Top Search Engine Optimization Tips 2016

In today’s Internet fuelled business scenario, more and more sales and purchase decisions are made after browsing and researching online than ever before. This is the reason why it is imperative that websites have a strong online presence to cash in on business opportunities. Websites on top of results pages of major search engines invariably draw larger volumes of traffic resulting in sales conversions and business development.

The process of enhancing online visibility of websites is in a nutshell what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about. SEO services focus on various searches according to the requirements of businesses. These include video search, image search, local search or those designed for specific industry related niche searches.

The utility of SEO has been acknowledged since the mid-1990s but has undergone a sea change since then. Google periodically releases algorithms that define SEO processes and techniques. However, all has been generally quiet on this front with the last algorithm Penguin being rolled out in 2012. Since then there has been minor tweaks to it to make course corrections and nothing major is expected in the coming year soon. Keeping this hypothesis in mind, it is possible to evaluate the direction that SEO will take in 2016.

• Added Incentives for Responsive Websites –

With the exponential boom in smart phone usage, it is but natural that not catering to this segment with specific mobile enabled websites will result in lower volume of sales. The seriousness can be gauged from the fact that for the first time in 2015, mobile searches exceeded desktop searches.Mobile outreach and penetration is about 90% now, up from 75% in February 2015 in the United States alone. Google too has already declared that mobile searches are their main basis of traffic today and they are going to throw their weight heavily behind searches made on mobile optimized sites to decide rankings. Therefore SEO services will have to adjust to this scenario in 2016 if businesses have to retain their market share.

• User as a Ranking Factor –

While such SEO techniques as content, keyword research and creation of quality back links is unlikely to change, there will be an emphasis on a completely new dimension in 2016. It is the human factor or the behavior of users once they access the website. This will be indicative of what the customer really wishes for and wants to see on the site.The time spent on the site that is, the bounce rate will acquire importance from an SEO standpoint and will count towards rankings on major search engines. Also under scrutiny will be their activities on the site. SEO in 2016 will therefore be directed towards keywords people use and not what businesses want to rank for.

• Importance to Schema Markup –

This has been around for a long time now but it is only recently that businesses are giving it its due importance. But what is Schema? It is a markup language that is woven into a website and highlights content and information for search engines to pass on to users. This was initiated by major search engines themselves as a component of ranking determination and SEO services, in the absence of fresh techniques are expected to cash in on this in 2016.

   These are some of the options open to professional SEO experts in 2016.

Also Read: Is Website Complete Without SEO?