Top SEO Trends of 2015

2015 should prove to be an interesting year for SEO experts (and companies) everywhere who continue to battle their way to the top of the Google mountain. There has never be a more dramatic shift in how SEO will be done moving forward due largely to the Penguin and Panda updates that turned the SEO world upside down in 2014.

In the upcoming year there will be an even stronger focus on quality content development and a webmaster’s ability to make it “sharable” to the general public. SEO won’t be as much of a technical equation as it will be the ability to create information Google deems “valuable” to their audience that the people will get behind.

With that being said here are 10 Top SEO Trends in 2015 you’ll want to be aware of when trying to maximize your search engine results:

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WordPress Websites: WordPress has proven to be not just be a fad and its influence will continue to grow over the upcoming years. With countless plugins and other SEO friendly features it’s hard to resist the allure of what WordPress has to offer. More importantly since WordPress was originally created for the “non web expert” it stays true to Google’s claims that exceptional web content will win out over all else. WordPress is not going away any time soon and if you are thinking of jumping on the bandwagon 2015 will be a good time to start.

Mobile Friendly Is A Must: Once upon a time having a mobile friendly website was a nice perk but hardly a necessity for SEO purposes. Now that we have fully embraced the era of the ipad and cell phone a mobile friendly website is non-negotiable. There is now a better than 50% chance that a web user will be visiting your website through some type of portable device. If your website is not equipped to handle a mobile audience then expect Google to hang up on you.

It’s Not Just About Google Anymore: No one wants to accuse Google of letting success go to its head but with so many algorithmic changes it was bound to stir up some negative publicity. Rival search engine Bing (a product of Microsoft) continues to trend upwards already taking a healthy chunk out of Google’s overall market share. Make no mistake about it Google still dominates search engine land for the foreseeable future now but expect SEO professionals to not just focus on Google only as 2015 progresses.

Backlinks Will Not Be The Key To Victory: What??? SEO use to be all about the backlinks….so much so that it created a black hole of internet spam that plagued the internet for over a decade. Google has gotten wise to the fact that simply getting a back link to your website doesn’t necessarily equal the same  “vote of quality” anymore, even from high PR sources. Quality links to your website will still play a key role in your SEO success but expect their value to diminish some over time. An “earned” link will take precedence over a “manufactured” link even from a good neighborhood.

Content Will Finally Be King: We heard for years that “content was king” when it came to quality long term SEO results. Sadly this was mostly lip service in the past as many SEO experts who would say the the right thing and do the exact opposite. With less emphasis on back linking SEO success will rely more on quality content creation, in terms of both quality and quantity. A simple 500-1000 word website will not get the job done anymore, if your website is not bringing the content heat you’ll stay out of Google’s kitchen.

Social Sharing Is A Must: If you are looking to get your message out there you’ll likely be doing so most through social outlets such as Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Bottom line your quality content can go viral quicker through social media networks than it can traditional search engine results. Social media sharing also gives more “power to the people” in terms of what content they decide to share online to friends and followers.

Google Will Punish The Guilty: In an effort to eliminate web spam on the internet for good expect Google to have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to black hat SEO techniques. Trying to trick the search engines will be harder than ever and and poor links to your website will almost always lead to a significant drop in your rankings. Penalties will be harsh and quick for those who are looking to find any quick way to the top and you will not need to wonder for long if you did something Google didn’t like.

Brand Mentions & Citations: One of the most talked about SEO themes of 2015 is the fact that brand mentions or citations may have equal value to anchor text or backlinks. The mention of your company name or product in the text of any worthwhile website will now be noticed and encouraged as much as a regular link. This is probably music to the ears of many SEO professionals who may not have to chase down links quite as much as they did in previous years.

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2015 should prove to be a fascinating shift in SEO strategies for professionals everywhere with those who do things “by the books” being rewarded with much better accuracy. Being creative and finding clever was to spread you message will be critical achieving search engine success…..good luck!