Without a shadow of a doubt, a highly debated issue in SEO contests is where it points – and will point –, the compass that guides the optimization of websites. With each Google update, from small to large, we can see that it is necessary to take a fresh look at all the SEO issues. This evolution is happening so fast and fiercely that it would be no exaggeration to say that SEO no longer exists as it was once known.
Calm down. This is not a bad thing. Quite the contrary, it’s excellent!
Now, more than ever, it is the user’s turn to dictate what should be done and not tactics designed solely and exclusively for better positioning in search engines. Personally speaking, I am delighted with the way things are going. However, like the other members of SEO Master, I have always had this idea solidified in my head: the user is always the most important.
Because of this period of constant changes and doubts about the future of SEO, I will take your time to talk about the trends that, in my opinion, will guide the new way of doing SEO. Beforehand, I want to clarify that what you will read next is based on my experiences and views and, as such, is not an absolute and immutable truth. Far be it from me to think I would be capable of such a thing. Although I believe in everything I will write, it would be at least innocent of me, or any other Web Strategy, to think that it can make predictions on this subject without the risk of making mistakes.
SEO Trends
the user in charge
This is the mother of all trends. It has been said before that it no longer makes sense to use tactics just thinking about being well ranked in search engines, leaving the user aside. Increasingly, this will become more evident. The following significant updates from Google should focus primarily on the user experience, as was Panda Update. Therefore, I advise you to start building your website with the primary guideline to simplify your user’s life and develop content that strictly presents what matters to him. Please don’t waste your time and his creating unnecessary content.
It will be increasingly important to create a relationship between the user and your brand. It is essential to keep in mind that the user experience within your site has to be more critical than technical SEO issues, not that one option excludes the other. If there is an opportunity, try to make the two go hand in hand. If that’s not possible, opt for the user experience.
Duplicate content – a big villain to fight
Eliminating duplicate content will be one of the most significant challenges for websites, especially e-commerce. Although nowadays, it is already imperative to index and ranks a website not to present duplicate content, this should be even more evident in the future.
Google will be better able to identify them and should be even stricter in their ratings. Therefore, I reiterate:
- Develop unique content for each page that strictly present what your user is looking for without flourishes.
- Be very careful with dynamic pages such as product filters on e-commerce pages.
- Don’t shy away from using canonical, 301 redirects and even more fancy robots.txt settings.
The important thing is to eliminate it.
Remember that you don’t have to have identical content to be considered duplicate by Google. Just be similar. Therefore, be very careful with the way you create pages on your website.
Keywords devaluation
This may sound crazy, but, in my opinion, keywords will lose their strength little by little. Calm down. I didn’t say that they will cease to exist, only that their importance will be minimal. It will no longer make a difference to have this or that keyword at the beginning of the title or in the h1, worrying about its placement within your pages, the rate of difficulty in working with them, etc.
I believe that the time will come when all that will matter with the text on your pages will be to have clear writing that matches what the user is looking for along the page (crucial On-page SEO elements, such as title and headings, will follow the same path).
Death to Link Building – Long lives Link Earning.
The “link building” concept will die. Automated strategies such as link farms, link exchanges, among others, have long been opposed by Google, and, after its latest updates, Google got good at identifying and punishing those who already used these types of tactics. However, despite already having this practice, I think we’ll still see something further.
Contextual links will gain even more relevance. All the links obtained in the most natural way possible, which meet the site’s logic, without exaggeration and within the context of the site’s subject, will have even more weight. On the other hand, links in banners, sponsorships, and the like should lose all their relevance.
A good link will be one that will add value to the user. Therefore, any link that is not based on the importance of delivering something that may be of direct interest to the user should be avoided.
Social Media – A New Path to SEO
Although nobody knows how much, social networks like Google +, Facebook and Pinterest already have relevance in organic search. The expectation is that its significance will still increase a lot. We can already observe that a good campaign on social networks favours the generation of links, even in other types of media, in addition to strengthening the brand, thus generating a higher conversion rate for the site.
What do you think?
These are the points that catch my eye. Do you agree with me? Do you have a different opinion, or would you like to add something? Are your sites already feeling the wind of change? Please share your experience with us!