Will SEO Exist in 5 Years?
Over the past few years, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has been a valuable part of any successful digital marketing campaign. SEO is constantly evolving and is expected to go through some major transformations in the coming years, but SEO will still be around in five years time.
With algorithms regularly updating, SEO professionals need to remain updated with the latest updates and trends, user behaviours, technical advancements and more. It is reasonable to say that SEO will be around in five years from now, though it is going to go through some transformations in the next five years.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
We use Google as an example of a search engine, as they hold the majority of the market share. Google is constantly refining and updating their algorithms to provide uses with personalised and relevant results. AI and machine learning play an important role in the evolution of SEO, adapting to our intent and behaviour.
It is expected that SEO strategies will need to align with the evolving algorithms, focusing more on context, natural language, and user intent over the next five years.
Voice Searches
Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa have introduced voice search, something that has become essential in any effective SEO strategy. With more people using their voice and talking into their device to find products, services, and information, content needs to be adapted to match conversational queries, using long tail keywords.
Content Quality
Up until a few years ago, companies could increase their ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) by publishing high volumes of content. It didn't matter if the content was low quality. Today there is more emphasis on the value you provide your users, therefore content must be high quality and relevant.
User Experience
It is expected that in the next five years more focus will be on user experience in SEO strategies. User experience (UX) is already important to SEO and include page load times, responsive designs, and ease of navigation. With advancements in technology, SEO enhancements must be made to your website to ensure the best user experience.
The Future of SEO
While SEO will still exist in five years from now, there are also numerous factors that will influence the future of search engine optimisation, starting with search engine algorithm advancements.
Search engines are not going to stop focusing on providing their users with a great user experience. SEO will need to continue to adapt to the evolving and changing algorithms as they are introduced, ensuring that you are not penalised and lose ranking.
Search intent and behaviours could change considerably in the next five years as technology continues to evolve and new technologies are introduced. With the growth in virtual reality and augmented reality, we could see new search behaviours and interfaces being introduced.
Digital marketing strategies have already been impacted by privacy concerns, along with regulatory changes. Future regulations could impact targeting methods, along with data collection. This will require SEO to align with strict guidelines to remain effective.
SEO Remains Important for Next 5 years
The aim of any SEO strategy is to improve your brand visibility in search results. Businesses are not going to stop relying on organic traffic from search engines to improve conversion rates, helping them achieve long term success. This means that in five years, search engine optimisation, is still going to be very important to digital marketing strategies.
So will SEO exist in 5 Years? Yes definitely, though there will be major shifts and transformations taking place in the next five years. SEO specialists understand the importance of staying updated with the latest updates and trends to ensure websites continue to enjoy online success. If you handle your own SEO strategy and are concerned where SEO will be in five years, continue what you are doing and ensure you remain updated with the algorithm updates to ensure all your efforts are not in vain.