Discover the Latest in Search Trends

If you’re a website publisher or search affiliate you understand just how important search trends can be and how they can significantly impact revenue. In fact, it’s a very rare occasion that search trends don’t impact lead generation and earning potential. Just ask those penalized by Penguin or Panda.

Now, more than ever before content marketers are shifting from producing content for the sake of ranking, and using analytics from search and social data to create user focused content. By building sites with “better” content, affiliates can attract targeted traffic that’s more likely to convert.

While highly focused content will be important to SEO strategy in 2016, so will technical optimization. What’s on the page will be just as important as what’s working behind the scenes to help you rank.

Here are the top 5 search trends that will impact online revenue in 2016

Get mobile optimized or get left behind

In 2015 Google confirmed that more searches were performed on mobile devices than on desktop computers in 10 countries including the U.S. While desktop still beats mobile in terms of lead generation success, those results may shift in 2016 as even more searches are performed on mobile. While optimizing your site and lead gen form for mobile may seem like a daunting task, you won’t want to miss out on the potential revenue earned by making a few responsive adjustments. Those with mobile apps should experience increased revenue in 2016, as 42% of all mobile sales generated by top merchants came from mobile apps last year, according to a report in Search Engine Land.

Use structured data markup to communicate with SERPS

Google has been promoting the use of structured data markup for the past few years, and now they’re making updates to make it vital to search success. In 2015, Google began using a machine-learning system known as RankBrain. The goal of this technology is to better understand the intent behind a search query, and to inevitably provide better SERP results. To prepare for these updates web developers will need to focus on incorporating structured data markup to help websites communicate with search engines. Markup like that found on schema.org can more accurately define the content on a page and display results accurately to potential visitors. Once your site has been updated with structured data you can check your work using Google Webmaster tools.

Optimize UX

How your site is structured matters to users, not just search engines. If your site isn’t easy to navigate you’ll lose out to the competition. Lay out your site for success by making it easy to navigate and search. Digital marketing website Search Engine Land estimates that 50% of potential sales are lost because customers can’t find what they’re searching for. To optimize for user experience use data from Google Analytics and Webmaster tools. In Webmaster Tools you can use the Search Analytics tab to study your pages. Look for those pages not visited, they may be too difficult to find within your current navigation. In Google Analytics the user flow tool shows the path visitors take when landing on your site. If you see users rapidly click through pages then bounce, it’s likely you’re site is difficult to search.

Tighten up link quality or fear the wrath of the Penguin

Penguins are cute creatures you can’t help but love. Google’s Penguin updates on the other hand often lead to depression and disdain. If your rankings weren’t affected by the last Penguin update you were lucky, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get caught in the crossfire this time around. To avoid Penguin penalties follow linking best practices. Review your link profile by using Google Analytics or Open Site Explorer. Focus on earning backlinks from authoritative websites that will positively impact your ranking. Review your backlink profile to make sure there are no links to spam sites. If you do find any suspicious links you can disavow them using Google, but proceed with caution. Only disavow spam links that you believe are negatively impacted your site, or are highly likely to cause issues with future updates. Google warns that disavowing links can negatively impact your site’s performance.

Update that social profile

To succeed in search you’ll have to do much more than optimizing your site for SEO. Revenue in 2016 will be dependent upon your brand’s ability to master all digital fronts, including social. Facebook is updating its user search experience, providing brands with the ability to capture audience attention more easily than before. By updating and optimizing your Facebook page, about section, and posts you’ll have the ability to outrank your competitors on Facebook search. Apply SEO strategies, and use top converting terms when describing your business on social. If you have a developer handy, have them utilize the open graph protocol to tell Facebook how you want your content shared on your page.

Generate more revenue in 2016 by getting ahead of search trends. By utilizing these strategies you’ll earn more as a publisher or affiliate marketer. Want to learn more about how you can increase your affiliate earnings? Sign up to become an ArrowShade affiliate and contact us today.