Nadal Dumped Out of the competition. Murray carrying an injury. The weather taking a turn. As we approach the finals of Wimbledon 2017, it’s difficult to call what will happen next…but that’s the beauty of tennis. It’s fast paced and dynamic. There are so many variables and challenges for competitors as the game is constantly changing - temperature, wind, intensity of light, balls and equipment are factors that affect gameplay and performance.
In the same way, it’s important that businesses keep up to speed with ever changing conditions, competitors, advances in technology and innovations to stay competitive and not just keep the pace, but set the pace. You don’t have to look very far to see the devastating effects of inability to keep up with advancements - just ask Kodak.
Ever-Evolving SEO
The ever-changing nature of the game is no different from, you guessed it, SEO. Google claim that they make 500 - 600 changes to its algorithm each year and are always changing the way content is ranked and displayed in search results.
For example, in 2015, Google introduced ‘RankBrain’ into the search algorithm - a machine learning technology that helps to determine the most relevant results for a search request. Google has developed a way to ‘adapt’ its algorithm (and therefore results) assigning different weighting to each ‘ranking factor’ depending on the ‘search intent.’
This has prompted SEO experts to look even more closely at search intent and how we ensure clients are keeping up with these changes. The days of applying the same SEO strategy for every business are long dead as chances are, each industry will have it’s own set of relevant ranking factors - which has already long since been the case for local SEO.
Additionally, YEXT claim that 50% of all searches will be voice searches by the year 2020, so it’s clear to see that the SEO strategy must be adapted to cater for voice search users. Voice search terms are much longer in length, so we’ll see an even greater emphasis on the ‘long tail keyword’, which should be a key part of content strategy.
What about social media? Did you know that you could ‘shop the look’ on Pinterest? Pinterest claim that 55% of their users are using the app to shop and plan purchases
Who knows what advances in social media will open new channels for marketers to exploit and gain a competitive advantage, so it’s important that marketers invest time into research and development to stay on top of these trends.
Are there any guarantees in SEO?
A true Wimbledon champion will know that despite the varying conditions, there will be constants that are vital for success and this is no difference with SEO. Your site needs to be in optimum health, it needs to keep improving with conversion rate optimisation and you need to put in the hard work with the content and outreach - certainly no cutting corners!
If you are unsure whether your website is in optimum health - why not request a free website health check
