Our SEO Predictions for 2017

User Retention Will Play a Major Role

If there’s one thing that is certain, it’s that keywords will always play a vital role in any search engine optimisation campaign. However, with the recent shift towards user experience, we can expect metrics such as user retention to play a central role in search engine results in 2017. Content creators will need to work on creating captivating pages and content that is consistent with search queries. They will also need to focus on the human aspect and create engaging pages that users will love and share.

The Advent of Accelerated Mobile Pages

If last year was any indication, we can expect Google to place even more focus on the mobile experience in 2017. Accelerated Mobile is a set of open source protocols that allow creators to make websites that load almost instantly on a variety of mobile devices. And Google is already pushing pages that use the protocol which should prompt more webmasters to jump on board.

A Focus on Content Density

Content density is a rather new principle in the world of SEO. And we’re not talking about keyword densityKeyword density is a measure of how often a keyword or phrase is repeated on a given web page. here, but rather density of information. Length of content used to play a major role in search engine rankings, but many have noticed a trend of rather thin web pages ranking higher in search engines as of late. This is because Google is placing more importance on user experience and focuses on metrics such as bounce rates and site speed increasingly in its search results. SEO marketers will therefore need to focus on providing users with more bang for their buck and getting their point across in the most concise way in 2017, without compromising on quality of course.

Automatic Algorithm Updating

Machine learningMachine Learning is the branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. is set to revolutionise the way search engine algorithms will work in 2017. The latest Google Hummingbird extension uses machine learning to understand search queries better and how keywords are related to each other to automatically adjust its algorithm to fit the user’s preferences. This could mean the end of conventional SEO as we know it as search engine results will become more and more personalised and make predicting search queries almost impossible.

There is no area of internet marketing that changes at the rate of SEO, which makes it a very difficult field to predict. However, you can expect much of these trends to play a major role in 2017. Always remember to focus on users first, pay attention to social signals, never lose focus of the mobile aspect and try to concentrate on quality over quantity in 2017.

Image courtesy of technofaq.org