5 Biggest Areas of SEO Focus for 2017

5 Biggest Areas of Focus in SEO for 2017

SEO – search engine optimization – is much like a well-crafted game that focuses on steps one must take to be one step ahead of their competition.  One of the smartest ways to attain competitive dominance is to learn how SEO changes the way people market their businesses online. Adjusting and adapting to new trends is fundamental if you want your website to get on Google’s first page. This year, great things are bound to happen in the SEO industry. It pays to know what’s trending.

1. The materialization on AMPs (accelerated mobile pages)

AMPs are better known as an open source protocol that permits webmasters to craft pages that load extremely fast on smart devices. The idea behind accelerated mobile pages is that a small change in SEO strategy can go a very long distance. Can you believe that you can make your website load 4 times faster on a mobile device? Google has already begun preferring sites that use AMPs. In 2017, we have great chances of seeing this SEO strategy go mainstream.

Since its launch back in February 2016, AMP has been a very discussed topic in the SEO world. Many people claim that it will change the way we optimize our pages and websites for good. However, even though the rumors are circulating and the topic is still hot, some webmasters and SEOs are skeptics and don’t believe it will be that impactful. Is AMP just another attempt to change things in the SEO world with no results? Or will it actually completely revamp the way we use out mobiles to perform web searches?

2. “Dense” content on the rise

People are tired of fluff content, and as much as we hate to admit, fluff content is like a disease spread all over the internet. Fortunately, things are changing and search engines no longer pay attention to websites packed with hundreds of articles over-spammed with keywords. Epic content will rule the online environment and SEO world in 2017. Rather than have 20 articles written a week for your website, and not focus on quality at all, it’s a lot better to write 1 comprehensive guide that readers can relate to. Information prevails when using content SEO to market your business. Make sure your pieces are informative and Google will start liking your website more and more.

Dense content is all about the quality of your articles and posts. Google has developed a fondness for well-researched articles that are SEO optimized but are not in any way spammy. Search engines are becoming extremely smart. They can tell if a website is qualitative or not in seconds. If you want your online business to be seen by Google, you need to focus on a target audience and feed that audience with as much useful information and dense content as possible.

3. Google’s algorithms will be changed by machine learning

Google RankBrain is gaining a lot of popularity in the online environment. Released last year, the algorithmic machine learning software is an extension of Google’s Hummingbird. What can it do? Basically, it learns patterns. It “reads” people accessing the search engine and it assesses their real needs and wants. This means your SEO strategy must change towards the user. Rather than write for search engines and worry that Google won’t rank your website, it’s best to write with the user in mind.

SEO strategists advise online businesses to stop focusing so much on keywords. Valuable content that appeals to people on an emotional level is a lot more beneficial to your business than you think.

Many strategists and SEOs see machine learning as a rather far-fetched topic. But we just can’t deny its existence anymore. Google’s algorithms are changing every couple of months, which means that search engines will soon be able to “read” people’s minds for real. Even though ranking a website might post a challenge for SEOs in 2017, it’s all about compelling the people to write better content. Quality content will prevail, and machine learning is just another key piece of the SEO puzzle.

Soon enough, keywords will become less important. At this point, keywords are fundamental when optimizing websites. However, the best online marketing campaign will no longer depend on them entirely.

Google recently mentioned that their newest algorithms, Penguin and Panda, are based on ML systems. They’ve been programmed to learn patterns and set apart quality websites that convey a meaningful message from websites that are stuffed with keywords and make no sense. In time, thanks to ML these algorithms will get even smarter. The more information we feed them, the better chances we have to “guess” what Google wants and needs to index a website and rank it higher.

4. Personal branding

We expect personal branding to become a secret SEO weapon. At the core of any SEO marketing campaign should be your brand. It will be easier for you to secure guest posts, drive traffic and build trust. Surprisingly, not that many companies know about this SEO tactic. That’s because many are wowed by the potential of social media. Rather than gather likes and shares, you should focus on a target audience interesting in commenting your articles and posts. Comments increase awareness and answering comments lets people know who you are and what you have to offer.

Personal branding will be about revealing the people behind an online business or website, too. If you want to appeal to a target audience and compel them to check out your pages and articles, you need to let them know you. Google will appreciate that. Studies have shown that readers are more likely to click and enter a website if that website reveals a full bio of the owner. Be your website’s brand, interact with your readers on a personal level, and gain more organic leads.

Climbing up the SEO ladder might seem challenging. Although the more information Google knows about you and the more you interact with your readers, the higher chances you have to be seen as trustworthy by the algorithms.

5. Search queries will be changed by personal digital assistants

The SEO landscapes will be totally changed by personal digital assistants in 2017. They’ve already become part of our lives, and we need them to help us find information that matters when accessing the web. Both Cortana and Siri have made things easier for tech-savvy individuals. We can use them to perform meaningful online searches, buy things online, and perform tasks. There’s more to personal digital assistants than meets the eye. We’ve seen Siri answer basic questions and provide us with exact Google searches.

This 2017, we expect even more from these highly intelligent virtual assistants. Since they feature artificial intelligence and machine learning integrations, it’s safe to say that the more we access them, the more intelligent they become.

Whatever we want to find when accessing the web, Siri can provide it. This is huge for SEO, and strategies should start reconsidering their strategies.

Why? Because when we speak and ask Siri to perform an online task, we’re not used to spelling out basic keywords.

We often spell full sentences because we’re not machines. Strategists must pay more attention to the way we use our smartphones to access the web. Since we’re busy individuals and we want fast answers, it’s only natural that the most well-optimized websites will pop up first on Siri’s check list.

Old-fashioned SEO trends no longer work, and for an online marketing campaign to work and render results, businesses must go beyond the mere concept of a key phrase. Quality content that focuses on meaningful data matters the most to Google, and sometime in the future websites will probably fight to gain a monopoly. Surprisingly, this takeover and attempt to monopolize the market won’t be about keywords but about information.

We’ll see a lot of diversification in machine learning algorithms, content and personal branding in 2017. These trends are linked to the way search engine optimization london works. If you want your business to adapt, increase in popularity, and drive traffic, you need to upgrade your business model. The more you know about upcoming trends, the better chances you have to adapt and watch your online business skyrocket. Don’t ignore the trends. Better yet, read as much as possible about what might happen and keep an eye on what others are doing.

Find a way to stand above the competition and don’t do what everyone is already accustomed to doing in terms of SEO. Be genuine and search engines will like what you have to offer! Last but not least, learn to be present and find out as much as possible about the latest SEO trends. Don’t overlook AMPs just because most SEOs haven’t used the tactic before. The future of search engine optimization is all about doing things differently. The more you can set yourself apart from your main competitors the better chances you have to be seen by Google.  Innovation is bliss, and originality is the key to online success with SEO in 2017.

 Author Bio: Charles Goodwin is the writer to this article. He is a regular contributor at many sites and mainly focuses on business and marketing related topics. He also writes for a site http://romax.co.uk/ offering direct mail marketing services.