As we know, the world of online marketing is fluid and always changing. The digital expanse of 2012 is nearly unrecognizable when held side-by-side with the modern space of 2015, as shown in the newest study published by search metrics this year. With all the tweaks in ranking factors Google has done, they’ve significantly changed the landscape in quite a few different fields. Some of the major areas of change are as follows.
On-site content
Besides the 25% increase in average word count from 855 to 1140 on each web page, the best writers and marketers alike are using more relevant terms in their content. This longer text usage on each page in combination with the increased use in visual elements is resulting in a much more in-depth experience on the best websites. Additionally, the study states that creating conversational and easy to read content centered on an expansive keyword list is the best strategy to employ, especially in the long-run. This is done because of…
Increased importance of visitor clicks, time-on-site, and bounce rate
In each of the top three positions of the Google results page the amount of time visitor spend on the site, the visitor bounce rate, and the clicks per visitor were all found to be better than that of the sites indexed below them. Google ranks accordingly because they want users to have the best overall experience in finding what they want, and these three factors give them the clearest signal of enjoyment, thus the increasing importance of these factors year after year. Some recommended ways to improve these signals is to create an experience that is highly engaging through either website design or unique content optimization.
Changes in mobile site compatibility ranking
Mobile friendly sites have been receiving rewards for quite some time now, so the increase in ranking importance of having a mobile friendly site in 2015 is nothing new. From 68% mobile friendly results to 71%, Google seems to be slowly eradicating websites that have not yet adapted. Doubtless, this number will do nothing but increase from 2016 and so on.
Reward for social media integration
Needless to say, the correlation between websites that have more +1’s, likes, and shares and websites that rank highly was found to be very strong. What should be noted is that social media integration on a website is becoming increasingly important and rewarding. Many companies that are aware of this factor are using integration to increase traffic and inevitably their websites’ visibility.
Continued loss of importance in backlinks and the infamous “keyword”
As anyone working in SEO knows, backlink importance has reached an all-time low because of Google and other search engines shifting their priories to value “semantic context”. This is no longer a numbers game, but instead a game about how truly relevant you can be to a searcher’s request. It is highly likely that this factor will be further replaced with more valued metrics like what has previously been mentioned. The decline in the power of the “keyword” is simply the result of a less relevant user experience when clicking on a URL that has an exact keyword embedded in it. With a drop from 9% to 6% of total URL’s that include a keyword, doubtless, this metric’s loss of importance will continue.
This information and much, much more can be harnessed to bring any website out of hiding and onto the first page of results in Google. With search engine marketing changing every day, it’s important to get your website updated with the current trends set by Google.
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