Many have pondered just how much the art of search engine optimization will change in the coming years – and they do so for a variety of reasons. Some may simply want to plan ahead, hopefully being able to anticipate changes as they are doled out by Google and other major search engines. Others are simply curious as to the effects technology will continue to have on standard optimization protocols. Many wonder if the world of SEO will even resemble what it does today in five or ten years. We have come up with several concepts that may be the future trends for search engine optimization in the coming years.

Page Rankings

We have seen the algorithms regarding page rankings by Google and others change quite a bit over the past few years, and the future would seem to have many similar changes in store for us. One major reason page rankings are constantly being tweaked is that search engines find new and better ways to prioritize content. There is also the need to shake things up as webmasters and SEO firms learn how to exploit existing algorithms to their advantage. One of the main reasons changes in algorithms continue to occur is to keep webmasters on their toes and constantly producing new and exciting content.

Involvement of Social Media

In past years, social media played virtually no role in how websites were prioritized by major search engines. When search engine spiders were out pinging servers, they simply ignored the posts, links and articles on major social networking avenues. This, however, is changing and we expect that over the next few years, social networking will become heavily involved with SEO. Many already note the effect that it is having on search engine optimization, but there is still a lag between the way algorithms calculate social impressions and the virality they provide.

Site Performance

Another attribute that is likely to change in the future pertains to where and how a given website is accessed. Cloud computing is making it easier than ever to host sites and provide the added speed that is needed to keep traffic flowing. Those sites that fail to have performance upgrades may find their traffic begin to dwindle as users go to sites more adept at handling the high-intensity traffic that may be experienced. Even nowadays, it is always a good idea to be pinging servers that you control to make sure latency is not a problem. It is also possible that in the future, search engines will take latency into account and rank your sites accordingly.

Summary

While nobody can be for sure what the future holds in regards to search engine optimization, it is virtually certain that what works today will not work tomorrow. The best thing any webmaster or SEO expert can do is to remain aware of any new trends appearing in the world of web development and search optimization, which will guarantee that you do not miss the evolution of the industry as it occurs. By staying connected to industry blogs, doing your own periodical research and trying new tactics as they are discovered, you will always be just one step away from the future of SEO.