SEO Trends You Need to Leverage this 2017
SEO is one of the anchors of effective digital marketing. This indispensable platform is also ever-evolving. Search engines keep updating and algorithms are getting smarter. 2017 is no different as SEO is expected to be leaner and faster for better user experience.
Let’s look at some of the SEO trends this year and find out how you can them leverage for your brand.
Dominance of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs)
Launched in February 2016, Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMPs have been favored by Google in search rankings. It can load websites instantly with tests results showing that AMPs load four times faster and use eight times fewer data.
Google added a lightning icon beside sites running on AMPs and they are shown in a carousel format to highlight them even more. Here’s how it looks like:
Expect AMPs to dominate search engine results with its speed and usability. AMPs use lighter CSS and HTML, allowing sites to load almost instantaneously.
What you need to do: Revisit the framework of your site and start integrating AMPs. Do A/B testing of these pages. Being mobile-optimized isn’t enough anymore, it should load at lightning speed or else you will be left behind.
Schema Markup Will Increase
Also known as structured data markup, schema markups are Google’s way of displaying rich answers to queries. As you can see below, the user is searching for a recipe on how to make a meatloaf. Instead of recommending sites, Google gives the answer right away along with the link to the site.
Schema markup allows you to rank better by providing a format that is digestible to readers. One study showed that sites with schema markup rank four times higher in SERPs than those without it. However, only 0.3 of all websites are using this tool.
What you need to do: Integrate schema markup in your content right away! Just go to Google’s Structured Date Markup Helper and follow the step-by-step instructions. The number of rich answers (aka direct answers) provided by Google has nearly doubled from 2014 to 2016 and it is expected to continue increasing this year.
If you have a WordPress website, the time is now to install and configure the best WordPress schema plugin you can find.
Strengthening of Personal Branding
Personal branding is all about creating an identity that embodies your brand but centered on an individual. This can be your company CEO, marketing director, or any executive with an influential position in your organization. So how does this help your SEO?
It makes guest posting easier as the approach is more personal than promotional. More importantly, it makes your brand more relatable to customers because they are engaging with someone, not something. These, in turn, can drive more traffic to your site.
What you need to do: Identify your brand influencer and use that person’s identity to speak on behalf of your company. Be active in guest posting to build your online reputation. Using that personal brand, engage with your customers more often.
Increased Demand for Dense Content
Rewrites have become commonplace in content marketing. There’s really nothing new on the internet. You see the same topic refurbished several times. This paved the way for long-form content backed by extensive research. However, as much as it is informative, users have already grown tired of 2,000-word posts.
Readers are now looking for short but impactful content. Every word you write should have value as users are looking for straight answers backed by expertise and trusted data.
What you need to do: Take a look at your old posts and try to shorten it, leaving only the most important parts. This should be your new norm from here on. Solve your reader’s problems quickly by giving them concise yet valuable information. The denser, the better.
It seems like 2017 will be another exciting year for SEO as these technologies and trends all aim to improve the user experience. Review your marketing plan and see how you can better integrate SEO into your efforts. Capitalize on these trends and boost your SERP rankings this year!
About the Author
Ivy Guerrero is a senior copywriter for Pepper Virtual Assistants. She writes about productivity, digital marketing, and the virtual assistance industry. Pepper is a business solutions firm that specializes on virtual administrative and personal assistance, online marketing, customer support, and copywriting. They are known for reliability through their managed services, responsive client handling backed by extensive training, and rockstar virtual assistants hired for their skills and expertise.