Many changes occurred in search engine optimization due to the dances and updates that Google released this year. Before the year comes to a close, let us look back at how SEO fared in 2012 and provide you a wrap up of the events that happened in the SEO world.
SEO Happenings in 2012
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This year, Panda became worldwide and has had seven updates released by Google, with the most recent affecting 0.4% queries worldwide (although this was confirmed, it has not been announced). A new Google algorithm, fondly called the Penguin, was also announced in the second quarter of the year. Penguin targets websites that defy the webmaster guidelines of Google and takes it down. Regardless of how these Google updates dazed the SEO industry, it somehow showed positive effect in search quality.
And to monitor the changes, Google Webmaster Tools still remains top choice for SEOs while SEOmoz and Open Explorer were most preferred among the paid tools.
As for link building, the strategy is to strengthen your website’s content, maximize the major social networks and be more public. Being out there and engaging with your connections through link building campaign helps establish your site because of the interaction. Social media “connect” and “share” buttons became a must for websites to keep in touch with their visitors as well as reinforce their online presence. And guest blogging have also turned out to be a good practice for websites to improve their visibility.
In view of the fact that content is being emphasized this year, Google explored how they can connect them to its author. Through authorship mark up, authors are given due credit for the material they created by means of ranking in search results. This also placed Google+ in a positive light in terms of SEO. Although for it to be successful, it should be widely promoted among website owners, web developers and authors for them to apply the authorship mark up on their sites as not everyone is aware of this or has had difficulty implementing it.
With that being said, Google+ becomes a social media highlight in terms of SEO. Pinterest, an image-based social network, became significant as well in the SEO world. The concept of “pinning” images and sharing them with friends was a hit and users loved using Pinterest as their online “inspiration board.” In addition to having pages in Facebook and Twitter, users are encouraged to be visible in Pinterest too for better optimization in search results. Another SEO tactic that companies today are applying is taking advantage of the social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. to boost their advertising and marketing appeal.
Following where SEO trod in 2012, the trends in the coming year are somewhere along that path, if not in a better trail.
SEO Projections for 2013
2013 shows great potential for video optimization since Youtube is fast becoming a platform for effective online marketing. Sharing content-rich and creative videos on major social channels will rank considerably not only in Youtube but in Google as well.
Also as web content is still a significant factor in increasing page rank, SEO trend is regarding press releases equally important to blogging. Press release will boost the credibility of companies since it can be published on several media channels at the same time and direct their target traffic onto their website.
And following the popularity of Pinterest among users and companies, more content sharing portals will emerge in 2013, in the same way as social media will continue to evolve considering the growth of tablet and smartphone usage. In line with this, mobile search engine optimization will greatly influence SEO as more and more electronic gadgets come out in the market. With this observation, companies will invest more on SEO by either employing professionals or hiring consultants to develop their e-Commerce operations.
Looking back, 2012 for SEO was not at all a bad year. Yes the updates and changes were unnerving for SEOs but proved to be valuable as it paved the way for better and broader SEO practices. Because of the events that took place in the SEO world, 2013 is looking brighter as it approaches.
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