What's next in SEO and the future of organic search?

It’s easy to only look at the here and now when considering SEO – spending hours poring over current rankings and creating new content to target new keywords. But, what’s next in SEO? As more of us invite Alexaand Siriinto our homes, the world of search is rapidly changing. Already, in the past 5 years we have seen big changes; Google crawlers have got smarter and content creators have had to get even more creative.

So, how can we prepare for the future of organic search? Here we try and take a peek into future and explore new the hottest new trends in SEO marketing.

Artificial Intelligence – what can robots really do?

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is used throughout various marketing disciplines already – and they are only getting smarter. While once it was common to find keyword stuffing, now Google and other search engines can judge your contents relevancy to a search term. There is even content writing software available to help create blog posts, landing pages and all forms of copy. While we can’t comment on the current success of these, we can predict they will get smarter, easier to use and more widespread throughout the SEO community. That’s not to say content writers should be scared. While an AI can analyse data and calculate large formulae simultaneously, creativity is a much harder thing to simulate. Whether human technology will develop enough to allow for this is a question for theoretical physicists – but something to keep our eye on in the future.

AI is also crucial in crawlers – the ones you are always trying to please. Google crawlers judge your relevancy, as do other search engines, and they are getting smarter everyday with new algorithm updates introducing new ranking factors. Looking ahead, they are already beginning to favour visual content, and are more able to visually read the content within an image or video. Our top tip for future crawlers, is don’t let visuals and videos be an afterthought – start planning for a future of visual SEO marketing .

Branding – make a name for yourself

With more time will come more websites, more domains, and with them more competition. Making a name for yourself will be key to success going forward in a multi-channel environment where brand name searches are becoming more popular. Crossovers between SEO, content marketing, apps and social media are already plentiful, but seamless integration of tracking and scheduling across those channelsis still a little way off. Creating the right brand which resonates within the hearts of your users helps future proof your business, and disrupting the market is vital in making your mark and becoming a known brand across all digital channels.

Voice Search – a little more conversation

Whether you’re using Siri, Alexa, Cortanaor Google Assistant, it’s no secret people are using voice search more and more as time goes on – in fact over 55% use voice search on their mobiles. And as these virtual personal assistants get smarter, they move on from just recognising your voice and words to actually understanding them.

But how do we prepare for a future of voice searches? Our top tip is to pay attention to long-tail keywords . Think about queries asked on a topic and answer them clearly, like; ‘how do we prepare a website SEO for a future of voice search?’. Formatting is also incredibly useful for highlighting to Google where important content is. Use H1 tags to define the overall content, and then H2 tags to highlight sub-sections focused on your identified long-tail keywords.

It’s also vital to keep in mind the style of your writing. Try to create a conversational tone as this will appeal to a listener when your copy is read aloud as part of an answer. They are then more likely to feel understood, and remember your site was helpful.  

Great Content – have you checked your references?

‘Helpful Content’ is valued highly by Google, clearly shown by their multitude of updates improving their ability to judge relevancy. No longer are we advised to stuff keywords in our copy to rank highly, and Google and other search engines can now penalise us for doing this. In our opinion, a great move in the right direction.

Content should be created for users, not crawlers. If your copywriters are aiming for well written content which answers the queries your users have, you should find your rankings improving. If not, review each piece of content and make sure each piece has a clear aim and clearly provides answers. Also, be sure to include external links to back-up data and prove the authority of your content – think of it like references for an essay.

Prepare for an SEO led future in marketing

You can never be fully prepared for the future, but keeping an eye on what’s to come and taking actions to minimise the negative impacts can help. Here are our top tips for preparing for a future in SEO:

Stay informed

This may sound obvious, but keep an eye out for new algorithm updates and general SEO trends. Make network connections within the industry and share knowledge, research online regularly, or partner with an SEO agencyand let them help.

Create content users want and need

We won’t keep banging on about it, but it does bear repeating. Content relevancy and authority are now key factors to ranking and should be carefully considered when creating any new content. Step 1, what do my readers want to know? Step 2, how can we provide an answer?

Keep reviewing & editing old content

Don’t forget your old content. It’s easy to concentrate on creating new content, focusing on what new keywords you can gain, however many of us have a backlog of useful content that has been live for years and has a great potential for gaining traffic .

Often, old content can become outdated, or because of website developments can even break. Reviewing these pieces within analytics can reveal opportunities for reposting or optimising. Where traffic and users have dropped off, reposting a piece of content with a fresh outlook can present the content to a whole new audience . It also saves time on content creation and can improve your technical SEO health score– so the benefits are endless.

The SEO marketing agencywith an eye on the future

Find it difficult to keep your finger on the pulse ? Can’t keep up with Google’s algorithm updates? Get in touch with Next Chapter  and our SEO specialists can share their expert advice, helping you achieve your SEO goals and improve your rankings.

Take a look at our range of expertiseand see if we can help with your next campaign.