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When it comes to SEO, marketers, bloggers and anyone with insight into the discipline put together forecasts and lists detailing what trends they think are going to explode the following year. Here at Antarctica, we closely follow SEO on a day-to-day basis so that our SEO service offerings include the latest trends. So with the year coming to its halfway point, we want to help you identify some of the trends we're currently seeing.
1) The Increasing Importance of Mobile
With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, companies NOT optimized for mobile use are putting themselves at a grave disadvantage. With the Hummingbird change to the Google search algorithm, which better handles "conversational search" (users speaking their search queries and an emphasis on long-tail keywords) users not appropriately optimized will find themselves having a hard time ranking well. A good responsive design can help here. Putting together a website that keeps its look, feel, and integrity across a variety of mobile mediums will ensure that anyone viewing your website will get the optimal experience. In addition, tailoring the content you produce to meet the needs of mobile users will also aid in enhancing the user's experience.2) Content is King
The ability to effectively tell a cohesive story is integral for a business' success. People surfing through the internet are bombarded with hundreds of messages, and if yours stands out by offering the reader the ability to understand your product or service offering in a unique way, you'll fare much better at capturing their attention over your competitors. Many people hear content and automatically think of blog posts or whitepapers. While those two options are certainly fine staples in your content arsenal, it's important to think in broader terms. More visual options, such as videos, infographics or flipagrams, can effectively relay the information you wish to share while garnering high levels of engagement. Any content you produce should have a strong research-backed keyword list associated with it. These terms should be peppered through the body of blogs and whitepapers, and should be strategically placed in the descriptors of any visual media you post online.3) Linkbuilding and Brand Building Go Hand-in-Hand
While obtaining quality inbound links has always been a focus point for SEO professionals, it's important to not lose sight of the overall branding of the company, and to remember that both need each other in order to maximize their respective benefits. Linkbuilding has evolved over the years from the simple purchase of a bundle of links to an evolved form of PR and relationship management. The outreach efforts performed throughout the process helps not only build up your search rankings, but also your brand reputation. That reputation is affected online by numerous factors. Outside of standard SEO rankings, the content you produce, the way you go about producing it, how your employees discuss your business online, and your social media presence all play roles in building your brand digitally. SEO is a constantly evolving discipline. Staying ahead of trends in this landscape is crucial in order to insure you get your fair share of organic web traffic. By being cognizant of the changing trends in content marketing, linkbuilding, and mobile use, you can make sure your SEO efforts afford you the success you want.
