Predictions for SEO and social media
SEO and social media is constantly changing and evolving. It offers numerous new opportunities to get an edge over the competition and refine tactics to better appeal to your target audience. But at the same time, it can be overwhelming. Some new technologies and trends are barely noticeable, others are game-changing. If you’re a business owner, you need to be aware of the potential game changing updates. Keep in mind these are projections based on the current trends that are happening.
Predictive search will take a massive step forward. When predictive search arrived in its current form, marketers were excited and worried about its implications for the future of search. This technology could finish users’ queries for them with auto-complete. So, would this mean more streamlined, funneled keyword searches or a frustrating variable that would make keyword targeting more difficult?
Overall, its impact was minimal, but it has opened the gateway to an even broader kind of predictive search—a form where Google can search on your behalf before you know what to search for. It could pick up cues like your physical location, search history, or even current activities, especially with products like Google Home to display recommended search results before you even finish your query. Such a development would force search optimizers to pivot and optimize for situations and opportunities rather than for keywords or phrases.
Lastly, content will be forced to adapt into interactive, variable forms. Search engines and social media platforms will put increasing pressure on businesses to make better content. But what does “better” mean? Increasing competition and lower user patience will phase out the typical fluff content that’s so common these days. The gap between good and flat content will widen, and the winners of the content game will be businesses that provide the most individual, variable, and adaptive experiences—the ones that are interactive.
The progression of online marketing has been too variable to try and pin down when exactly any of these changes will happen.