SEO Predictions For 2015

SEO in 2015 is vastly different than it was in 2012 and the change of pace is only increasing. Next, year is going to be another year of transition and we can expect to see all sorts of alterations between now and the end of next year.

So, what should we expect and how should we prepare – well we’re going to take a look at some predictions for SEO in the next 12 months.

Constant Penguin and Panda

Penguin and Panda used to once run sporadically; in fact Penguin’s last update before Penguin 3.0 was about 11 months prior. However, it’s beginning to look like we’re entering a period where Penguin and Panda are integrated into the algorithm and are running near constantly.

Of course, this leaves us with a lot of questions. For example, how will Google deal with algorithmic penalties and how will re-entry into the SERPs work if Penguin is constantly running? It’s a big transition from what we once knew, but expect the fact filters are integrated to be a big SEO topic in 2015.

Google +

Google+ has been always second fiddle to a number of other social media networks. However, it was the recent admission from a Google employee that Google had really botched the social media site that caused alarm bells to be heard. With the end of Authorship last year, will we see the end of Google+ too? Some don’t believe it is and think it’s in hiatus. I don’t know for sure, but things don’t look great for the beleaguered site.

Mobile

Needless to say, mobile search is going to become more and more popular in 2015. However, expect there to be a number of other changes too.

The likelihood is that Google is going to begin to include stricter user criteria for mobile UX in ranking factors for the mobile SERPs and businesses are going to need to adhere. This is the next step on from having a mobile site. So, expect factors such as page speed, user experience and a whole lot more to be important ranking factors.

In addition, don’t be surprised if people begin to adopt mobile first design when creating sites and optimising their site. Obviously, business dependant, mobile search can be a large chunk of a individual’s traffic and can make more sense to optimise for firstly.

Video

More video positions in the SERPs is a likelihood in 2015 in my opinion. Expect Google to add more ranking factors for video and to also add more of it in its results. People love to engage with video, so expect to see more and more of it included in the results. Expect a lot more result tracking of video and social shares, alongside the usual SERPs in 2015 as these become more important.

In addition, we’d also expect to see more structured data, schema and information provided directly by Google in the results this year too, cutting down on traffic to a number of info sites.

Newsletters

The newsletter is also likely to return to the internet marketer’s arsenal. Pushed by decreasing social media risk and Google’s volatility, expect people to look for increasing forms of marketing they can control. Newsletters are a solid in a time of turmoil and expect renewed focus on them in 2015.

Google is Huge

Google will remain by far the largest search engine company in the world. Even after the Firefox move to Yahoo cut Google’s market share by 20% odd, expect it to still remain king of search and also to claw some of those Firefox users back as they alter their search settings. However, the Firefox effort also makes it worth remembering that things can change very quickly in the world of marketing. So, make sure you don’t rely on one channel too much in 2015 and diversify healthily.

SEO and marketing as a whole is constantly changing and these tips will help you prepare and remain organised for the coming year. If you have any predictions, why not add them below.