Happy New Year, SEO!

Because of the ever-changing functionalities and nuances of SEO, it is impossible to accurately predict exactly where new strategies will take us in 2015. As hard as you try, the likelihood that you will master SEO by the time the clock strikes midnight on January 1^st is… well, it ain’t happening. In order to be successful in the field it is essential that one fully understands this is one infinite realm of knowledge that no Earthly being well ever fully master. And while unearthing Google’s notoriously enigmatic and cryptic algorithm is undoubtedly the wet dream of every SEO guru, Santa will not even gift the nicest boys this reticent knowledge. It is, however, possible to make some potentially accurate assumptions based on the history of SEO, while staying informed and using common sense to stay on course with newly (and constantly) emerging trends. Here are several valid hypotheses we have formulated regarding probable SEO strategies of 2015.

1. Content Continues to Reign Supreme

You may have heard the catchy SEO phrase, “content is king” thrown around throughout the community quite a bit. Turns out it seriously is, and will continue to be through at least the next year. Having good content is essential to the success of any website – though without proper social media integration, good content is just… good content. Seeing as Google search algorithms essentially have minds of their own, it makes sense that human interaction will play a crucial role in the future of SEO. The more your content is shared, the more success the site will have. This year, everyone wants to go viral. It’s all the rage.

2. Mobile Devices Are Where It’s At

One of the most important aspects of mobile SEO to keep on eye on this coming year is page load speed. Make sure yours is up to date, seeing as mobile devices tend to have a significantly lower page load speed than desktops, and Google is penalizing super slow loaders. Also, potential customers have very little patience for anything that takes times around the holidays. Tis the season to run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

3. TTYL, Black Hat Tricks

As algorithms continue to get more and more complex, the fallout from old black hat tricks will get more and more brutal. Give each of your sites a thorough cleaning, sweeping out any old black hat tricks and making room for more essential strategic techniques.

4. Colloquial Keyword Phrases

Conversational keyword searches are queries that tend to sound more than a real human being than a suppressed robot. The job of creating relevant results will now fall into the hands of the content providers as users begin entering idiomatic phrases rather than pre-edited, individual words. Be sure to take this into careful consideration when optimizing – sentences are totally 2015.

5. Strategic Press Releases

Just as in content, creativity is key. Press releases were previously employed predominantly for the purpose of backlink generation – now, press release backlinks hardly count for anything. Only newsworthy PR’s should even be considered for release in 2015. The people want real, substantial content, not bogus strategy-drenched material they can see right through.