[SEO] Is your blog ready for 2013?

The year 2012 saw many blog owners scurrying to understand and make the most of the changes to Google's algorithm. Just about no one saw those changes coming, but search engine optimization was the order of the day if site owners wanted to stay on top. The effects of Panda and Penguin could be felt far and wide. As the end of 2012 draws closer, it serves well to remember that the changes in the ever evolving virtual world can be so dynamic that it is far-fetched to think one can accurately predict what will happen. The best measures one can take is to keep track of the SEO trends that have developed, and will lead into 2013. This article looks at the way forward for SEO, and features four things your blog must have to be 2013 fit.

User Reviews

Google is now pretty keen on what users have to say about the websites they visit. It is increasingly important for website owners to encourage and facilitate the reviewing of their site or brand by the people who use their service. The more reviews, shares and comments a website gets, the better it is for them to achieve favorable ranking. SEO has been humanized so that your website's ranking is significantly influenced by your users' interactions with it. What was the experience like? What are their opinions? What conversations do they have about your site or brand?

Search engines have been trying to incorporate new metrics into their algorithms as a means of measuring the relevance of your search engine results page (SERP) along with your keywords. User feedback helps them achieve this and will more than likely remain a trend in 2013.

Mobile Optimization

Smartphones are highly favored for conducting research on the go, or even while relaxing at home. Users no longer need to find themselves in front of a PC to get some research done, and they are loving it. Smartphones are convenient and equipped with iOS or Google Maps that is used to find just about anything the user needs. Smartphones will not be going anywhere soon, and website owners would do well to optimize their sites for mobile devices as they may very well become the number one web access device.

Quality Content, not Quantity

This is indeed the era of content. Search engines love quality, keyword relevant content that they can display to people when they conduct a search. The more the traffic, the better the ranking of your site. Google and the other search engines prefer longer content with a number of relevant keywords that they can display to searchers. Websites are given better visibility if they are of a high quality. Simple metrics such as usability and readability are used to rank search results. Google Panda also loves fresh content and use it as a measure as well.

Social Media Visibility

The continuance of this trend into 2013 goes without saying. Like mobile devices, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are here to stay. Website owners must continue to incorporate social media campaigns as a key part of their SEO strategy for 2013.

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People love the convenience of being able to socialize and conduct searches from the same platform. Website owners must gain and maintain visibility on these sites so that their customers can access them easily. Social media marketing and SEO go well together as the more people share and talk about your site or brand, the more visible it becomes.