2017 SEO Strategy Updates and Changes

We are expecting to see a lot of updates from Google and the other major search engines in 2017. These updates include placing more focus on mobile and responsive designed websites. As always, content still plays a large role in the overall ranking of pages. In the past the recommended words per page was around 1200 – 1600 for desktop viewing in between 900 and 1200 for mobile. Recently we started noticing some changes with the way the content is being evaluated and the numbers that were once associated with PC display are now being associated with mobile.

Google has been testing some new features and functionality in preparation for 2017 which include a new look for local inventory ads in place of local pack, new voice recognition commands to increase voice search and the usefulness of its service, Bing has rolled out a new schedule and feature for all ad extensions to help remain competitive in the search engine landscape. The new scheduling feature for Bing will now allow business owners to show extensions during store hours or schedule for time sensitive promotions and leverage Bing ads accordingly.

Artificial intelligence is now beginning to play a very important role in both pay-per-click and SEO by directly affecting the search engine results being displayed by each search query. The way this works is previous search requests are taken into account with each new search request to try to determine what your true intent is when searching on Google.

Additionally all major search engines are now starting to take more notice of third-party services for example TripAdvisor to provide enhanced listings for both products and services primarily for hotels restaurants and other local businesses in and around the area.

All of these third-party signals which are now being Incorporated into the search results are designed to help increase the relevancy of the data being searched.

Some of the other technology which was introduced over the last year include amp pages, SEO for Google’s mobile first index, mobile-friendly web design practices, optimizing content for voice searches, How will virtual assistants participate and affect the search results, different markup languages and structured data, and of course video and leveraging YouTube as the second largest search engine.

Social media has also had its ups and downs over 2016 with new products including video and new ads which will be available later this year for video.
2017 is lining up to be a really interesting year for both SEO and PPC and social media marketing. If you require assistance with your online marketing initiatives please feel free to contact the team at search gurus Inc. We will be happy to assist you.