2013 Predictions for Website Design, SEO, Social Media and Content Strategy

It is definitely the start of a new year. My inbox, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other feeds are full of “predictions for 2013”. Some are interesting, like this one – 21 Social Media Predictions from the Pros. Others are short and sweet…. and rather predictable predictions. I thought I’d put together my own predictions for 2013, for website design, social media, SEO and content strategy.

Google will continue to hone its SEO algorithm. And any new releases will be named after a black and white animal.

• There were far too many updates in 2012 to count. Thankfully SEOMOZ keeps up with them. I would expect even more ways that Google is helpful to quality content publishers.
• Also, Google+ isn’t going anywhere. Heard of author rank?

More companies will be focused on content strategy and more websites focused on fresh, quality content.

• With the continued updates to Google’s search algorithm, websites are being forced to produce quality content that attracts organically or be blacklisted. Also, as more users become particular about where they spend their time (and money), there will be less time for browsing sites using deceptive black hat SEO methods such as keyword stuffing.

Websites, social media, SEO and content strategy will all be focused on results and user experience.

• As more and more data is gathered and available to businesses, user experience is becoming more personalized. Whether they know it or not or want it or not, users of the web will soon be delivered a better quality experience with the brands they love, because those brands will know they’re loved.

Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.

• More and more users are buying tablets and smart phones than desktops and laptops anymore. Which means more websites are being viewed via mobile devices. It’s important to businesses to continue to enhance their web branding for mobile viewing. Many website design firms (*ahem* raises hand…) are choosing to use responsive themes to avoid building an entirely new website.

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More businesses will look to Instagram as a new social media channel.

• Sure, Instagram scared and lost many users following its TOS changes a few weeks ago, however, the company is owned by Facebook. And Facebook pisses off its users all the time. It’s still not going anywhere anytime soon.
• Also, with the influx of data coming at us at every moment, web users are looking for content that captures their attention quickly. Not everyone can write a catchy headline, however, a nice visual on Instagram just may get someone to click through and buy.

Brands will nail down their marketing channels.

• With so many new social media channels, many businesses have tried being “everywhere” only to find limited engagement. As more measurement tools are offered and available, organizations are able to learn and listen where their audience is speaking the loudest. These metrics will enable a focused approach to create better engagement with high quality brand influencers.

PR, Customer Service, Social Media and SEO will learn to work together.

• Public Relations professionals already know how to write content and handle crisis communications. Customer Service is already trained to listen. Instead of disparate systems all trying to keep the brand sparkling and the customer happy, I predict that these teams will come together, learn from and teach each other to create a better brand experience altogether.

All in all, I predict a simplification of tools and processes with more of a results-oriented, higher quality approach to building and maintaining a presence online.

Would you agree? What would you like to see in 2013? Leave your comments below.

Photo from Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com