Every year, every search engine update, the sky is falling chatter begins. SEO is dead, they cry. Look out, SEO is dead. But despite the fear mongering and cries to the contrary, SEO is alive and kicking.
Following 2012’s Google algorithm changes, SEO was born again, reimagined. Don’t you believe me?
Just look at how SEO experts have shifted their tactics to recover rankings and press onward and upward.
SEO has adapted to its new rules and will likely transform again in the new year as well.
Curious what’s ahead? Let’s look at how SEO will change in the coming year.
Personalized Search Will Offer Exciting New SEO Opportunities
Google has been busy making changes, making Google results look more like Main Street than ever before.
Search engine results have begun to rank differently, showing preferences in rankings to outlets and sites you are connected to.
In an effort to personalize your web browser experience, your social media connections will start to show in search results as will music, videos, and images closely associated to your search terms.
Search engine results will look more like personal news feeds on your social media, presenting content connected to you and therefore, likely more valuable.
Personalized search will be all about presenting value to internet visitors and this value will be shaped by SEO.
To get your pictures and statuses to show in these rankings, SEO tools like writing relevant keywords will become increasingly important as will widening your customer base and online connections to disseminate your content to a wider audience.
Social Media Will Increase in Importance
Social media will now drive much of SEO work in 2013. The reason is because these social networks are ranking so highly.
Search engines like Google are showing a preference to these sites because the content that is shared and reshared on these networks is deemed highly valuable.
Social media shares will become a new internet currency, used in part to determine how valuable a site or business is and therefore deserving of rankings.
Like never before, internet curators and content creators will have a hand in shaping the information space.
These social media posts will become a new kind of SEO, elevating your site to a higher ranking and status.
As links previously indicated a site’s value before, likes and reshares will now indicate a site’s value to the internet audience.
Mobile Optimization Will Drive Traffic Results
According to internet researchers Mongoose Metrics, an estimated 90% of websites are not yet optimized for mobile usage. This means that only 10% of websites are prepared to capture a rapidly growing mobile device market.
According to Pew Research, 74% of mobile device users search and shop from their handheld devices and move on if websites are not optimized correctly.
Businesses seeking greater value and not to get left behind in the dust will have to adapt and optimize for mobile.
Google has been encouraging websites down this path for quite some time and will begin to show preference to sites which are optimized and user friendly.
As we near 2013, speculation abounds.
But what is clear is that search engines like Google will continue to compete to grab the lion’s share of internet traffic and will do so by enticing internet visitors with more relevant and valuable search results.
If your business wants to be included in the top results, you should be reevaluating whether or not you’re aware of the burgeoning trends.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About Steve Mehr
I laugh when I hear people say SEO is dead or will die. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For as long as search engines are able to deliver high volumes of traffic, SEO will thrive. Yes, it will change in its focus but it will thrive. Now everyone is raving about social signals, tomorrow it would be something else…
But, as long as search engines give oodles of traffic, there will be SEO.
Chimezirim Odimba recently posted..How To Make $10k Every 90 Days — Smart Hard Work Required
so does this means we have to now change to responsive themes and concentrate on content and readers rather than seo ??
Akhil Pulotil recently posted..Google Launches 2013 Doodle 4 Google Contest
For long bloggers have maintained that SEO is dead, even before the Google updates. For me that is nothing but a lack of understanding of how the search engines work. Many believe that social media will take the place of SEO, another misconception.
What really is SEO? It is nothing but writing your content to better inform the search engines what your webpage is all about. Remember, the search engines still use keywords to index web pages. They have not factored in a way of using how many tweets and likes you have to do that.
Yes, tweets and likes gives your page authority but it is the keywords that determine where they place your page. Think for example, will a page that is about ‘how to train a dog’ with a 1000 likes appear on a search engine result page when you search for ‘making money tips’?
This is the simple rule of search engines that many bloggers are overlooking when it comes to SEO. I have said it time without number that Google is not doing anything to change the rules of the game instead they are only making us to do the right thing. SEO is still what it was conceived to be. Know the rules and you will gain more with SEO.
Chadrack recently posted..4 Years of Blogging: Lessons Learned and Success Nuggets for 2013!
I agree with Chadrack, a page with tons of tweets and tons of likes and Google+ 1′s doesn’t necessarily mean top rankings, social influence maybe yes. I’ve done many searches for things many times and have seen pages with zero social influences rank higher than those with a lot of shares and likes. The rules of SEO hasn’t changed somewhat, but its certainly evolved, SEO is far from dead or dying as millions of businesses still heavily rely on search engines to bring them traffic and customers.
Fabrizio Van Marciano recently posted..Bloggers: Promote Your Blog and Guest Blogging Page Here
The SEO is dead chatter unfortunately won’t go away. But people have to realize that when they hear it from people like Matt Cutts at Google, it’s coming from someone engaged in security, trying to close loopholes exploited by what he sees is SEO spam.
SEO does not exist in a vacuum, and a focus on quality content is always a smart SEO strategy.
Fabrizio you’re looking at it too narrowly. If you’re putting out quality content with increased shares and social media mentions, search engines have expressed a preference for these items and are offering them at increased rankings to people you are connected to. Perhaps I should have clarified that point. As for Chadrack’s content, you should be putting out quality including these keywords as a given.
WebShark360 recently posted..Can Attorneys Use Visual Marketing Sites Like Pinterest?
seo is very important in the search engines…it would not be diminished for sure
I don’t see SEO dying in near future. Yes it may change and new dimensions may come in. Thanks for this great info.
What many people don’t realize is that there are very few things in the business world that actually DIE. Things evolve and change all the time, but the only thing that “dies” is the marketer that refuses to adapt to that change. Same thing goes for SEO. If you’re doing it the “right” way and you’re focusing on great content that will do well with or without SEO, then you don’t have to worry…
Thomas
Thomas recently posted..Case Study – Providing App Development Solutions to Small Businesses: Part 3
These days, it is relatively important to have your website optimized for mobile browsing. Personally, I do more mobile browsing as compared to my laptop which is why I made sure that all my websites are also mobile friendly. Anyway, it’s just a few tweaks here and there and your all set to go.
I don’t know about the SEO but SEO gonna kill my blog
There has been changes before and will continue to be, some big guys will fall ,some little guys will raise, and the one’s who can adapt easily will come out on top.
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