What was once considered a non-essential when it came to marketing plans, SEO is now regarded as one of the most important aspects of a decent digital marketing strategy. The industry has come a long way in a relatively short space of time, and if trends continue, then the best days are yet to come. However, SEO is continuously changing, making it difficult to predict what might be around the corner. As major search engines continue working on algorithms, it’s important to put yourself in a position where you’re not just reacting to their changes. Instead, SEO specialists should be looking to be as proactive as possible by using past trends as a guide to what the future of SEO may look like. Here are a few ideas on what we can expect in the coming weeks, months and even years…

UX will become more important

Whilst SEO used to be seen as a technical role as opposed to a creative one, times have changed and now most businesses recognize that whilst there are plenty of technical elements to SEO, it requires someone with a capacity for creativity. SEO specialists should be able to understand how to optimise a website as well as knowing how people interact with the internet as a whole. Google has been continuously working on making their search results more customized. That means the user experience (UX) is highly likely to play a much bigger role in search. So, if your content isn’t engaging, it doesn’t matter how accurate or good your information is, you’re probably going to lose out. To make sure you’re in a good position, you should take the time to learn everything you can about your users. Create your content around them, aiming to both help and engage them.

Accelerated mobile pages will define search rankings

Whilst in the past, Google would use a single index of documents when it came to search queries, the company is now working on the creation of two separate indexes, mobile and desktop. Mobile is set to become the primary index to reflect the fact that we now live in what has been called a ‘mobile-first world’. The way we conduct searches has seen mobile devices become dominant, and Google have moved to ensure their results satisfy an increasingly mobile world. Whilst you may think that you’re mobile ready because you have set up a mobile site, it’s important to remember that users aren’t after something that looks good on their phone or tablet, but they’re also after speed. With statistics showing that users will leave a site if it fails to load in just three seconds, you can expect AMP to play a big role in the future of SEO. Industry leaders like Ben Austin, ben-austin.co.uk, have regularly discussed the importance of AMPs and how they will have a huge impact in the future.

Search run by AI

Google’s announcement of RankBrain in 2016 certainly ruffled a few feathers. Although relatively little is known about RankBrain, we do know that it’s amongst the top three factors when it comes to Google’s search ranking. Whilst we’re still a long way off from AI running all search queries, over time the machines will learn search patterns as well as understand the content. This, in theory, should lead to more accurate results. Getting fully prepared for AI shouldn’t require any radical changes, although it’s important to get the small things right. Make sure the content is informative and engaging, think about your audience on a personal level, because if SEO is going one way, it’s greater levels of personnalisation.

Republished by Imagincreation