“With 500+ changes to Google’s search algorithm per year, it can be easy for an SEO marketer to go crazy trying to keep up with all the changes!”

So, in order to prevent a wave of marketers going to the loony bin (although it may be too late for some), I have compiled a guide of the most important SEO factors to keep in mind that if followed, will help reduce the fatigue and stress of those SEO professionals who think they have to know every detail of every algorithm change that has ever happened.

Instead, let’s look at the big picture of how your Search Rankings Are Influenced.

The following statement is the big picture summary:

It’s how you make sure that your content is the best possible content on the Internet for the words that you care about. Source: www.ama.org

When you understand the big picture of SEO, then many of the details become easier and/or unnecessary. Instead of trying to ‘keyword stuff’ the page with the right ‘buyer’ phrases that have been strategically placed to achieve the optimal keyword density, you think more in terms of writing content that will give the searcher exactly what they were looking for in the first place.

Search Engines have evolved and the idea behind intent cannot be ignored. Metrics such as bounce rate, click thru rate, time on site, pages viewed, site authority and latent semantic indexing all play a part in influencing Search Engines to rank a website or not.

In a nutshell, search engines have gotten smarter and they know if your content meets user expectations. Gone are the days of having a crappy ‘keyword stuffed’ webpage that doesn’t provide valuable content rank high in Google.

Search Engine Trends that Can’t Be Ignored

With that in mind, let’s look at some trends that are staring us in the face in 2016.

Social Media Will Continue to Influence Search Results – Social Media is here to stay and the hive mind matters to Google. Whether we like it or not, the content that is being shared throughout Social Media is a key indicator of its importance. According to an article at www.impactbnd.com, 76% of marketers use Social Media to support and boost SEO.

Videos will Become More Prominent in the SERPS – We all know that videos represent some of the most engaging content on the web. From www.quicksprout.com, we learn that videos get 50 times better organic page ranks in Google than pages that have no videos on them. There are many other sources that confirm just how easier it is to rank videos than plain static web pages. In general, videos can create a better experience for the user and create a greater Search Influence.

Mobile Search Influence Continues to Grow – If your website is not Mobile friendly, then there is no use wasting time and money to try to rank higher in the SERPS. Its not going to happen. It is a well known fact that Google has updated their algorithms to give preference to websites that are mobile friendly. The bar has been raised and it is here to stay. Again, this has to do with the user experience. Your audience is no longer using just one device. They are using a combination of devices that include tablets, smartphones, laptops and even watches. In 2015, Google confirmed that over half of all searches are from Mobile Devices. Source: searchengineland.com

Mobile App Optimization Will Pick Up Steam – Does your business have an app? According to Tech Crunch, mobile apps account for 52% of all time spent on online digital media. Since it is obvious that more and more people are using their smart phones for searches, this influence cannot be ignored. Apps take the functionality of a website and offer it to the user in an easier and faster way. More and more businesses will use apps to not only to provide a greater user experience on mobile devices, but also to attract more customers.

Latent Semantic Indexing is a Mega Trend – In the early days of the search engines, keywords were just matched up with pages. This created an easy way to influence search rankings and spam the system without providing quality content. But with Latent Semantic Indexing, the intent behind the query became more understood and the associated web pages were evaluated based on not just a specific keyword phrase, but rather the combined group of associated phrases that would indicate relevance. In other words, if someone searched for ‘cars’, it was also understood that web pages discussing ‘vehicles’ or ‘autos’ would also be seen as relevant. This development actually provides a greater incentive to content creators to provide the best quality content possible without trying to influence the search engines through repetitive text that sounds unnatural.

Local Search Influence Gains Traction – The location of any business is a significant factor in determining the relevancy of search queries. If someone is in Chicago and searching for ‘restaurants’, then no matter how great the content is of other restaurant websites around the country, the ones in the Chicago area will provide more relevance to the search query.

This is a simple example but it highlights the fact that the search engines have evolved to know where you are located and that the search query is a local search query. As a marketer, it is critical to let people know where you are located and what you are offering so your chances of showing up in as many places as possible increases. According to Entrepreneur.com, local SEO is only going to grow stronger.

In summary, each of these 6 trends show one overall large trend: To continue to reward and influence search rankings for websites that have higher quality content that provides the best user experience for a related keyword phrase. Search Engines have finally passed through that awkward phase of puberty and have matured to the point where they can understand what users want and then sift through billions of pages to determine which content is going to best satisfy the user’s curiosity.