Getting Ahead With Google In 2010! The Latest SEO Trends!

The web community uses Google on an average of 2042 times per second. Standing out from the other search engines, Google has definitely established itself in the World Wide Web and knowing how to “get ahead” with Google will definitely boost your business in 2010.

Did you know that 50% of all searches made are new and unique to that month? This means that there are hundreds of thousands of potential hits out there each day that are yours for the taking if you have the foresight to predict these traffic trends. People are searching for anything and everything you can think of. These range from TV show results to current events, breaking news, sporting events, tragedies, holidays, music, diseases, food recalls, fashion events and even pictures and mug shots of celebrities. According to Google Analytics, people are becoming better “searchers” online. They know that typing in more specific search phrases and including the year (when applicable) is what will return them the most relevant results. These types of searches are called long tailed keywords and Google gives the best relevant results for these. With that in mind we can now move on to the three most important 2010 Google trends!

• Social Media-Real time search effect on back links.
• Engagement- Time spent on site important
• Google Caffeine- load speed more important, change in indexing capabilities

These trends are definitely worth knowing!

1. Social Media-Real time search effect on back links.

Will real time search improve page rank? This remains to be seen. Will keyword laden tweets that are tweeted over and over from different accounts and push a company to the top of a searched term make a difference? Will this be seen as spam? Keyword laden tweets will give great results for a specific term, especially for those difficult to rank terms, and even if your company is atop of tweets for a short time, you may reap some rewards. Real time search is not just the posting of tweets. It also posts company mentions from blog articles. So if your company has a blog, you may want to check out your “Latest” results. In small business branding we have to consider social media marketing as an extension of your brand in the same way that we do traditional advertising.

For some businesses, it is a time of uncertainty. As stated earlier, not every business needs to be on Twitter.

“A ‘basic’ account is better then no account at all.”

But can you still just ignore the social media community? The good news here is that, if you are able to squeeze in an extra hour as a small business owner, you can go and see what terms are popular in your industry, see what is being said about you, and see if you need to move full steam ahead in 2010. Most small businesses will need to do so because social media marketing has just started to make a big impact and getting in now will make a world of a difference in a year or so.

2. Engagement- Time spent on site is important.

Engagement Objects are applications like video, audio files, pictures, maps, charts, macros or polls that you can stick on your Web site in order to actively “engage” your user. For a quick way to get an idea of ways to engage your users, take any Google vertical search and determine what they’re indexing. That content is an Engagement Object. It’s something you put on your page in addition to the rest of your content. Like a tasty garnish to your main course. They’re important not just because of the need to embrace blended search in your SEO strategy, but also because objects like videos and images enhance the user experience, and thus up your chances of a conversion.

So Engagement Objects are definitely something you should look into for your own site as a way to spruce things up a bit. But how would you go about doing that? There’s a myriad of different ways to use Engagement Objects, so how do you know what the right one is for you? Some people call Engagement Objects “link bait,” and in a way that’s true but it’s putting the cart before the horse. The primary goal of an Engagement Object is to interact with your user, not to increase your traffic with a cheap stunt or even as an SEO technique. It’s a simple fact that people like to be entertained (look at prime time television if you need any proof of that) and Engagement Objects can be link bait if they are outrageous or entertaining enough. Clever marketers know how to capitalize on that. So what does this mean for you? Engagement Objects is a large pool to jump into, and getting started could be a little overwhelming. What should you use? And how? Should you do something that’s pure link bait or should it be something that’s there on your site for the long haul?

We’ve put together a list of ten types of Engagement Objects that you can use in order to entertain your visitors, add a little bit to your search engine optimization and score some points in the vertical search engines.

• Online Videos
• Podcasts/ audio files
• Image creation and optimisation
• Macros
• Graphs or charts
• Webcomics
• RSS Feeds/ Maps
• Polls
• Live streaming

3. Google Caffeine- load speed more important, change in indexing capabilities.

In 2010, Google’s search results are becoming more focused on results that are fast, fresh and visual. Now is your chance to get your Website ready to make sure you are part of Google’s first page crowd in 2010. Google is going to judge you based on how fast your web pages load.

“You should aim to have your page load in 3 seconds or less.”

If you are clocking in at over 3 seconds you might try some of the following techniques (which your web master or website designer can help you with): use CSS; limit the amount of Flash on the site; use image heights and widths; check for broken links; compress your JavaScript and CSS; cut back on cookies; review server or hosting provider performance; and remove unnecessary images and links. Static is just not cool anymore – no matter how many people like your site. Demand for fresh and new content is on the rise. Make sure your content is updated very frequently and is keeping up with the times.

Incorporate a news feed and a blog.

Not sure what to blog about? Subscribe to industry newsletters or blogs. Similarly, sign up for Google Alerts, or check out Yahoo Answers to get the ideas flowing. With Caffeine comes a stronger blend of more visually appealing results. Images are going to have a front row seat so make good use of images on your website. Don’t go overboard here, but just enough to help get your message across to visitors. Google’s 2010 results also blend in real-time results from social networks, so it’s important to make sure you have an active and popular presence in those spots. If you haven’t already – create a Facebook page and Twitter account for your business and get active! Instead of that single URL, Google is now displaying breadcrumbs in the search results – giving your display a chance to be much easier to digest and providing multiple links for searchers to click on so they can easily get to the best spot on your website.

If you think your search engine results page (SERP) listing would be better served with this display, you’ll need to make sure your website has clear breadcrumb navigation. These are the new trends the geniuses at Google have developed and knowing them will ensure that your website is search engine optimized for 2010!