Predictions for SEO trends in 2017

Search engine optimisation is constantly evolving, and 2017 will be no different. In order to keep ahead of the competition, understanding of the upcoming trends and topics that are set to impact SEO is of the utmost importance.

We have therefore combined, what we believe will be the biggest SEO trends for 2017:

Related keywords

Gone are the days where you would repeat a single keyword phrase throughout a post or page. To optimise the post, instead you need to be adding the main keyword phrase into the title, the first paragraph, the last paragraph and in the header image’s filename, ALT text and text title.

However, throughout the article you will need to include related keywords. To do this you will need to utilise Rank Tracker, to gain insights into related keyword phrases and how they measure against your chosen phrase using insights from a variety of resources beyond Google AdWords Keyword Planner.

Video Content

A trend that has been rising over the years, video content is set to stay in 2017. It has been stated that video will effectively become the main type of content to be seen on social media platform Facebook, by 2020. Technologies such as Snapchat, Vine, Periscope and Instagram have been developed for the sole use of images and short videos meaning that brands and companies will need to be up-to-date or risk being left behind.  

Mobile-first indexing

On 4th November 2016, Google announced mobile-first indexing, however, they did not specify when this change would happen. At present, desktop-first indexing is still in full effect, although, 2017 is almost certainly when the change will happen.

This therefore, still gives many people the chance to create a mobile version with any possible format, making content and pages presented both in mobile and desktop versions and reconsider all the user experience and conversion optimisation offered on desktop and mobile.

AMP

The rise of accelerated mobile pages (AMPs) are set for 2017. AMPs are an open-source protocol that allows webmasters to create pages that have the ability to load almost instantly on mobile devices. The theory, that small structural adjustments can make a website load up to four times faster, using eight times less data. Google have already started favouring sites that have switched over to AMPs, giving them visibility in a carousel with a small icon indicating their AMP status.

Dense Content

As the use of content within SEO has continuously changed and evolved, 2017 will see the trend of  ‘Dense Content’, users are fed up of reading lengthy pieces that cover topics comprehensively, and want to be able to get as much information as possible in a short amount of time.

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