The digital marketing arena has changed immensely since the late 1990s. From the traditional online digital campaign strategies such as creating a website and video promotions, it has grown to incorporate artificial intelligence to boost user experience and engagement.
One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is search engine optimization (SEO). It’s the process of strategising to improve a business’ ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Through the years, SEO has played in a big role in online marketing strategies not only for big company’s but for small businesses as well.
A Few Steps Backwards
Back in the early days, SEO was not just all about Google. Way before the biggest search engine website conquered the world of search, there’s already a website co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin that pretty much functions the same way that we know search at this date.
Back in 1997, ranking high on search engines was a totally new concept for businesses. It was driven mostly by directory listing, like a Yellow Pages for website managed by DMOZ. Since then, a lot has happened in the search engine arena. There came the popular Yahoo!, Bing, and Google search engines. But as the years have passed, Google has innovated to be the top search engine website for both consumers and business owners.
Moving Forward To The Next Years
As rapid as the improvement and changes in the SEO industry in the past couple of years, it is also expected that SEO will also grow in the future. Let’s take a look at some of the SEO aspects that are expected to improve, change, or remain the same in the next couple of years.
Keywords Will Still Be Relevant
No matter how many algorithm changes may happen in the next couple of years, Keywords will still (and always will) remain one of the most important aspects of SEO. It’s one of the consistent factors for search engines to display relevant results in SERPs.
User Experience Will Come First
Since Google is currently giving high priority on the user experience, there is no doubt that it will continue to be one of the most important aspects of SEO. Gone are the days of focusing too much attention on the technical SEO; future SEO requires a little bit touch of creativity to boost user engagement and experience. This is where content enhancement and web design upgrades will come in handy. Providing more educational references to your target consumers in a user-friendly website will be a great help in boosting your SEO.
The best way to build a solid consumer engagement is by understanding the behavior of your consumers. Identifying the needs and desires of your customers can greatly help in your conceptualization and planning techniques. It will be easier for you to provide what they need if you know what they are. If you give attention to your users, Google will do the same favor to you.
Responsive Web Design Is A Must
Users nowadays do not just use computers or laptops to search. As their needs become more advanced, their means of searching has also changed. Aside from the usual way of accessing information online, users are now more attached to their mobile devices – phone and tablets. Because of this, there is an opportunity for each business to have a responsive web design. Users will be more satisfied accessing your web page if they know that they can view it in full capacity regardless of which device they are working on.
Furthermore, because of Mobilegeddon, an algorithm update where they favor websites that are mobile-friendly, there is no doubt that Google will continue to give the spotlight to a website with responsive web design.
Content Will Always Be King But Maybe In Other Forms
People always look for something new online. They will always be fascinated with new information and learning, regardless if it’s for marketing or educational purposes. Thus, there is no doubt that content will remain king of the digital marketing realm no matter what. However, Content will evolve.
When we say content, it’s not just about the long-form blog articles posted on a daily basis. Content will be more interactive, entertaining, and educational. Inforgraphics, videos, and images will reign supreme in the content arena. Every brand should utilise the available platforms to produce engaging and quality content.
AI Is Definitely A VIP
As technology progress, there is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence will continue to be one of the key players in digital marketing. Since Google announced RankBrain, it is most obvious that sooner or later, AI will take care of the SERPs. As we enter the machine age, SEO companies should all be ready to keep up with the possibility that AI is the future of SEO. However, you should also keep in mind that the users are people and they are still looking for a little bit of human touch. AI may speed up the process and make it more technically appealing, but at the end of the day, digital marketing should remain friendly and engaging to consumers.
Gear Up For The Future
In Singapore, SEO companies will still remain relevant and important to businesses. However, digital marketers should be ready to take up the challenge of the future. Competition is getting tighter and the path is getting too crowded. It’s important for a business owner to trust a reliable SEO company to handle their business.
Since we have seen the last few years of SEO grow immensely, we should continue to expect that it will continue to do so in the coming years. Thus, SEO professionals should always be on the lookout to stay abreast of Google updates, of the consumers’ pulse, and of the latest trends. As the old saying goes, the future is in your hands.
