Monday 17 December 2012

What's new for SEO in 2013



If 2012 has been anything to go by then the next year promises to be an exciting one for all online marketing experts. If you think you can rest on your laurels then you've got another thing coming! If the algorithm updates of 2012 have reminded us of anything it is surely to not get stuck in a rut. SEO is modern day marketing and no marketing strategy that stands still will ever succeed. The way you market a business is the same whether you are writing an article, building backlinks or making a tv commercial - it is all about finding the unique selling point of that business and shouting about it to the right audience.  Sending out the same message time and time again is boring for that audience - be it human or search engine bot so the key to staying popular is diversification.

A solid SEO strategy will be built on a diverse link and anchor text portfolio with huge emphasis as always on keeping content unique and fresh both onsite and offsite. Nothing looks more stale to Google than a whole heap of poor quality backlinks with the same spammy anchor text that has no relevance to your on-page content.  Keeping it fresh and unique will be key in 2013.

Another huge factor will be social influence. Already in 2012 we have seen a correlation between good ranking positions and sites that send out social signals. Marketing at a social level gives businesses of all sizes the chance to interact with customers at grass roots level.  It is a great way to build brand awareness and develop a human side to the corporate name.  Whilst social marketing may currently be seen as a bolt-on service I predict that in 2013 many SEO companies will start including some social elements in their SEO packages as the two increasingly complement each other.

Changes will also be afoot in the world of website design and 2013 is sure to see a big rise in the demand for responsive websites as the growth of mobile search continues to increase.  Vertical scrolling may also become more popular as website users demand a more easily navigable site.

As usual, there is plenty that will change and plenty that will stay the same and as far as I'm concerned there is nothing wrong with embracing the good old fashioned rules of SEO whilst delving deep into the new technologies and strategies that will make a success of your website in 2013.

Posted by Frances Berry