2014 is just a few days over a month away now and with this in mind I am turning my thoughts to what 2014 will have in store when it comes to search engine optimisation.
For those experienced in SEO you will know that it takes some planning and to stay on top of the game you do have to look ahead and be innovative in your strategy. Turning a blind eye to the future means that your search rankings could suffer. Stay on the ball and you’ll have a good (if not better) chance of ranking well above your competitors and staying put on the first page of Google through out 2014. 
2013 Taught Us…
2013 was an eventful year in SEO and the updates rolled out by Google targeted to sift the bad from the good, disallowing sites that practice dishonourable tactics to continue to rank well. Everything that was powerful in SEO is set to continue through to 2014, just on an even bigger scale.
2013 taught us that whilst a few dodgy tactics may have continued to slip through the net in 2012 this was no longer to be the case. Link quality now needed to be high, content needed to be top notch, super helpful and proven to be popular.
Make sure you have learnt from 2013 and perform regular audits on your SEO back linking profile to keep an eye on links and remove any that look unnatural to keep things looking tip top.
Content Marketing Set To Take A Step Up
You probably thought that content marketing couldn’t gain any more importance in SEO, it’s already pretty important, but it can and it will. 2014 sees content marketing taking another step forward.
Google actively want to back those companies that are purposely trying to be helpful through the sharing of content. This means publishing content for selfless reasons to advise and assist the user that will in turn of course help your SEO. Google are more than happy to give credit to those companies doing this and it’s well worth getting right.
Content should above all be helpful, regular and fresh to indicate that you’re still active, you’re still trying and you’re still assisting others surrounding your industry. Keep pushing on with great content in 2014 and make sure it’s always helpful and rarely (if ever) self promotional.
Keep On With Social Media And Reap The Benefits
Of course Social Media grew for online marketing in 2013 and it won’t stop there. Since the rise of incredibly popular sites Facebook and Twitter Google have been putting an increase on the importance of social sharing. A few weeks ago I detailed through a blog how social media really helps with SEO and this is set to be ever true through out 2014.
As mentioned above content needs to be helpful, the more social shares you receive the more people you are being seen to have ‘helped’ and the more popular your helpful content seems.
Social Media is a strong element to the online world now and things would be very different with out it. It’s primarily a popularity contest, the more popular Google sees you are on social media the more you will be seen as a genuine, reputable company who wants to assist users with in your industry.
Up your social media strategy in 2014, keep sharing, keep active, keep it helpful and informative and you can’t go far wrong.
Google+ And Authorship Are Key
Google are wanting to push their own social media platform even further in 2014 encouraging everyone who is a site owner to sign up with Google+. Above all for 2014 you need to be active on Google+, increasing your presence and taking full advantage of Google authorship.
Make sure your authorship is set up, share your content and encourage +1’s as they all add up! According to Moz Google+ is going to be really big when it comes to ranking well in 2014, so it’s worth investing time in now.
Mobile Is Going To Grow
If you’re only going to do one thing in 2014 it should be to optimise your site for mobile. Not only is this essential so as to not miss business from mobile users, Google will also be looking to see if your site is mobile ready to determine rankings.
Make sure your site works well for the mobile user and Google is starting to greatly develop mobile search and want everyone on board ready for this development.
Looking back 2013 has been a good year in SEO and positive changes have been made for the better. Keep on the game for 2014 and you shouldn’t have any issues. Be active, be helpful, prepare and stay informed and 2014 should be another good year for you when it comes to search engine optimisation.
(Image courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)