It is now believed that over 90% of all online experiences begin with a Google search, and so conforming to SEO best practice will be imperative to the future success of any website. Indeed, ever since Google shifted to small but frequent updates to their algorithm, it has forced us to reconsider our digital approach from time to time. This is why we say SEO is ‘always changing’, and why you need to be in the know sooner rather than later.
All killer no filler.
It has now got to the point where page visitors have become sick and tired of reading the same sentences said in a million different ways, and it turns out Google have to. The search engine giants become savvy to the perpetrator’s intentions of fluffing out blogs and page content with what we call ‘sentence synonyms’. As attention spans plummet to an all time low, so may your website’s ranking if you choose to waffle. We all get the gist – make your point and move on in 2017.
Bite-size, and snackable.
You don’t have to wander far online until you stumble across comprehensive – borderline thesis style – content, but following on from a no-waffle policy I believe a new trend in content marketing may ignore length altogether. Snackable content may be more favourable in 2017, as it is instantly gratifying media that is captivating and perfectly geared for sharing. Moving forward, place preference on delivering as much info as possible in bite-sized form to appeal to your audience in a way that doesn’t see them disengage.
Organic Search.
In 2016, Google made strides to increase the visibility of pay per click by putting shopping ads in image searches and increasing the number of top ads in AdWords to 4. Despite this, we expect organic to rule supreme in 2017 as only 1.5%–2.5% of all search queries conducted on Google result in a click on a paid ad. Keep it original, keep it captivating and keep it ‘keyworded’ – you’ll see a rise in rankings in no time.