All marketers have to be aware of the upcoming trends in search engine optimization because they have to plan accordingly and start implementing strategies based on them. You also have to understand that Google is evolving constantly and frequent updates in algorithms makes things challenging for marketers. It is expected that SEO will go through a major transformation in 2015, which is why you need to be aware of the changes to be able to put them into practice.
Conventional links and mention of brands
Inbound links have consistently been important in the world of SEO. They are also referred to as backlinks and they give you an idea about who is actually visiting your website. These links are a major factor as far as optimization is concerned, especially if you have them from trusted and reliable sources. That’s because search engines look at them as a positive sign and rank you accordingly. But from now on, brand mentions will also have their huge importance. Quite simply, they are mentions of your brand from other websites without the use of hyperlinks.
Content will remain the king
This age old adage in SEO parlance will still hold the key to the success of your strategies and trying to make the most out of loopholes will simply get you nowhere. The web breaks down information to simple content and search engines do their best to make sense of it so that they can deliver it to users for their relevant searches. Hence it’s only natural that content remains at the forefront of your SEO strategies.
Banning negative SEO and spam
There will be a growing emphasis on cutting down negative SEO to size in 2015, according to experts. Google and other search engines will take further efforts to eliminate spam and those who still try to use black hat techniques to get to the top will find themselves in trouble. Search engines have been doing this for a while now but their efforts will be concentrated as they want to keep out low quality sites, spam and advertisements. Another prediction is that though Bing hasn’t managed to take over Google, it will continue to be a dominant force in the second rung of search engines.
Conversational keywords
Use of conversational keywords will play an important role in SEO in 2015 and thereafter. But you have to keep away from keyword stuffing because Google will seriously penalize you for it. In fact, it will become less and less common while conversational keywords gain in prominence. You will have to use them in a way that they assist your clients and make an impression on their behalf.
The mobile environment
As the use of mobile devices grows further, the importance of responsive web design will shoot up as well. More and more people are using their mobile devices to browse the Internet and you could get penalized for not having a responsive website. The focus will be much greater on the mobile world and you won’t have any option but to make sure that your mobile website is up to scratch. Make sure your website renders well on all kinds of devices as it could affect your rankings dramatically.
Semantic search
Search engines are now taking into account the context of the search term to ensure that they offer more relevant results to their users. Semantic searches make the most out of artificial intelligence that take into account searchers’ intent rather than limiting it to the exact keywords, which used to happen in the past. This trend of semantic search will stay in 2015 and will gain in prominence more than ever before.
Email campaigns
Email marketing campaigns will grow in significance as well and you would have to integrate them into your SEO strategies. Undoubtedly, there is a data overload on the Internet, which means people are looking for eye catching, good quality, personalized emails. This strategy is definitely a way forward in 2015.
Technical issues can hamper rankings
You just can’t ignore technical issues with your website because they can affect your rankings adversely. That’s because Google takes user experience on your website quite seriously and dead links, navigation issues can hurt your ranks. Technical issues were brought into further spotlight by Penguin and Panda updates and you should make regular checks and scans of your website a priority to avoid problems.
Only target audience matters
You can’t look at gathering backlinks blindly because only those from your target audience will matter. Backlinks from irrelevant sources are of no importance and they will not boost your ranks with search engines. It is as good a time as any to start getting rid of all the low quality links and only keeping the good ones on your backlinks profile page.
Social media interaction
Remember, Google search algorithms have become very intelligent and it’s up to you to try and keep up with them. To ensure that you succeed with your optimization, you need to have a strong presence and strategies, which will encourage users to share your content. You will have to take the efforts to know your target audience and cater the content to them accordingly.
There was a talk of SEO being dead next year but that doesn’t seem to be happening at all. It’s just about algorithms getting smarter and marketers keeping up with them.
Author Bio
I’m Ramya Raju, a freelance writer/web designer from India. I have an experience of about 8 years in content writing and have worked for top blogs and websites. I’m generally an extrovert; I like photography, anthropology and traveling to different countries to learn the culture and living of the local inhabitants.
Contact:
Ramya Raju
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Website: http://www.colorcharacter.com/uk/