7 SEO Predictions come true
We are only in April and we are already seeing some of the SEO predictions that were made at the end of 2010 come true, which is a lot earlier than expected but proves that most people knew what they were talking about. This is what’s has been going on lately:
Quality is better than quantity
With recent changes in Google’s algorithm it was believed that only articles with more than 450 words could rank on top of Google, but as we have seen the quality and originality prevails regardless of the amount of words or articles (content farms).
The growth of mobile search
Both local and global search will benefit from the increasing market for smartphones, which means a new source of traffic for most websites. It also helps the growth of Wi-Fi zones which allows you to connect to the internet faster when you are out and about.
The importance of social media
2010 was the year for Facebook and Twitter with many companies trying to get as many “likes” and “followers” as possible, but also for online presence and brand management. Both are now important tools of advertising and essential for any SEO campaign, taking into account the two major networks are decisive factors for the success of a campaign and all major search engines have recognised that they do have an impact on organic rankings.
Loading Speed
It took awhile for some people to understand that the speed of web site would be an important factor for Google, who already announced those changes to its algorithm back in 2009. Last year many online companies tried to reduce their loading speed to help with their SEO efforts, especially after seeing how many big companies had lost rankings because they didn’t bother to change anything.
The traffic received to your site is linked to the loading speed, and when you force your users to wait for long they tend to choose another site out of the thousands offered by Google
Other search engines
Google remains the leader and it will stay there for a while, reason why our obsession with keeping up to date with their many algorithm changes is more than justified.
However there are other search engines we should focus on and that we must keep in mind when we prepare a SEO strategy for a client. Yahoo!, who used to be the leading search engine for years, continues to have loyal users and we should not forget about them. We also have Bing, who attracts more and more visitors every month with its new tools and features.
The rebirth of blogs
Although they never went out of fashion, many SEOs left them out of their link building and content strategies. But they are back! Showing the true link building value they possess and their vital importance for high rankings and especially the possibility to interact with users.
The power of local search
Usually most users perform global searches, but local searches are becoming more and more common as they provide more specific results. Site authority and link building efforts will be more obvious during the course of the year as a ranking factor for local results. Many businesses are using local search as they main source of revenue.
