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2017, while not as earth shattering to SEO as other years, still had some knee-knocking moments. It also laid the groundwork for 2018. So, what's next?

1.

We’re Going Mobile

If you have been asleep in a cave for awhile, let me catch you up with this simple statement of “Mobile Rules!”

More searches take place on mobile devices now than ever before, and the number continues to rise. Google has responded by letting us all know that, by the end of 2018, the search will be mobile-first index based. If your site is not responsive, you will want to consider Accelerated Mobile Pages (“AMP”). This process involves keeping tabs on two sets of pages with everything you do, so choose that option wisely.

Did anyone else read “We’re Going Mobile” and start singing The Who? I hope so…

2.

Voice Search

As an old-school SEO guy, I still love my keyword phrase searches because people still use them, so I continue to track them. However, I also know that search is evolving. People are becoming more likely to ask a question to their mobile personal assistant. While “Toyota Dealer Orange County” still has a lot of traction, “Where can I find a Toyota in Orange County?” is just as likely to now be the search query. Voice assistants are keeping tabs on the questions asked, and tailoring results based on those queries. Natural language is the direction that search is going, and we have adopted that philosophy.

3.

“Hey Fred!”

Google makes thousands of updates to its algorithm every year now, with most being minor. The first major update was Fred, with the name itself being a joke, as Google did not announce an official name for it. Instead, Google’s Gary Illyes made a joke about calling all future updates “Fred,” and it stuck. Fred happened in March of 2017, and the focus was on sites that were either mainly ads or affiliate driven. It’s important to keep your content rich, and if you do allow ads on your site, not to overdo them.

There was actually a second confirmed update in the middle of December. If your site was using doorway pages or did not have Schema on it, chances are you saw a drop in rankings.

4.

Build The Foundation Before You Decorate The House

All of the best backlinks, content, site structure and technical SEO will only take you so far if you do not have reliable OnPage SEO on the site. Title Tags are still super important, Description Tags have recently increased to almost 300 characters, and if you don’t know what an H1 Tag is, you should ask someone. I have had websites still climb to the top of the charts with nothing but outstanding OnPage. Would I suggest just doing OnPage and nothing else in 2018? Of course not! But I will ALWAYS tell you to make sure your OnPage is solid.

5.

Looking Forward

What does this all mean for SEO in 2018? The first thing I hope it says is that I will not have to read an article from anyone this year stating “SEO IS DEAD!” I’d be rich if I had a dollar for every time someone made that statement.

What all of this means is that you need to make sure you are on top of your SEO game. There is much to be done to not only get to and stay on the top of the charts.

Do you have any questions about SEO?

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at TurnKey Marketing. We have been a digital marketing leader in the auto industry for well over a decade and also handle other sectors as well. We would love to go over how we can help you achieve the results you need. Give us a call! 951-219-2222 today!

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