Want to make your site future proof? Go back to basics…
Earlier this year SEOMoz conducted a survey, as they do each year, between SEO industry experts about (amongst other factors) what the future held for SEO. The 112 respondants came back with some interesting points and the chart below is an excerpt covering the future of SEO.
You can check out the comprehensive list of ranking factors 2011 for yourself.
I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit this and put a short post together to help you benefit from these points (and other things the industry has learnt since) to future proof your site as we enter 2012.
The chart below covers the factors that SEO experts think will increase the influence of search engine rankings, factors that will stay the same as they are at the moment and lists the factors that it thinks will decrease the level of influence each one has on rankings:
Search Engine algorithm changes such as Google’s Panda update de-valued and eradicated entire businesses as well as individual pages. Although we will never fully know how exactly Google are going to change its algorithm or how soon, we can speculate – and it is best to prepare by going back to the drawing board: Make the visiting experience of the human user as interesting and pleasant as is possible. Create a site that they are looking for and create a site that they want to visit rather than visiting your competitors’. If your site is better than the competition then it will be noticed. Create aesthetically pleasing landing pages and offer genuinely useful products at a competitive price. I’m pretty confident when I say that in the future, if you deserve to rank above your competitors then you will do.
This isn’t a way to get one over on the search engines; it’s simply staying ahead of the game, and is the best way to combat the threat of future algorithms: If you’re doing everything right then you will continue to hurdle the algorithm traps as your competitors eventually trip and fall.
Looking over the ranking factors by SEOmoz, it is clear that future websites will need to be valuable to customers, should include social media to create a buzz effect, needs to be what the searchers are looking for in order to minimise bounce rate etc. needs to look and feel good to the end consumer and should effectively incorporate advertising within their structure.
By combining all these factors, your future website will be optimised, efficient and relevant to users. And continually pushing out relevant content will in turn create links which will ultimately keep the wheels-in-motion turning.
Forget the past and prepare for the future by acting in the present!
Hope this helps.
Adam.
