SEO Is a Living Entity...
Search Engine Optimization - SEO - is a living entity which is ever changing. 2015 SEO trends, updates, and strategies will be constantly evolving. 2014 saw over a dozen major updates to Google’s algorithm, according to Moz. This is not counting small changes that occur almost daily behind the scenes, only the noticeable ones.
Here are 5 major 2015 SEO trends to focus on to keep your website rankings as up to date as possible:
“Secondary” Search Engines
Recent developments suggest that it could be possible for some other search engines begin to take more market share in 2015. Firefox has cast aside Google and the default search engine for the browser will now be Yahoo. Google’s contract with Safari expires this year, and Bing and Yahoo are vying to secure that spot. iOS 8 and OS X now offer an option to switch default browsers from Google to DuckDuckGo. With options other than Google becoming more popular and accepted it will make it important to have visibility across these search engines in addition to just Google.
Mobile Traffic
Mobile access has exceeded desktop traffic in 2014. Google has always said that responsive websites provide the best user experience. A “mobile-friendly” notation is now included in mobile initiated searches next to websites that are mobile friendly. Bing also prefers a single responsive URL versus driving web users over the "old school" alternate URLs to display websites in a mobile version.
Legitimate Links
Through all algorithm changes and updates taking place, one thing remains the same: inbound links are an influential signal of authority and trust. This is NOT going to change in 2015 or anytime soon. The days of building links on irrelevant blogs and chasing large quantities of links to jimmy search results are long gone. Earning a link on a relevant, quality website is valuable for multiple reasons. It increases the stability of your SEO while also attracting leads, sales and branding exposure. Traditional PR is becoming a very strong tool to build SEO.
Social Media Focus
Once upon a time, social media was merely a place to share content, so businesses signed up for every platform they could find and pasted their content everywhere. Social media has now become a marketing channel and a customer-service platform. Social audiences expect your brand to engage with them on a personal level. It is more effective to be very active and accommodating on two or three social-media platforms. This will help generate a very loyal following that will share your content, which in turn builds more leads, sales and revenue. Interaction introduces new people to your brand and even creates opportunities to earn links.
Keyword Targeting
Targeting broad keywords effectively is no longer viable. While they tend to have a tremendous search volume, they don’t draw highly targeted users and are expensive to rank well. Targeting long-tail search queries attracts not only qualified “buyer” traffic, but also much less competition. An example would be the broad term "bankruptcy attorney" when a long-tail search term that would be a low PPC rate would be "virginia beach bankruptcy law firm" or "newport news chapter 7 bankruptcy". Typically long-tail phrases encompass four or more words but are specific to whatever entity you are marketing. Keyword research and understanding purchase patterns of your target customer will help to identify which search terms and phrases to use.
These major areas of focus will assist in solidifying SEO for your company website, but there are many different routes to take when building your presence. Consistency and follow up are paramount to controlling SEO.