Like the World Wide Web, the field of search engine optimization (SEO) is changing as we speak. With every turn of day comes new innovations and trends, and just as things are warming up, new updates are being released by the search engines themselves. Says Huffington Post’s contributor, Gabriel Shaoolian:

“With the recent Panda 4.0 Google algorithm update, SEO is beginning to change in 2014. Changing best practices, keywords, and relevancy are just some of the issues businesses now face. It is important to keep up with the latest trends in the space so that your business doesn’t find itself on the wrong side of a Google manual penalty that keeps you from showing up in Google’s organic results.”

 

So what are this year’s biggest trends that Greenville, SC search engine optimization servicers like Spark Local Marketing are taking note of? Here’s a quick rundown of the big changes:  

Content still reigns. Valuable SEO has always been and always will be about good online content. It’s a fairly sensible guideline but this time Google’s new algorithm can hardly be fooled by sneaky keyword usage tactics or useless content. Companies should be savvier about telling their own stories and creating relevant content that resonates with their market audience.

Mobile’s importance is steadily getting bigger. Since the release of Google’s Hummingbird and Panda updates, it’s much harder for sites without mobile capabilities to rank well on results pages. Effective mobile optimization means devising designs more responsive to smartphones and other mobile devices. Studies have shown that more and more people are browsing the web on their smartphones and tablets than on their laptops or desktop PCs.

Google Plus. This addition of the giant’s search engine offerings should help businesses expand their exposure across a social layer.  Google Plus is a social networking platform that helps companies bring their market audience together within the context of Google Plus services, which includes, among others, the ever-popular You Tube.

“Smarter” search engines. Almost all web experts agree that search engines are rapidly developing the ability to discern which sites have relevant, real value from those that create the illusion of value.

The practice of dependable SEO in Greenville and elsewhere in the world is in a constant state of flux and it’s not about to slow down any time soon. Companies should be able to keep up, or risk getting left behind in an increasingly tougher digital world.

(Source: Search Engine Optimization is Ever-changing: 2014 SEO Trends You Need to Know, Huffington Post, June 19, 2014)