load times because if they’re slow you’re going to start losing customers. And Google will penalize your website anyway.
A SEO optimized website must have the fastest load times possible.
- Analytics is Getting Harder
Dark traffic comes from a range of sources, such as from a non-secure site to a secure site, image searches, and the rampant use of VPNs. This traffic isn’t able to be tracked and Analytics reports are becoming less accurate than ever before. This is making it harder to make decisions.
You can get around this slightly by creating direct traffic reports within Analytics so you can at least filter out the dark traffic.
- Keywords are Alive and Well
Despite what some people think, keywords are not dead. They remain alive and well, but what people have to be aware of is that Google is looking at them differently.
The post-Hummingbird world is one where Google can recognize meanings behind words. Your goal is not to focus on individually themed keywords but on the thematic groups behind them. Your keyword lists will be more varied than ever.
- This Year You Will Be Removing Link Penalties
Google penalties have always existed, but they have become more regular in the last few years. They have a zero tolerance policy on low-quality sites or sites that are attempting to game the system. You may have been hit with a penalty before, but it’s not the end of the world.
Get in touch with Google and ask them about a penalty on your website. Make positive changes and tell them about it. Google has been known to remove penalties. No site is ever completely lost.
- User Behavior is Becoming a Factor
Google deny that user behavior matters. The independent experiments say otherwise. Social signals are a ranking factor, and they are based on user behavior. It only makes sense that user behavior will become a ranking factor. What they do and how long they do it for will matter.
So what should you do?
Concentrate on enhancing engagement levels. It’s the only way to get ahead of the game before it becomes a factor.
With all this in mind, how are you going to change the direction of your SEO campaign?
Guest Post by Charlie Robinson, a marketer and interim VP of Marketing of multiple tech companies. He is currently heading marketing at Adling a digital agency in Cupertino.