As the new year dawns, and SEO directions begin to make themselves felt, there are a few leanings that have begun to make their moves and look to be far more than just trends.
- Security will continue to be uppermost in the minds of visitors and customers. The use of HTTP will remain strong and will remain a must for any website. It is the protocol that assures security between your website and wherever a visitor happens to be coming from. If you are not using it, you need to start today.
- Your SEO marketing efforts need to be highly integrated with your social media marketing efforts. They can no longer be separated. Social media is a force that is here to stay and will be a leading source of leads and traffic for both the near and the long term.
- Your content, as always, is the key to your SEO success. A current trend that seems here to stay is the use of long form content. Articles being written in the 800-1500 word range are, now, consistently showing up on searches and they are showing up higher, in many cases, than the traditional 350-500 word pieces. Sprinkle and mix some long form content into your marketing efforts and your traffic may start showing a significant boost.
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are going to be the new darlings as far as search god Google is concerned. Speed has always mattered but it is going to take on extreme importance with regard to mobile searches. It will mostly be used for sites with static content but you need to look into this and look into it quickly. With more than 60% of all searches happening on mobile devices, you can’t afford to be left in the dust. There will be an all new concentration on being mobile first. Google has begun tailoring searches aimed at the mobile user. Desktop user searches have taken a back seat and will remain there.
- Your link building SEO efforts will continue, as always, to be enhanced by the quality of the content you are producing. Links will remain a major search factor for Google. In the end, of course, user experience will be the key to your success. You want to lower your bounce rates and keep them at your site longer. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to buy. The casinos know that and so should you.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
