OntoSearch

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a continually evolving field. By improving website content and the many elements the Google, Yahoo! and MSN’s Bing use to rank internet sites, SEO specialists work to improve their clients’ ranking and visibility. As search engines change their criteria and the Web changes with new applications, SEO needs to adapt. What will we see in the future? There are a number of emerging trends afoot, some of which promise to transform the way search engines rate internet sites along with what SEO professionals require to do to keep up. GILL Media has watched these trends closely. Here are five of the developments that will change searches and search engine optimization in the next five years.

4G Smartphones

Fourth generation (4G) cell phones (so-referred to as “smartphones”) promise to supply rich-content web access by means of improved connectivity and seamless roaming. Convenient true Web access will mean that it’s no longer necessary to create lo-fi versions of web sites. On the other hand, the cell phone interface favors a various way of surfing, where users have access to widgets and aggregated content through a single application. Typing in URLs or performing searches is less convenient on a phone, so websites will have to optimize themselves to either appear in well-known aggregation hubs, or bundled with applications that perform a service.

Next Generation Localization

4G networks also herald the next step in localized searches. A mix of GPS functionality, street level imaging and records of physical addresses will lead to what experts have known as “augmented reality.” You’ll be able to look by way of your phone’s camera to not only see whatever the lens is pointing at, but the web addresses, contact data and other on-line data associated with whatever you see. There are already some primitive applications that do this, and in time this will turn into a routine way of meshing the Web with everyday life. Businesses will will need to come across some way to stand out in the barrage of data, particularly in dense urban areas.

The Real Time Web

Twitter supplied the first taste of the real time public Web. SMS broadcasting and services like Google Wave will finish the job, offering up to the second information on common sites and trends. Google has already listed real time search updates as an objective. As a result, future site promotions will have to be far much more dynamic than they presently are. SEO experts will want to provide a stream of normal content and buzz to maintain web sites in the evolving conversation.

Improved Semantics

Web semantics (the relationship between words and their meanings) is in its infancy. The ultimate goal is a search engine that not only indexes data, but in fact understands what it is, at least in relation to search queries. As search engines improve title tags and other coding signals (meta data, CSS structure) will be much less important than the overall “tone” of the content — regardless of whether it seems to have a strong or weak relationship with its target search term. Search engines will comprehend synonyms and slang greater. This puts the focus back on content over coding.

User Mashups

Mashups (user generated combinations) of internet sites and services are presently delivered in a “top down” fashion via applications and social bookmarking web sites such as Digg. Eventually 1 or much more generalized applications will evolve that not only make it effortless for the average person to mash up content, but could even automate the method based on the user’s search history. To get noticed, websites will have to find synergy with other people to form vertical communities.