While the basics of SEO don’t usually change all that much year to year – though Google reportedly updates their algorithms between 500 and 600 times annually – it is still important to make minor changes to your business’ online marketing methods and SEO strategy accordingly. The following three trends are the most important aspects of SEO and Internet marketing every company should become acclimated to.
SEO Integration: There is a recent rise in companies that offer SEO and Internet marketing assistance choosing to integrate their SEO services with other aspects of digital marketing, including social media and content marketing. This trend has increased as the connection and shared goals between SEO and other digital marketing sects has been established and realized. Now, businesses will be focusing not only SEO strategies but incorporating these strategies into the creation, promotion and distribution of all of their content – online and offline.
Long-tail Keywords: The focus on broad keywords that relate to a business is nearly over as businesses and SEO Internet marketing companies shift their attention to long-tail keywords. This specific type of keyword, which refers to a longer and more specific phrase of business-related terms, usually signifies the user who searched for the phrase is closer to the point of making a purchase. These long-tail terms will also increase because the competition to rank for traditional keywords is much more intense and aggressive than it is for less generic long-tail keywords.
Mobile-friendly SEO: Rumors have emerged that Google is ranking websites that are mobile-friendly higher in their search engine algorithm. As the number of mobile users surpasses the number of desktop users, it is now more important than ever that businesses put emphasis on creating a site that is mobile-friendly and responsive. Sites that have not been optimized for use across various devices, which most search engine prefer to add to an overall better user-experience, can expect lower rankings in result pages.
