SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a necessary part of the online world, and it is constantly changing due to new technological advancements. If done correctly, it can bring a lot of traffic to your website. So below are the top 10 SEO trends for 2017 to help you keep up to date in the digital world.

1. Enhanced Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

AMP was designed to use simpler HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), and CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) coding to help mobile loading time. Why has this become increasingly important? Because users hate waiting for any loading screen that takes longer than 3 seconds to upload, around 53% of users will abandon ship at this stage. AMP has developed a lot since 2016, using an open source protocol to lower data usage by mobile users. This is key, in a world where mobile internet users, have begun to outnumber their pc counterparts, and SEO practices need to reflect this.

2. Advancement of AI Programs

Programs like Rank Brain and Google Hummingbird are used to process Google search results. Because of its AI nature, Rank Brain is constantly learning and applying new information into SERP (Search Engine Results Page). So the old days of copying and rehashing information no longer works. Algorithms used by AI programs like Rank Brain, mean that top ranking results must have unique content, to be considered at all in SERP.

3. Shortened Links

The cumbersome days of having a full hypertext link are gone. Programs like Google URL Shortner can help you link URLs, so you can easily share content like tweets, or other social media more easily. Other programs like Pagetweet, can also help improve user experience, because of the useful browsing options they offer. Shortened links, means sharing is easier, and in a world of booming social media, this is a definite requirement when taking SEO techniques into account.

4. Voice Search

With the increasing efficiency of AI’s like Siri, Alexa, Cortana and other similar interfaces, SEO has to adapt. Conversational enquires have become the norm, with the rise of the younger millennial population. As a result, many conventions will have to change, to help along this new “voice SEO”.

5. Optimise User Content

Users know exactly what they want, and when they want. Google has had to adapt to receiving larger phrases and queries from users, rather than just regular key words. For this reason search optimisation must shift away from its complete dependence on keywords, and focus more on the needs of the user, e.g. specific content. Companies need to take into account the use of phrases, and questions that are now being used to optimise search results.

6. Rich Data

According to Stone Temple Consulting, since 2014 to 2016 the importance of rich data has almost doubled. Indeed, Schema markup is a means to give the user the most relevant information based on their query. So by specifying a schema markup, a website can improve their SERP if they have the relevant information to take advantage of this system.

7. Mobile First Indexing

Google has said, “to make our results more useful, we’ve begun experiments to make our index mobile-first.” Meaning that Google has plans to rate mobile platforms first, before desktop ones. So if you are a desktop website, you must be prepared to adjust your website platform to have a good SERP. As Mobile First Indexing is still a work in progress, you still have time to move your websites onto both platforms to support structured cabling, nonetheless this change is going to happen due to the rise in mobile browser users around the world.

8. Cross Channel Marketing

This is a means to market across all social media platforms and devices, while maintaining a constant brand presence. Essentially it can be a way to help improve conversion rates by 73%. To succeed, it is important that you know your consumers, the appropriate channels to use, and the message you wish to convey. Research is key.

9. Video

Youtube is ranked the third most popular search engine on the web. Because Google gives ‘blended results,’ you may have a better SERP if you include videos along with great written content. Besides being interactive and engaging, videos offer a great opportunity for business to improve their rank, as videos are also more likely to be shared than say images.

10. Search Engines

Google may be in for some competition down the line, with the slow and steady growth of search engines like Bing. Other search engines like Facebook, and Amazon should also be taken into account when performing any SEO. Apple’s backing for ad blocks in iOS 9, for instance would impact on negatively on Google ads, and thus marketers. Facebook only has 19% of ad space compared to Google’s 33%. Nonetheless Facebook can drive traffic to other websites, better than any other search engine. So, with a growth in competitive search engines, SEO techniques must vary to keep up different search engine requirements, to get the most out of the system, and make it work for you. If you want to keep your business up-to-date on the latest SEO techniques and trends, click here SEO Services.