How Has SEO Changed in 2017?

The Internet has been providing businesses with an opportunity to grow in ways that weren't available just a few decades ago. One of the primary ways that businesses have been growing is through the use of search engine optimization (SEO). Since the search engines first came into existence, optimizing the content on your website so that you showed up in the results has been a priority. The same is also true today, but how has SEO changed in 2017?

First of all, it's important to understand that SEO still adheres to many of the same principles that have always been in place. Although there have always been some fly-by-night tactics and black hat optimization techniques, these tend to go by the wayside very quickly. When you optimize with quality content on your website and through the proper outreach for link building purposes, you don't run a foul on the Google Webmaster guidelines. It is now and always will be the best option for optimization.

That doesn't mean, however, that things haven't changed in recent years. 2017 is no different, and it is important for you to keep up on the latest if you want to compete in today's connected world. Many people have thrown in the towel when it comes to SEO, feeling as if it is impossible to rank after the latest barrage of algorithm changes. You might be surprised to learn, however, that it is not only possible to write, it is possible to write quite well.





What I am personally seeing is a swing back towards more appropriate On-Page Optimization. The guidelines of which are right there on display for us if we simply reverse engineer the tops sites that Google favors in the SERPs.

One mistake that I made going into 2017 was not paying close attention to my title tags. Through some processes of elimination, I have realized that the more words that you throw into a title tag may dilute the effectiveness of the ranking.

For instance, if I want to rank my site for "SEO Manhattan", I am better off making sure that the exact keyword is in the title tag as opposed to "Find and SEO agency in Manhattan." I can always create a separate page for the term "seo agency" on my site.

If you have a title with 2 words vs. 5 words, you can imagine that the potency of the ranking for a specific keyword is elevated when you use a more exact search term rather than a more diluted search term with multiple words and thus a lower Title KW density.



Google is showing favoritism to certain websites, so it is important for you to fall under that umbrella. One of the ways in which Google is favoring websites is through local search.  I will have to discuss local SEO tactics in another post.

If you own and operate a localized business, you can take advantage of this through the proper optimization techniques such as the Map Pack (aka Snack Pack).

Another factor is being mobile responsive with Google's AMP. As the internet shifts to more mobile, Google wants you to consider how to make your site provide the best user experience on their mobile device.

One other factor that is very important to understand is authority. Google is highly favoring authority websites, but that doesn't mean you can't compete. When you optimize your website properly and utilize SEO techniques, you can become the authority and capitalize on that traffic.

Search engine optimization is here to stay. It has been benefiting businesses for many years and in 2017, it is still the best way for you to drive traffic to your website.