With the New Year in full swing and resolutions already being broken left, right and centre in the Adido office, our attention turns to more pressing matters – the SEO and Content trends arising in 2017. From onsite visuals to the relevance of ranking factors, this article will explore what’s on the horizon in the digital world.
1. content will continue to climb the ranking ladder
As a ranking factor, we cannot stress the importance of good, quality content which is going to draw the user in. Businesses who invest in their web content are going to be in the strongest position in 2017 as this will encourage strong user signals such as click through rates and time on site while the content’s relevance and optimisation itself will increase rankings further.
2. backlinks will remain an important ranking factor (but are being knocked down a peg or two)
There has been some speculation recently over the importance of backlinks as a ranking factor going forward. It’s true that backlinks may no longer be the position defining ranking signal they once were, but their importance will still remain high on the list if those backlinks are organically generated and come from reputable sources.
3. stock photographs are on the way out
Brands and businesses are becoming more aware of how dull and lifeless stock photography really is. The typical ‘business handshake’ image on your home page isn’t going to impress anyone and it certainly isn’t going to tell the user anything about your brand. In 2017, we will see more and more websites start to use authentic images of their business, their people and their local area in order to tell a visual story of their brand across their website.
4. longer scrolling websites are on the way in
In 2017, the term ‘above the fold content’ will be less and less relevant. Mobile users are used to scrolling through never ending feeds on Facebook and Twitter, so the transition to long scrolling websites won’t be a difficult one to make. The benefit of this is that users won’t need to wait for new pages to load or struggle to click small mobile version buttons. Web designers will also be able to add strategically placed call to actions throughout the content, encouraging user engagement further.
5. voice search optimisation will really take off
With the rise of connected ‘personal assistants’ such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, the way people communicate with search engines is changing. Optimisation towards long tail keywords and question based searches will be even more vital in 2017 as well as offering content with a more ‘human’ voice and conversational tone.
6. social media will become more difficult for businesses to crack
If you already struggle with social media, I’m sorry to say it’s going to get more difficult in 2017. Social platforms are going to push businesses to pay for visibility through paid advertising, so unless you know what you’re doing organically, you might get shoved to the bottom of the newsfeed. That doesn’t mean that 2017 is the year to turn away from social media though as the reach is still tremendous, with 1.71 billion people on Facebook, 1 billion users on Youtube and another 500 million on Instagram you would be really missing out if you’re not there. It’s just time to sharpen your skills!
2017 is set to be an interesting year for SEO and content marketing and there are definitely some changes coming our way, but that’s nothing new in this industry! Stay tuned to the Adido blog for any new updates and developments coming soon!
