SEO Predictions for 2017 from Auckland’s SEO experts

The SEO landscape is changing in realtime, with Google’s search algorithm  have unprecedented rate of updates as of late. With 2017 around the corner and with the recent Google announcements, we’ve complied a list of SEO predictions for effective SEO strategies for next year:

1. ) Mobile will dominate –  Google recently announced unique mobile indexation which is business owners should be paying attention to. This reflects the ever increase search market share being dominated by mobile and handheld devices. Not only that, mobile index is earmarked to dominated the desktop index in a few months. Conclusion – this is the perfect timing to optimise your mobile site, using Google Optimisation tools as a benchmark for friendliness. Site speed, user experience and mobile-optimised design are tri-factors which will lead to customer engagement, which brings me to my second point.

2.) Customer engagement – Google is now using AI (artificial intelligence) to measure customer engagement, with the qualifying metrics being conversions (as opposed to reach which is a vanity metric),scroll depth (instead of time on page with is misleading), social shares and comments. What does this mean for your business? Think of yourself as media company first and a service or product provider second, which leads us to our third and final point.

3.) Social shares and online reviews  – traditional bricks and mortar businesses owners refer to word of mouth being their best salesperson and marketing asset. Think of social shares and online reviews as word of mouth 10x, or on steroids! It will make or break your business in realtime, unlike old-school word-of-mouth which is generally believed to take up-to 3 years to really reach critical mass. Viral marketing, overnight success stories (especially so in the US) are daily real-life examples of this. Closer to home, the success of Iyia at Waist Trainer NZ through product placement and instagramming.

Final word – these changes will literally throw businesses off and on first page in realtime, days or weeks at most. If you’re a business owners, we urge you to be proactive and not reactive. SEO is not a fad, it is here to stay. If it were, Google would not be a $100 billion search engine and the most valuable piece of technology out there.

We’re always open to open, honest conversations with Auckland business owners. Give us a call, 0800 111 246. We have awesome coffee at our offices and the view isn’t bad either!. We are a b2b marketing agency with expertise in SEO services, Facebook marketing Auckland, LinkedIn marketing, AdWords management agency Auckland and more.

Auckland’s honest, hardworking SEO company – Digital Squad!