Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is becoming more integrated with content marketing than ever before.  For this upcoming year of 2015, we’ll see more changes in the SEO industry and below is a list of the top 4 trends to watch.

1. Utilize mobile search optimization or your website will fail.  Google has been testing mobile-friendly icons next to search results and they are beginning to place even more importance on mobile usability.  A quarter of Americans use only a mobile device to access the internet.  The rise in smartphone usage makes optimizing for mobile search crucial to every business that wants to be found online.  Businesses who fail to tailor their website and content for mobile devices will be penalized on searches and will experienced a significant drop in search engine rankings.

2. Brand mentions and citations will become as powerful as links.  Citations are when your business is mentioned but there is no link to your site.  Citations and brand mentions will become more important for search rankings to show credibility and authority of your brand.  These citations are less likely to be manipulated for the purpose of ranking higher on searches so Google will put more of an emphasis on them this coming year.

3.  Social Media channels will help rankings instead of Google+.  With the failed attempt to deem Google+ pages of high importance for search rankings, Facebook and Twitter will be begin to make more of an impact despite Google’s hesitancy to do so in the past.  Social media helps with content marketing and shared content which drives traffic and increases search queries for your brand,  all of which influence ranking.

4. Negative SEO will be an even bigger threat than ever. People with utilize negative SEO practices will be penalized even more.  This has been a major problem over the last few years and Google is looking to add more significant consequences for those businesses with SEO malpractices.

Need SEO help for your business? Contact Off The Wall Media to learn more about how we can help improve your search rankings.