Search engine optimisation is, and always has been, a rapidly changing discipline. Google continually develops and updates its algorithms in order to provide a better service and to outwit anyone trying to cheat the system. At the recent Brighton SEO Conference, the industry leaders got together to share their knowledge, research and predictions. We went along to hear what they had to say. Here is a summary for you.
Going mobile
No ifs, no buts, you have to be mobile optimised if you want Google to notice you. Not only that, but your mobile experience must be slick and smooth.
Mobile has overtaken desktop search and a new generation of ‘digital natives’ are starting to reach adulthood and they expect everything to work perfectly on their phones.
Speed
Your customers want it and they want it now. Your site must be fast. That means going through a reputable web agency that can build you a site that looks great and loads quickly. Everything on your site must be optimised for a fast load time. A few minor tweaks by a professional can see the load time of a website halve in a lot of cases.
Content and Queries
The content on your site has to answer user queries. Consumers are typing more and more obscure questions into Google and expecting an answer. Your content must answer what consumers want to know.
Usability
Consumers no longer want to slowly browse your site. Our attention span has dropped to 8 seconds. That’s right. 8 seconds. You need people to get straight to where they want to go on your website, not hang around browsing.
Traffic
Traffic is becoming a bigger and bigger signal for a quality site. The more you can drive traffic through social shares and other means to your website, the better your website will perform in the search engines.
Conclusions
SEO has moved away from the easy to measure links and keyword density, to being a much more eclectic mix of experience and popularity. This is making it harder to measure, but it confirms what we have known for a long time. If you have a good product that you promote well, you will succeed.