3 Major SEO Opportunities in 2017
May 3, 2017 | By Keith Randolph | No Comments">No Comments
Every year, SEO (search engine optimization) presents different and better opportunities for businesses compared to the previous one. There are almost always algorithm changes being implemented for better results. Similarly, the strategies for better ranking are ever dynamic. If you are not privy to the latest SEO trends and therefore fail to take advantage of the existing opportunities, your website could be rendered useless within a short time.
Many small business owners are investing less in SEO, according to a survey by Manta Wellness Index. This is interesting because the SEO arena has several opportunities that businesses could utilize in order to have a competitive advantage. Below, we will highlight 3 Major SEO Opportunities in 2017 that we believe could have the biggest influence on business success.
First Opportunity: Organic Traffic
The survey mentioned above revealed that few business owners are planning to use SEO, content marketing, and pay-per-click advertising this year. What they do not know is that they are losing an excellent opportunity to beat out the competition. It seems a majority of businesses are planning to rely on ads. The benefit of organic search is that it is long-term and it draws visitors from natural searches on search engines. The question that arises then is this: How does a website win this organic traffic?
The secret lies in the kind of content posted on their website and blog. Even if building this kind of traffic requires time input, the returns are worth the wait. SEO Chicago experts advise business owners to give SEO and organic traffic at least six months before making their analyses.
Second Opportunity: Other Search Engines
Many people assume that Google is the Alpha and Omega of online search. But did you know that Bing controls about 30% of total search engine traffic? If you ask me, this is an audience to be taken seriously. It becomes even more exciting when you consider that a bulk of Bing’s traffic is voice-centered (voice is covered in my next point).
In 2017, you want to optimize for other search engines. Optimizing for Google and Bing could vary here and there but for the most part, they are similar. You will reap bigger rewards if you find a way of optimizing for the two sites concurrently. For example, consider publishing content and follow up with a powerful social media promotion.
Third Opportunity: Voice Search
Data shows that voice search is increasing in 2017. This has been the trend since 2010, so chances are that this will continue for several years. There are two reasons why every business needs to take this opportunity seriously.
First, technology is improving, hence making voice recognition seamless. Second, more adults and teenagers are joining the voice community. Recently, Google representatives revealed that voice now accounts for around 20% of mobile queries. This data suggests that voice search optimization is critical because it guarantees a competitive advantage in 2017 and beyond.
Conclusion
Has your SEO strategy been effective so far in 2017? History shows that SEO rules are always changing and on the move. Whatever worked in 2016 may not necessarily have the same impact this year.
Organic search and voice search are already on top and those in the know have devised strategies to address these trends. Google is still the mother of all search engines, but it does not hurt to optimize for other ones as well. If you want to win the SEO game, then you need to use these three opportunities and others available here before it is too late.
This piece was originally written by Keith Randolph for the Votigo blog.
