Added: 02.23
The year gradually comes to an end, and it's time to think about next year's plans. What SEO tactics should be left behind, and what is necessary to pay attention to? Or it does not take anything to change and just follow the beaten path? Our editorial staff along with a wide known webmaster’s complex SEO tool PowerSuite decided to find out what awaits us next year.
Western SEO-Trends
Let’s take a quick overview of the Western trends. West is primarily refers to Google; of course you can ignore the opinion of Western expert, but still it is recommended to listen to their opinion. Thus, we have:
1. AMP
Building mobile pages with fast loading Google results was our target last year. AM-pages are already displayed in Google search results, so if you have not thought of creating one, it is time to start now.
2. Optimization for voice search
50% users use the voice search in the United States. In response to their inquiry Google offers enhanced snippets (approximately 43% of cases, whereas for desktop it goes about 40%), which users not only "listen", but also click on them.
3. Machine Learning (RankBrain)
Everyone has heard about RankBrain algorithm that Google introduced in autumn, but not everyone knows how to use it and whether it is necessary at all. Google now uses Rankbrain algorithm to process each request and, in principle, it is believed that it is the third most important ranking factor after the content and links.
What should we do? According to Gary Illyes, it is quite easy to optimize a website for Rankbrain: you just take the content written in natural language. The texts written in a machine way would reduce the algorithm of the website.
4. Optimization for Bing and other search engines
In the West there is a clear trend: the webmasters are trying not only to promote the website to be present in the search engine #1, but also in other search engines, for instance, Bing, whose share in the US is ranked at 21.9%, and Yahoo !, which has 12.1%.
Why is that so? First of all, the part of queries in Bing share reaches 80% in certain fields (like business, education, travel, etc). Secondly, according to the webmasters Bing and Yahoo! promotion is much easier. And third, the combined share of these search engines is ranked at 30%, and it is worth attending such an audience.
5. Improved position verification in search engines (personalized and semantic search)
Of course, good old-fashioned position verification in the West is up-to-date. In accordance with the changing search engine issue, which involves mixed personalization or the semantic search, or it may also evolve tools to track positions. Current services, such as, Rank Tracker, already know how to collect data for personalized results, semantic search, as well as to distinguish between mobile and desktop results.
Everything is quite obvious.
SEO in RuNet
In late October we launched a reader poll, discussing the point where the SEO will move to in the upcoming next year. We should recall that the respondents could choose more than one answer to each question, as well as offer their own.
Trends
According to the survey, the main SEO trend is a content marketing – it was chosen by 65% of respondents.
The second place is taken by the work with behavioral factors (35.5%), whereas the third goes for automation (33.2%).
The links were not so popular (since Yandex is still blossoming) they were chosen only by 21% of respondents.
13% of our readers believe that SEO had no changes for several years already, and it is not even worth talking about that. 3% believe that search engine optimization is long dead, and it is time to focus on the social networks.
Also, the readers had their own versions of the trend, which you should pay attention to:
• Overcome stupidity and nonsense provided by Yandex
• Mobile optimization, website acceleration, semantic kernel and communication
• SEO as a part of an integrated performance strategy
• Website structure
• Filter Architecture
• Extended semantics, keyword database
• Improving the quality of life
• Diligent relationship with clients
• Content Optimization
• Data search analysis, analysis, automation.
• Microtagging
• Internal optimization
• Diversification Landing
• Semantics, clustering, and long-tail bass and mikroNCh
• SEO as one of the smaller buns within the complex offer. For instance, retargeting setup when ordering the content.
• Crowd Marketing as it is.
Anti-trends
60% of readers have recognized Pension Fund cheating to be the biggest anti-trend next year.
No one can argue about that; despite the promises and advances of the services (the word "pickup" is an appropriate one here), it is better to turn to legal ways of promotion, for which there will be no shame before the client or the search engine.
Let’s go back to the links again. 38% of respondents treat them as anti-trend. Nevertheless, despite the fact that search engines do not deny that links are important, they are gradually fading into the background, replaced by more powerful factors (of which we have already discussed above).
45% believe that SEO is in its pure form is also becoming a kind of an anti-trend - which is not surprising at the background of popularization of integrated strategies.
See other anti-trends mentioned by our readers:
• Any fraud
• Quality project work
• Only content quality
• Spam
• Pseudo-experts
• Black SEO in any form of it
• Only human-oriented websites
• Poor quality content marketing
• Free SEO-courses flogging its services and black methods of promotion
• Writing qualmish content and others.
SEO-Advice
Look at your competitors and do it better. 60% of professionals thought it was the main advice for the next year.
We should not argue about that. Moreover, it is not that difficult: for example, SEO PowerSuite toolkit allows you to quickly assess the position of the competitor, used keywords and referential mass website.
47.5% of experts believe that without the technical component in SEO it will be hard to move forward, and it is highly recommended to follow this advice next year.
43% believe that the advice given by the search engines are the best.
6% of users believe that SEO is dead, and any advice is irrelevant.
2.5% urge to forget about the technical part. But it is unlikely this advice will be followed.
Check out some ideas and tips from our readers:
• Structure and traffic
• Commercial factors (semi commercial factors) + filter architecture
• Evolve or die (s)
• Keep your money in savings banks
• Find a balance between optimization and technical optimization of behavioral factors.
• Work on improving the quality of life
• Adapt your website for mobile devices, improve relationship with customers
• Integrated Internet Marketing
• Mobility, take Google as an example
• Pick the best fast converted requests
• Bring up a perfect website to continue working within other areas of advertising.
Conclusion
So, let’s bring the results summary:
We focus on mobile extradition and competent work with the website
We forget about fraudulent methods like Pension Fund cheating
We spy out competitors; do not forget about the technical part and listen to such a rare but valuable advice of the search engines.