Don’t get caught being behind the times with your SEO and web marketing strategies. All good SEO content writers and strategists need to be constantly learning what’s working in the industry.
Technology and search engines are constantly being updated and upgraded, which means you need to stay up-to-date too!
Here are five of the most important SEO and web marketing trends for 2016 that every business should be aware of.
1. Mobile Optimization Can Make or Break your Website
More internet-friendly devices than ever before are now browsing the web. From smart watches to laptops, 15% of all global traffic is now from mobile devices. In fact, mobile optimization is quickly becoming the norm, instead of the exception.
In addition, this year’s Google search algorithm update has provided a major boost for mobile-friendly websites.
With the growing trend of using mobile devices to search the web, Google has made it easier to find mobile optimized websites. So, Google is now using mobile friendliness as a determining factor in search results ranking.
If that doesn’t convince you, here are some more stats.
2. Local SEO is Even More Important
Local SEO has been gaining ground steadily ever since Google released the Pigeon update. In turn, more and more marketers and businesses are beginning to focus on local SEO.
This is why it is extremely important that you incorporate location specific keywords and tailor your content to your local, target audience in 2016.
In fact, many Crowd Content clients turn to their freelancers to write local landing pages for franchise locations all across the country, or around the world. They do this to boost their SEO value and see positive results.
3. Videos Are Essential
You have probably already heard about the great benefits of using videos to engage your audience, but did you know that videos make up about 62% of all universal Google searches?
In fact, compared to plain text content, videos have 50 times more organic page ranks.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, video searches also have a 41% higher click-through rate.
4. Social Content is Becoming More and More Important
Even though Google’s search algorithms are top secret, they have shared that social media content is becoming more important than it once was.
Currently, about 76% of Internet marketers are already using social media to support their SEO efforts.
Many brands are already seeing that their social media profiles are having an impact on search results.
See for yourself! Google search “Designhill” and see what the top listings are (hint: mostly social profiles). This is common with many businesses now.
5. Keywords Aren’t What They Once Were
As Google’s search algorithms have grown smarter, keywords have steadily declined in importance. While it is still absolutely necessary that they be included, Google can now interpret the meaning of content better by using semantics.
Search engines are now smart enough to consider the other words that would typically be found in addition to the keyword, as well as authoritative signals that might be included.
With the constantly evolving world of search engine algorithms and improved technology, 2016 marks the year of some major changes in the way we market and optimize content.
Make sure that your website is following the latest trends in order to enjoy the benefits of higher search engine rankings.
