Getting your SEO strategy right is a crucial step in driving traffic to your website, achieving strong customer engagement, and building differentiation in the marketplace. Before we get to the key trends in SEO in 2016, let’s take a step back and start with the fundamentals: what exactly is SEO?

SEO (search engine optimization) is essentially ensuring your website contains the right content (or keywords) so that when someone searches for a company, product or service, the search words they use match what is on your site, resulting in a higher positioning for your site. It’s a discipline that should be applied to all marketing collateral: create clear, concise, ultra-relevant content and don’t get lost in language that is unnecessarily flowery, obtuse or jargon-heavy.

With Google dominating search engine market share (at a huge 66%), it’s important to understand their criteria for ranking websites in order to give your site the best chance of being found by your target audience. Google navigates the trillions (60 of them) of individual pages of the web by crawling through all of the content to identify relevant, factual (i.e. not spam) text and data that best match your search. They then apply algorithms – which are constantly being reviewed and adjusted, often to the frustration of site builders – that help identify which pages to pull. Those pages are then ranked in order of relevance, and so your search results page is created.

So with that said, what are the key considerations in SEO strategy for 2016?

1. 1. Voice Search / Digital Assistants

As the new round of iPhone ads show, Apple’s voice search solution Siri remains one of the most important functions of their product. As there are significant distinctions between the words used on a spoken search versus typed search (voice tends to be more conversational and longer-form), content will need to contain keywords that reflect that.

2. 2. It’s All About Mobile

If your company does not yet have a responsive design website that works equally well on desktop, mobile and tablets, it’s high time to make the change. In 2015, mobile searches surpassed desktop searches for the first time, arguably presenting the case that website design should prioritize the mobile user experience ahead of all else.

3. 3. Local SEO Will Grow

As a direct result of the growth in mobile and helped along by search (for example, “Siri, where is a digital marketing agency near me?”), local SEO will play a key role in 2016. This is great news for small business owners, who can help get better online exposure. It’s a case of ensuring the location of your business is listed accurately, building local relevance through your content marketing strategy, and targeting local news outlets.

For assistance and insights into how ARTÉMIA can help with your 2016 SEO strategy, as ever, please get in touch.