1. If You Think is SEO is dead, then you are Dead-wrong
The last twoyearshave seenlotof upheaval inthe SEOworld.Search engine rankingshave gone
haywire withmanyonline businesspushedinto oblivionfromtheirtopmostperchinthe webworld.
Google algorithmchangeslike Panda,Penguin, andHummingbird have forcedSEOexpertstochange
theirtactics that once were soeffective;butsuddenlyhave become destructive.If youthinkSEOisdead
and there will be nomore of Google algorithmchangescomingin2015, thenyouare deadwrong!!
WithGoogle benton improvinguserexperiencethrough rightanduseful content presentationyou
shouldanticipate more algorithmchanges.SEOwill mature intoDigitalindustryand playitsoptimization
gamesaroundthe slogan- “The RightContentIsKing”because Google wantstopresent the rightcontent
to the right audience foranimproveduserexperience.Soif youwouldask me to make 5 important
predictions forthe year2015 I have no qualmsabout them.They are:
Mobile Search will overtake DesktopSearch:
There are over5 billionmobile devicesinuse acrossthe globe comparedto2 billiondesktops.With
more mobile users,includingyou relyingonsmartphonestomake local searchesandonline purchases,
2015 will see mobilesearcheclipsingdesktopsearch.Thoughglobalqueryvolumesfromdesktop
outstripmobile searches;the mobileusertrendsindevelopingcountrylike Indiaclearlypointoutthat
mobile internettraffichaseclipseddesktop.
Accordingto Google 50 % mobile searcheshave local intentandwithmobile usersincreasinglyusing
theirsmartphonestomake online purchasesand searches;local mobileinternettrafficwill seeadrastic
surge inthe comingmonthsandshock manywhostill see mobile asakindof secondarychannel.The
increasedemphasisof mobilesearchhasalreadyinitiateddesignof responsivewebsitesthatgive the
same userexperience onmobile asondesktop.Google now penalizeswebsitesthatdonothave good
responsive designandfail toprovide gooduserexperience tomobile users. Any brandthatwantsto
taste successwill have tothinkmobile first. The subtlechangesinthe SERPto improve consistencyin
designacrossplatformsreaffirm Google’scommitmenttowidenmobile searchplatform andmerge it
seamlesswithdesktopplatform acrossthe globe. Inthat drive mobile platform will take lead.
Long Phrases and Conversational Keywords will rule the roost
Google is seriousaboutyoursearchintentandwants to give youthe rightkind of user
experience.TheHummingbirdupdate broughtaboutaparadigmshiftinthe way Google parses
yourqueries.The introductionof longtailedkeywords orlongersearchphrases signalsGoogle’s
abandonment of itsrudimentarySearchtechnique foramore intelligent phrase-basedquerythat
cannot be hijackedbyblackhat Keywordstuffingpractices whichplaced keyword-stuffedcontentover
the more relevant,useful andauthenticcontentinthe searchresults. Thatdaysare overand gone and
future of the search liesinphraseswhich
No doubtKeywordswill remain importantbutthose oneparticularly toniche-specificbucket. 2015 will
see theircomplete transformation themintoof niche-specificphrasesof three types:informational,

2. navigational andtransactional. Maybe thathasstartedto happenalreadyandyoumightbe also aware
of it;but in2015 it will become atrustedpractice forsure!!
Informational queriesare linked upwith knowledge vaultonthe websites,like white paper,blogs, etc.;
while the transactional queries thatsignal commercial intentleadtocouponsdiscount,buy,andproduct
sales/service contentpage.Navigational queriesleadto yourbrand name,productname,or website.
It is expectedthatGoogle’ssearchalgorithmwillundergofurtherchangestoaccommodate spoken
searches.These includesearchesmade bypeople whentheyspeakintotheirphonesusingamobile
app.Therefore there will be anincrease inthe use of conversational keywordphrasestosuitthe type of
queriesmade.
Hard-earned,Genuine linkswill be awarded
Link buildingwill continue tobe aprimaryfocusfor SEO. However,itwill becomeincreasinglyimportant
to ensure thatyouobtainyour linkshonestly.Google isplacingalotmore emphasisoncleanlink
profiles.EvenIncreasedfocusontrulyearninglinks assearchalgorithmscontinuetoimprove,link
buyingandothersuch strategiestoobtainlinkswillcontinuetohave a negative effectonyourwebsite’s
overall ROI.Since linksare expectedtoremainaprimaryindicatorof a website’svalue,authorityand
trust forsearch engines,thenlinkbuildingthe hintof spammylinkscanhave yourwebsite penalized.It
will become increasinglyimportantforwebmasterstoreview theirlinkprofilesonamonthlybasis.You
have to ensure thatyouremove badlinksandsubmitdisavow filesforthose linksthataren’t
contributingtoyoursite intermsof traffic. We alsoexpecttosee more emphasisplacedonquality
contentand promotionof contentonsocial mediaandotherrelevantwebsites.
Increasedpersonalization
Because Google searchresultsare sohighlypersonalized,itcanbe difficulttogetan accurate ideaof
howa page ranksfor customerswhohave neverbeentoyoursite before andforsearchersinvarious
locations.Usingyourowncomputerand browserwon'tgive youthe answer,because Google is
personalizingyoursearch,too,basedonyourownsearch history.
Trackinglocation-specificrankingsmaybe biasedbyyourIPaddressand the locationsetunderGoogle
SearchTools.Both of these mustmatch yourtarget locationinorderto see true,local results.For
example,if you're inSeattleandwanttocheck how a Houstonrestaurantranks, evenif yousetyour
locationtoHouston,Google will assume fromyourIPaddressthatyou're someone inSeattle searching
for thisrestaurantinHoustonand returndifferentresultsthanitwouldforsomeone onthe groundin
Texas.
A similarproblemcanoccurwhenyou're usingWeb-basedtoolsforSEO.These toolsdoletyoutweak
the locationsettings,buttheycheckthe rankingsviatheirownIPaddresses.Togettrulyaccurate,
unbiasedresults,choose atool like RankTrackerthat automaticallyreturnsde-personalized,unbiased
resultsandalsoallowsyouto setbothlocationfactors.

3. Searchfunctionalitiesare becomingmore sophisticatedinordertoimprove userexperiences.
Consumerswill therefore be exposedtoahigherlevel of personalization.We canexpectthateach
personwill see differentresultswhenmakingthe same query.The resultsshownwillnow dependon
the demographic,geographicalandpsychographicdatagatheredfromthe individual’sprevious
engagementswiththe searchengine.Thismeansthatconversionswill be higherforthose brandsthat
have investedmore inpersonalization.The visibilityof yourbrandtherefore willdependonitsabilityto
become more prominentincontentmarketing
Secure HTTPS
A few weeksagoGoogle officiallyannouncedthatHTTPSwouldnow become a rankingsignal,meaning
that websitesusingsecure encryptionmaygetacertainboost inGoogle rankings.HTTPSisa secure
methodof exchanginginformationacrossthe Webthatusesseveral extrameanstoprotectthe
transferreddata.Fornow,Google says,HTTPS is a "lightweightsignal,"butitmaybecome strongerover
time.
Ever since the "HTTPSrankingsignal"announcement,fearsspreadthatnothavinganSSL certificate
couldpushyour site downinGoogle results,makingmanywebsite ownersstartmovingtheirsitesto
HTTPS withoutproperresearchandunderstanding.
For transactional sites,HTTPShaslongbeena standard.It's a goodpractice to alsouse itfor any site
that collectspersonal information,includingaccountloginsandemail subscriptions,andusingitcan
helpyoubuildusertrust – inadditiontoGoogle love.
But there are costs. For protectingtransferreddata,HTTPSusesSSLtechnology.So,toenable HTTPSfor
your website,youneedtogetan SSL Certificate,usuallyonapaidbasis,and install itonthe server.In
additiontothiscost,all HTTP URLs wouldhave to be permanentlyredirectedandanyabsolute internal
linkswouldneedtobe editedintoHTTPSURLs or intorelative URLs.
If transitioningtoHTTPSwouldbe relativelyeasyforyouor importantforyourbusiness,thenbyall
meansmake the switch.However,if itwouldbe quite difficulttoconverttoHTTPS, itmay not be worth
the burden.Andfora purelyinformational website thatdoesn'thandleanyconsumerdata,at thispoint
there'sprobablynotenoughSEOvalue tomake it worthwhile.
Conclusion
Many SEO expertsagree thatSEO will become more aboutincreasingthe visibilityof brandsacross
multiple platforms. Itwill become increasinglyimportantfor betterconversionrates.SEO will become
increasinglyimportanttoexpandthe presenceof your brandto everycornerof digital space to improve
itsreach to differentcustomers.