​7 SEO predictions for 2015

Search engine optimisation (SEO) has come a long way since the days of stuffing vaguely relevant keywords into every available whitespace on your web page and buying links to your site wherever you could get your hands on them. With the evolution of the world wide web, Google developments and more savvy searchers, SEO is an incredibly complex world. There have already been many changes and new trends to contend with, and the picture is getting increasingly different as the years go on.

Below are our top seven SEO predictions for 2015 to help you start thinking ahead and getting your online presence prepared.

Content is still king

High quality content has long been an important part of best SEO practices, and for the coming year this is even more true. Google can actually detect well-written, original and relevant content and rewards sites accordingly and there is no sign of this changing. Focus on delivering great content that your visitors want to read – this shows your company is involved in your industry and helps to position you as an authority in the area. Great content also encourages engagement and social sharing, which then bring in links – also great for SEO.

Be fast, be safe

Websites that operate effectively will continue to be recognized by Google. The search engine cares about how quickly your pages load, so invest in a better back-end and go with a hosting company that can keep your site up and running. If you take payments online or deal with any kind of sensitive data then an encrypted website (https) is a must.

Build links organically

Google’s algorithms can distinguish between high quality links on relevant and reputable websites and those that come from spammy link-building sites, so avoid the latter and concentrate on getting more of the former. Share your great content with industry journalists and bloggers and build relationships so that those who matter will want to share your pages.

Use your URLs and meta data

URLs do matter – your pages should be named in a way that is relevant and SEO friendly. For example, if you have a page exclusively for purple double bed duvet covers the URL should be: www.yourcompany.co.uk/purple-double-duvet-covers. Customers searching for such a product will be quite specific, and this URL is optimised for such search phrases.

Don’t forget the meta data – good title tags can help your pages rank well.

Be mobile

More and more people are using mobile devices to access the web – mobile traffic is expected to overtake other web traffic in 2015. Ideally you will have a separate mobile optimised site, but you could opt for a responsive design that will work with both mobile and desktop browsers.

Be social

A social media presence will remain an important part of SEO and online marketing strategies. Use your social networks to engage with customers and become a leading voice in your arena. Use Google+ +1 – unsurprisingly the search engine is keen for people to do so and there could be big benefits.

Stay up-to-date

To really make the most of the latest SEO trends and developments you must stay updated and on the ball at all times. Using real-time analytics data can help you react to things as they happen, and the fresh content you create as a result can assist your ranking.