Answers
Nov 09, 2017 - 01:10 PM
I don't see any indications that SEO will be any less important in 2018. It will remain the number one traffic driver to most websites. It's easy to get caught up in hype and doomsday talk, but rarely does it come to fruition (I think I'm now 12-15 years into hearing about social "killing" SEO). We are certainly seeing search activity moving off computers an onto mobile phones and home devices like Google home and Alexa, but the search activity is only changing, not going away.
Typically SEO gets more complicated over time, but I think in 2018 we will see it become simpler for these reasons:
Typically SEO gets more complicated over time, but I think in 2018 we will see it become simpler for these reasons:
- Google recently beta tested some new reports on Google Search Console that will help us better understand their indexing decisions. This will shed light on what the search engines like (I've already been determining this with some advanced sitemap strategies, but the new reports will make it far easier).
- AI sounds high tech and intelligent, but is more susceptible to spamming and manipulation. As Google moves away from human-coded algorithms, I expect many old tricks will work once again. It's kind of like playing a video game vs the computer with certain tendencies instead of multiplayer (which is far more difficult).
- Those who are actively creating content for the web instead of social-only will continue to see great SEO benefits. Far too many businesses have given up on or forgotten the importance of content creation. It's easy to be impressed with quick-wins and immediate feedback of "likes", but when you take a look at longevity and sustainability, SEO wins every time.
Nov 09, 2017 - 01:22 PM
Today, according to one estimate, we produce as much content in 24 hours as was produced from the beginning of time until 2003!
The more content there there more important search becomes helping people sift through it and find what they need. And if you are a site owner, the more important it is for you to design your site and content in a search engine friendly way.
There is another school of thought, though, that holds that as a way of dealing with the content overload and less trust of search engines, people will rely on trusted sites with curated content (much in the same way that Yahoo organized the web in the early days of the internet). So basically, we'll take a giant leap...backwards to 1995--but with a twist :)
I believe in the first view. Search engines are employing AI and becoming more intelligent at discerning our intent. If you want to thrive in 2018, here are some tips by Rand Fishkin, one of the foremost experts on SEO.
The more content there there more important search becomes helping people sift through it and find what they need. And if you are a site owner, the more important it is for you to design your site and content in a search engine friendly way.
There is another school of thought, though, that holds that as a way of dealing with the content overload and less trust of search engines, people will rely on trusted sites with curated content (much in the same way that Yahoo organized the web in the early days of the internet). So basically, we'll take a giant leap...backwards to 1995--but with a twist :)
I believe in the first view. Search engines are employing AI and becoming more intelligent at discerning our intent. If you want to thrive in 2018, here are some tips by Rand Fishkin, one of the foremost experts on SEO.
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