SEO Trends for 2013 and beyond

As Google continues to get smarter with its algorithms, so too must those designing search engine optimization strategies. Long-term strategies are becoming infinitely more important than simple tactics. Guest posting is more prevalent, as is the need for quality, organic links, as opposed to constant links with the same anchor text. Google authorship is a growing trend; responsive page design for mobile users will be pivotal to vitality in the search engine optimization world. There are numerous trends in SEO of which all should be aware. Read on to learn about them.

Mobile playing a bigger role

From responsive page design to mobile search compatibility, your site needs to be prepared for the mobile onslaught. Google’s algorithms are reportedly focusing more and more on mobile. Search quality guru at Google Matt Cutts confirmed that it will soon be paramount to have a fast-loading mobile site that helps users find what they want quickly. Mobile is mandatory.

Search engine manipulation not viable

Newsflash: it is no longer a successful strategy simply to post mountains of incoherent text infiltrated with your targeted keywords on a page, get a bunch of inorganic links by paying or exchanging and then see your site’s position in Google results climb. Just thought I would throw that one out there. Legitimately useful content that contains – but does not overuse – your keyword targets and helps or entertains a reader is what you want. Content of this nature is more likely to be read, shared, linked to, etc., all of which Google likes, and therefore you should like.

Quality over quantity

As such, spending the time to develop content that is inherently more helpful, entertaining, useful, fun, or whatever the target emotion you want to evoke in your reader is the way to go. The quality over quantity theme also prevails when it comes to links. Gone are the days when it was possible to send out copies of an article to thousands of personal blogs, or when it was possible to improve your search engine position by buying or exchanging links. These days, guest posting, Google Authorship, and organic links are what Google wants to see.

Social media, particularly Google Plus are dominant

For a local clothing store, the best advertising is going to be someone seeing their friend wearing a cool pair of shoes (or some clothing item they like), and asking. “Hey, where did you get that?” and then the wearer of the shoes replying, “Oh, I got it at this great little clothing store on Elm Street called Family Fashion. You really should stop in; it’s a really cool place.” By that same token, the best advertising for your site is going to be the word of mouth, or in this case, the word of fingers – social media. Make sure someone reading the article has a readily available way to share it with their friends – preferably one of the great social media widgets that Google offers.

Make sure you are active on Facebook and Twitter, and even to an extent Pinterest and YouTube, but the most important social network is Google Plus. As Google’s own tool, it will hold the most influence with Google search spiders. Ensure that you have a quality profile page that you update regularly with new content. Follow other Google Plus pages, and many will follow you back.

Multimedia is important to SEO as well

For many years, it was thought that since Google could not read nor index videos and pictures, they were worthless to SEO. As it turns out, the opposite is true. They should play a significant part in your postings. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then put a picture and a thousand words, and you have two thousand words, which brings us to the next SEO trend of 2013 and beyond.

Quality and quantity

Earlier, we said quality over quantity. Meh, quantity is still important too. Google likes quality, and it is difficult to have quality without going into the gory detail. Substantiate your post with varied examples and graphics. Don’t forget to explain your graphics as well; this helps readers understand them, helps lengthen your post, and gives you an opportunity to diversify your keywords. In addition, it is important to post content regularly. Going months between posts is not going to help. Aim for at least once every two weeks, preferably more often than that.

Posters matter as much as the post

Guest posting and Google Authorship are two additional SEO trends of 2013 and beyond. Previously, guest posting was simply a way to give readers a different perspective. Now, it is one of the safest ways to build links and improve the quality of your blog, though it is important to pay attention to the quality of the sites. Google Authorship is another item soon to be, if not already, included in the search algorithm. Author Rank is a way to determine the credibility of someone writing content. When hiring someone to write your content, see what kind of author rank they have, or if they even have a Google Author profile. Google has confirmed that Google Authorship is part of the algorithm, something rare. It’s important, and you should be in on it.

Conclusion

Staying on top of the latest SEO trends is important for your blog to remain or become relevant. Though SEO is not as easy as it used to be, hiring an agency experienced in search engine optimization is a smart move that can help you stay on top of the ever-changing SEO climate, and move to the top of the Google page results.

About M Street LLC

M Street is a web development company in Lancaster, PA, that has built dozens of websites, predominantly for small businesses in York, Harrisburg, Reading, Pottsville, Lancaster, and Strasburg, Pennsylvania. M Street is skilled in search engine optimization and has a proven record with its clients. Let them build a strategy for you today. Contact M Street.