Check out These Sunshine Coast SEO Trends for 2017

If you thought Sunshine Coast Search Engine Optimization was hard in 2016, you’d better buckle up and hold on tight. For things are about to get even tougher

As you wistfully remember the days when just a few keywords were all you needed to bring home the bacon, you’d better be planning a new digital marketing strategy for 2017.

If the rumors are true, Google is upping the ante big time and rankings will be affected. Especially as we are still dealing with the fall-out from last year’s algorithm updates.

More Emphasis On Quality Content

Is this a bad thing? Probably not. For too long some organizations have got away with posting overly commercial and repetitive content. It’s boring! And it does absolutely nothing for the User Experience (UX) which, let’s face it, is what it’s all about.

SEO on the Sunshine Coast experienced big changes last year, with increased use of long tail keywords; more emphasis on quality content, and the rapid take-up of AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages).

We saw mobile-Unfriendly websites penalized, an increased emphasis on Local Search and a bigger push towards Voice Search.

Let’s Hear It For Voice Search

So what are the SEO trends for 2017? For one thing, Voice Search will go big time this year. Why? Mostly because it enhances the mobile-friendly UX so the only way it can go is up.

We know for a fact that around 60% of teens use Voice Search when watching TV, and 40% of adults use it to get directions. Google is predicting a massive growth surge in Voice Search in 2017.

Does this change the way we optimize content? Yes, it does. We search differently with voice than we do with a keyboard. Searching for, say, ‘summer shoes’ now becomes ‘open-toed high-heeled white summer shoes’. Your SEO strategy for 2017 needs to reflect this.

AMPing The Ante

We took our first tentative steps towards AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) last year; expect the pace to speed up this year. Whether they admit it or not, Google is clearly favoring websites that have switched to AMP.

We will see Google rewarding AMP’ed sites even more in 2017, so more organizations will make the switch to gain favor.

Google says AMP has been designed to “dramatically improve the performance of the mobile web. We want web pages with rich content . . . to load instantaneously “.

Google says AMP loads 15-85% faster than non-AMP pages and is expected to split the search index into mobile and desktop search results this year.

Dense Is Good

And no, we don’t mean stupid! All of us – including those working in the industry – are sick of repetitive fluff being passed off as content. Sound bites are out and ‘dense’ content is in.

But ‘dense’ doesn’t mean never-ending, either! The secret to success is to serve up well written mid-length content that is packed with interesting, engaging information.

Your content can still promote your brand, but you need to think smarter. Blatant advertorial won’t cut it. You need to inform and entertain.

Man vs. Machine

When Google launched Rank Brain last year, we all knew it was only the beginning of machine-learning Artificial Intelligence.

Rank Brain allows Google to more accurately respond to searches, even if the exact words don’t appear on the page. It is all based on User Intention. And that’s something that must be taken into account when planning your SEO strategy.

Rank Brain puts the user in the driving seat and in order to win the customer, you need to anticipate their every move. Expect to see more machine learning updates over the coming months.

UX Becomes CEO

Are you noticing a pattern here? User Experience, User Intention . . . Yep, all the trends we are predicting for 2017 revolve around the user – and that’s just how Google likes it.

First, we had UX but this year, it becomes UEO – User Experience Optimization! Bigger than before! Better than before! And it’s not optional.

If you want Sunshine Coast Search Engine Optimization that works, you’re going to need SEO. And this is likely to push more businesses towards using professional digital marketers.

Making The Investment

This is a good move. We’re not playing at websites anymore; it’s a very serious marketing tool for your organization. And, as such, professionally developed websites and digital marketing plans should be seen as an investment, not a cost.

Still not convinced? Let’s talk about ROI. How much is just one new customer worth to your business? Now multiply that. If your website is fast enough and interesting enough to hold the user past those first few seconds, those clicks will become conversions.

Fact: 85% of your new customers will have checked you out online before actually visiting your business.

Fact: In a survey of 1000 Google users, 92% of those who searched on their phone, made a purchase within a day. 76% searching for something in their area visited a related business within a day.

White Keyboard with SEO Button.– stock image

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