Google is constantly changing and tweaking the algorithm it uses to rank websites in its index. According to some experts, the Mountain View company uses hundreds of different ranking signals, such as backlinks, domain relevancy, brand mentions, social bookmarks and more. But Google is evolving at a rapid pace, meaning its use of ranking signals will also change. So, what kind of trends can you expect to see in the future for Google search optimization?
High-Quality Content
Among the most influential signals in determining a site’s search ranking in Google is its content — a trend that will likely continue. Google has emphasized the importance of publishing unique, high-quality content, even going so far as to saying that it’s the “single most important thing” that webmasters can do. Of course, there’s a good reason why Google is pushing webmasters to produce high-quality content: content is the driving force behind every successful website, as it encourages people to visit and engage on the site.
RankBrain
A Google spokesperson revealed last year that one of the top three ranking signals used by Google is RankBrain. So, what in the world is RankBrain? Basically, it’s an artificial intelligence algorithm that scours the Internet to find correlations between a webpage’s content and the keywords that visitors are searching for to find it. Using this information, Google may increase the webpage’s search ranking for those keywords. RankBrain is expected to become even more widespread in the years to follow, as Google looks towards AI to help improve the quality of its search results.
Backlinks: Quality Over Quantity
It wasn’t long ago when you could obtain a top search ranking simply by building hundreds or thousands of backlinks, without any sort of relevancy between the source and the linked webpage. But Google has since adjusted its search ranking algorithm to protect against manipulative SEO practices. Now, the search engine giant emphasizes quality over quantity, meaning just a couple of closely targeted, relevant backlinks will prove more beneficial than hundreds of low-quality backlinks on irrelevant pages.
Mobile, Mobile, Mobile!
We’ve talked about this before on our blog, but Google is slowly edging its way for greater mobile-friendliness. Websites that are compatible on both desktop computers and smartphones/tablets will receive a bump in their Google ranking. And being that more people now access the Internet on mobile devices than desktops, this is one ranking signal that you don’t want to overlook. Consider using a Responsive Web Design for greater mobile compatibility, and subsequently, higher Google search rankings.
