Search engine optimization, or SEO, is key to connecting with a wider audience and making sure potential customers can take advantage of the products and services you are offering. If your SEO is poor, you will miss opportunities for people to directly hit your website on their search for expert services. SEO is not something you do one time; it is an ongoing process. Changes are regularly made to search engine algorithms and new technologies readily change the way people access information, so you need to make certain your company is always on the cutting edge.
For example, some of the key SEO trends you need to know for 2017 include:
The increased use of AI to optimize search results:
Google’s algorithms now use sophisticated machine learning to help Google sift through potentially relevant search results. This allows Google to do a number of things, including better matching results to users’ past preferences and making certain that returned results are relevant, authoritative and trustworthy. Machine learning has made it much more difficult for sites to excel in search engine rankings unless they are truly providing great content.
Mobile continues to increase in importance:
Today, as many as 60 percent of all internet searches are performed on mobile devices. Accelerated mobile pages, which must meet a specific set of criteria to ensure they load quickly and work effectively on mobile devices, are engaged with more readily by end users. Search engines also take into account mobile usability in rankings, which means a site not designed for mobile is going to have a difficult time ranking well when users perform keyword searches.
More people searching by voice:
Today, there are tons of digital assistants like the Amazon Echo, Google Voice, Cortana, and Siri. This means more people than ever conduct their searches by asking questions via voice search. This presents a tremendous opportunity to capture a wider audience through the smart use of long-tail keywords, as users are more likely to ask longer questions via voice.
Location-based searches will become increasingly common:
Web search technology companies and mobile phone companies have partnered to allow users to find locally targeted results (think of someone asking Siri to “find lawyers near me.” Targeting these searchers can be a big boost to business, as the customer is already close to where you are. To make sure your capturing clients who search based on their GPS locales, you’ll need to ensure your site is properly indexed, your keywords include geographic markers for locations you want to target, and you have location-specific landing pages providing relevant content.
Partner with a Leader in Information Technology Solutions
Technology Partners can help you ensure your business is implementing the best new SEO strategies. To find out more about the ways in which our search engine optimization professionals can help you, give us a call today.
