2013 Small Business SEO Predictions

Hello everyone,
Happy new year!! It has been a while since our latest blog post - time to ramp things up early in 2013!!

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With the new year there are a plethora of predictions for SEO I thought it would be worth sharing my thoughts on what would most affect small businesses in 2013. Let's get right into it - here is a list of things small businesses can expect to face for SEO:

Social Keeps Rising in Relevancy

With all of the new social media networks blowing up (Instagram, Pintrest, etc.) and Facebook becoming a publicly traded company people expected social media to decrease in SEO importance. However, now more than ever having an active social media marketing strategy that will have your users engage with your brand. Having mutliple followers and connections sharing content and updates help you increase reach amongst 2nd degree and 3rd degree contacts that otherwise may not have heard of you.

Oh and also, your brand page shows up on Google search if you build up your name in local searches (check out the screen shot below), make sure your page's are optimized for the audience to reach your website or perform an action!

Basics Still Get the Job Done

Ok - I get it, SEO is no longer a new digital branding option but basics still get the job done. Much like sports - you cannot start doing difficult moves before having the fundamentals down. You have to master the regular dribble before going behind the back (basketball players will understand).

Same applies to SEO - whether you optimize your own pages or use some sort of external professional SEO services, make sure that basic on page (header tags, meta tags, titles, urls, written content, anchor text, etc.) are focused, researched and optimized for search engines.

Engaging Content

Having a website simply no longer will be enough for you to build backlinks. With more and more businesses building their web presences including SEO, social media, etc. small business owners will have to step up their content generation. Simply writing a blog or throwing out news releases is not enough anymore - your content has to be interesting, personal and visually appealing.

Step outside of your comfort zone and consider using some new tools:
- YouTube demo/training/outline videos
- Infographics
- How-To Templates
- Interactive flash/java applications
- Latest trends

These are just a few ideas to get you started, amount of options for engaging content is vast. However, remember that making something pretty does not make it interesting!! Be genuine, interesting and knowledgeable with your content and your SEO results will follow.

Mobile, Mobile and More Mobile

The rise of smart phones, tablets, touch screen technology, e-book readers, etc. that come with compatible browsers has been catching up to laptop and desktop web traffic. Make sure that you website is optimized for mobile search engine: have the latest web language (HTML5, CSS) that can be read on multiple hardware, track analytics to learn mobile visitor behaviour, create marketing material that is mobile friendly (QR codes, links to social media, etc.) just to name a few.

The mobile revolution is no longer the future, it is happening now and 2013 will be the year of mobile more than any before it. Make sure you embrace the change and help your audience reach you effortlessly regardless of the technology they are using.

Those are my most influential factors for small business SEO in 2013 - there are many more. Let me know what you think, and if there are other factors which could be more influental than the above mentioned. Look foward to your thoughts!

- N.R.