Why 2014 Could be the Best Year for SEO Yet

Content Creation Guide infografika

2013 has been a big year for SEO. Most recently, Google’s Hummingbird update and the challenges created by “not provided” keywords have proved that the SEO playing field will only become more complex in the future. But this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

As 2014 draws closer, what can we expect? Certainly not the death of SEO that so many bloggers and writers have worried over. In fact, SEO is going to be more important than ever before. The need for a high-quality online presence is essential to success in any industry now, and the manpower required to create this experience is hardly manageable for a single business leader. SEO firms will need to step up their game in 2014, but that’s only because SEO is going to be better than ever before.

Content Marketing 2.0

Every SEO professional knows that creating solid, high-quality content is vital to the success of any client’s SEO campaign. Whether it’s well-written copy on a Web page or a fantastically developed infographic, content is a huge component in SEO success.

In 2014, high-quality content will still be crucial to SEO but the quality standards are expected to rise. Search Engine Watch’s Jayson DeMers says that content marketing will become one of the most important players in 2014’s SEO. “Google will be looking at companies that have robust content marketing efforts as a sign that they’re the kind of business Google wants to support,” he says.

As a result, SEO agencies will really need to step up their game when it comes to their content marketing efforts. Not only will content marketing become more vital to clients’ success, but the competition from other content marketers is going to pose a significant challenge. 93% of B2B marketers already use content marketing, and that number is only likely to grow in the coming year.

With so many SEOs creating high-quality content, it’s going to take some creative efforts to really get your client’s content to stand out. Fortunately, SEOs are a creative bunch and the content marketing of 2014 should turn up some pretty awesome strategies.

Social Media is Serious Business

We already know that social media offers many opportunities to business owners and SEOs alike. In 2014, however, DeMers expects social media to play an even larger role in SEO impact. Companies can no longer rely on bare-bones social media campaigns. Instead, they’re going to have to accept the fact that social media is a serious business channel and become active participants in at least seven major social media sites.

In addition to Facebook and Twitter, which currently provide the staples of a social media presence for many companies, SEOs will need to convince their clients of the value of other social sites. Sites that have previously been less valuable for businesses, especially in terms of content marketing, are now becoming key ways that businesses can engage customers through social media.

LinkedIn, Google+, SlideShare, Pinterest and Instagram will all be important to SEO success in 2014. In fact, a study by Moz on search ranking factors found that Google +1s actually have more influence on website rankings than tweets or Facebook likes. To get the most out of their SEO campaigns in 2014, your clients will need to do more than simply have and account on these social sites. Your clients’ profiles will need to show an active engagement with their social media followers in order to send the best signals to search engines. Thus, 2014 will be a good year to sell your clients on expanded social media campaigns.

While the challenges facing SEOs in 2014 are significant, it’s important to focus on the many opportunities for improvement and advancement that will be available, too. By making our content marketing strategies even better and our social media campaigns more comprehensive, we can bring SEO success to our clients and continue expanding our knowledge of the every-changing field of SEO.

 

How do you feel about the landscape of SEO in 2014? Tell me in the comments section below!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *