Search Engine Optimization the trends of 2013

With almost a decade spent in the business of search engine optimization and being an active webmaster in my early years. I can comfortably say that the business of search engine optimization has changed completely over the years and in all these years there is no one that has come close to challenging the position Google has enjoyed as the search leader. A good search engine marketing expert will tell you that while a lot if known and practiced by the professionals there is still no sure shot way of achieving success or top rankings and best organic traffic, there is still a lot of trial and error that goes in to reach a successful formula for a particular website.

The year 2013 started off with SEO companies scrambling for solutions to the problems of drop in rankings and major dips in traffic. There were as many as 65 updates made to the google algorithm in August and September, an infographic from a reputed journal gives you the picture. More importantly a lot of these search engine optimization companies were faced with the challenge of their teams not being able to cope up and understand or crack impact of algorithm changes. Very soon search engine optimization companies around the world started to feel the heat because the conventional methods of search engine marketing stopped yielding results and clients started complaining and the business started getting effected. Neuronimbus as a search engine optimization and online marketing company also felt the heat but was able to isolate and address the issues quicker than most of its peers.

So, what are the significant emerging trends of the year 2013 for the search business…? Following are some of the pointers for those who are in the game and for those who have online businesses that need and survive on a good dose of organic traffic

Quality of your content is paramount
Majority of the algorithm updates and the tech changes that are being brought about by search engines, the focus for search engines is on being able to identify the quality of the content on the website and thus improve their ability to judge if the web page is the right fit for the keyword or not. Google, as expected is leading this charge and continues to publish guidelines for writing better content.

Mobile friendly websites a must
There is about 16% of search traffic that is now coming from mobile devices and the mobile user experience and expectations are also different. The search queries are shorter and the search engines look for the same details on a mobile web page that they look for in the conventional websites. So you need to plan for it and prep for it properly

Localization
There is a broad stat that says approximately 40% of the searches are made to find information that is local in nature, so businesses that are local impacts should focus on elements like google maps, local reviews, local listings  and other important assets that are focussing on local information and local population

Social Media will get more important
Your social media presence and activities on various platforms will have a bigger impact on your rankings. Google has been working on changes in their algorithms that will include and calibrate more from your social media activities. So the factual and the social content will influence how your websites get ranked. It’s important to understand and factor this in

To sum things up.. bottom line is that the quality of your content, writing and skills to represent yourself, your client or your product or service will play a significant role. So out goes the link builder and in comes the suave content writer who can write really well