The State of SEO in 2015 Revisited
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been a hot topic among webmasters and online marketers since the dawn of the internet, and 2015 is no different. In fact, the increasing prevalence of mobile devices and the rise of social media have only added more complexity to the already intricate world of search engine optimization. This year saw some major changes to the way search engines rank websites, and these changes had a significant impact on the way businesses and websites approach SEO.
To begin, it’s important to understand how the search engines work. Search engines use algorithms to scan websites and determine which ones are most relevant to the keywords being searched. In 2015, Google made some major changes to its algorithm, which had an immediate effect on the way websites were evaluated. These changes included the introduction of the Mobile-Friendly Test, which evaluates whether or not a website is mobile-friendly, and the Panda Update, which penalizes websites that are overly filled with irrelevant content or ads.
In addition, the importance of social media in SEO has become increasingly evident in 2015. Social media is now playing an essential role in driving traffic to websites, as well as helping websites rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs). For example, Google now takes into account the number of likes and shares a website has on social media when ranking it. As such, businesses have started to focus on creating content that is shareable and engaging, in order to increase their visibility in the SERPs.
At the same time, content marketing has become an integral part of SEO in 2015. Content marketing involves creating content that is both informative and engaging in order to drive traffic to a website, and Google has started to take this into consideration when evaluating websites. For example, Google now looks for content that is well-written, relevant, and regularly updated in order to rank it higher in the SERPs.
Finally, local SEO has become increasingly important in 2015. Local SEO involves optimizing a website for local search results, and this includes optimizing the website for the local market. For example, if a business wants to rank higher in the SERPs for a particular city, they will need to optimize their website for that specific city, which includes optimizing the website for local keywords.
Overall, 2015 has seen some major changes in the world of search engine optimization that have had an immediate effect on the way businesses and websites approach SEO. These changes have made it even more important for businesses to focus on creating content that is both informative and engaging, as well as optimizing their website for local search results. With the right strategies and tactics, businesses can capitalize on the new opportunities presented by the changes in SEO in 2015, and position themselves as industry leaders in the world of search engine optimization.