SEO Trends in 2017

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about staying one step ahead of your opponents. In order to give a tough competition, SEO specialists must be aware of the new trends in the present scenario and novel techniques used in bringing heavy traffic to the website. SEO analysts should also know about the latest updates made in the search engine algorithm and create quality content & come up with innovative SEO strategies accordingly to prevent your competitors from catching up. 

Have a look at the below mentioned trends which might help you boost your website ranking this year.

1.  Increased mobile users

One of the biggest changes seen this year is the increase in mobile users, which shows the rising importance of mobile search. So it is worth the effort to make your website mobile-friendly. Web design company Kochi like other international design hubs are now experimenting more and more on giving life to their websites for offering the best user experience.

1.  High quality content

The quality of the content highly influence the search engine ranking of your website. The better the quality, the better the ranking. These days, people are getting bored of reading the same content with altered words again and again in numerous places. So make sure that your content is unique.

2.  Social Media

A major part of branding depend on social media.  The amount of engagement prevailing on social media platforms daily is huge. The users will continue to rely on social media for reviews and updates, thus generating traffic to your website.

3.  Information Graphics (Infographics)

Infographics are the graphic visual representations of any information, knowledge or data intended to convey clearly and quickly. An image attached with information tends to grab people’s attention very easily. Such content generates more social shares and leads. But do ensure that your content is suitable enough to add infographics to it and also try to make it more attractive. Experiment with such content and you are sure to find it very effective.

4.  Blog Commenting

Blog Commenting is a very old technique used and is still trending in 2017. It is an effective way to get backlinks to your website and it will also bring high traffic without using any search engine. But make sure that all your comments add some value.

Phitany is the best web development, web designing and SEO Company in Kochi with creative web designers in Kerala, who offers attractive website designs. As the leading web design company in Cochin, we offer expert solutions with superior quality for web development, web designing, SEO services and other IT related issues. We are team of creative people who are passionate with design, photography, multimedia and other creative things. Phitany represents top web designers in Kerala, professional web developers and enthusiastic digital marketing specialists. Responsive customer service is the success mantra of our present reputation as the best web designing company in Kerala.

SEO Trends in 2017

04:11 digital marketing, seo company, seo trends, seo updates, web design agency, web design company, web development company

Get Ready for Mobile Friendly update May 2016

Test your website for mobile-friendly design today itself, because Google is rolling an update to mobile search results from this May onwards. Google is clearly working to improve mobile search experience. Continuing changes in the search algorithm of its web-based mobile search considering the importance of mobile search, as does its Mobilegeddon algorithm which was released on 21st April 2015. "Mobilegeddon" was the biggest Google algorithm updates of 2015. There was a post namely, 'Continuing to make the web more mobile friendly' on Google webmaster cental blog last month clearly saying that Google is rolling out an update to mobile search results. Google very rarely announces algorithm updates before they are rolled out. So this is the last chance make use of it. Act quickly to make sure your website is mobile friendly, or you could drop out of search completely.


What will be the impact of Mobile Friendly update?

In the blog post Google makes it clear that sites that are already mobile-friendly won’t be impacted by the update. This means that algorithm for judging whether a site is mobile-friendly or not, isn’t going to change, instead its impact on search result is going to change. For websites that are already mobile-friendly is not going to affect by this update instead those sites will continue to benefit from being mobile-friendly.

The impact of Mobilegeddon was not significant, as even it was released last year, some sites without mobile friendly design still holds the ranking before the release of  Mobilegeddon. Google is targeting this condition by this new update. From this May onwards the effectiveness of the algorithm will increase and that could create trouble for those few sites still holding the ranking without mobile friendly design. Algorithm is going to pick up minute details to better optimize results for searchers.


How to check website for Mobile Friendly design?

If you want to check whether your site is mobile-friendly or not, Google provide a simple way to find it. Visit Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test page and enter your web page URL. This test will analyze your URL and report if the page has a mobile-friendly design. Test your site here.

How important is mobile-friendly design?

Mobile friendly design is an important factor how your website is ranked in SERP. The most important reason why should you go mobile-friendly is that the percentage of mobile web searchers are increasing. Last year Google confirmed that more searches are going on mobile than desktop. Without doubt we can say that mobile is the present and future.

If you are looking for a web design company to make your website mobile-friendly, why not consider Phitany? It is the no.1 web design and development company in Kerala today, with a team of creative web designers, skilled web/app developers and experienced SEO professionals. They can revamp or upgrade your existing site to meet Google's standards or build you a brand new custom responsive website that looks stunning on any device. Check out the website for more information. Phitany.com

Get Ready for Mobile Friendly update May 2016

05:08 mobile friendly update, responsive design, seo algorithm update, seo update 2016

100+ Do follow Social Bookmarking Sites 2016 list for SEO Professionals

Social Bookmarking is one of the SEO practise which comes under Off Page SEO. It is a way to bookmark our favourite web pages online to read them anytime and anywhere via internet. At one time it was one of the strong search engine ranking factor. The web pages we bookmarked at social bookmarking sites were considered as a quality backlink in the eyes of search engines few years before. But today the game has changed, now these are not direct ranking factors according to the latest algorithm updates. Still Social Bookmarking helps in SEO. How?

Social bookmarking should be used in a strategic way to get the advantage. Instead of going after links, you can be far better if you understand who your target audience is, what topics do they like to discuss and where do they hang out online. If you know how to build your audience and make them listen, your Digital marketing is going well. Proper social bookmarking can increase the traffic to the website and it also can be used for content marketing. That’s why SEO professionals still include Social Bookmarking in their SEO practices. While choosing social bookmarking sites, do mind the Page Authority(PA) and Domain Authority(DA) to get quality backlinks.

Here is the list of updated 100+ Do follow social bookmarking sites list for 2016. All these social bookmarking sites are verified in April 2016 and listed with its Domain Authority (DA).

SL No	SITE	DA
1	https://www.pinterest.com/	100
2	https://digg.com/	98
3	https://www.reddit.com/	98
4	https://delicious.com/	97
5	http://www.stumbleupon.com/	97
6	https://slashdot.org/	94
7	http://boingboing.net/	90
8	https://control.freefind.com/control.html	88
9	https://www.diigo.com/	83
10	https://www.plurk.com/	82
11	http://xmarks.com/	80
12	https://dzone.com/	78
13	http://newsvine.com/	62
14	http://www.bizsugar.com/	62
15	http://www.folkd.com/	62
16	http://www.linkagogo.com/	57
17	http://youmob.com/	50
18	http://www.leenks.com/	48
19	http://www.whitelinks.com/	48
20	http://www.newsmeback.com/	41
21	http://www.startaid.com/	40
22	http://www.bookmax.net/	37
23	http://www.bookmark4you.com/	35
24	http://murl.com/bookmarks/	34
25	http://www.yemle.com/	34
26	http://www.video-bookmark.com/	33
27	http://1look4.com/	32
28	http://social.wikitechguru.com/	32
29	http://www.zabox.net/	32
30	http://coolpot.com/	31
31	http://www.bynu.info/	31
32	http://www.postolia.com/	31
33	http://bookmarks.ertandonmez.com.tr/	31
34	http://www.webmastershowcase.com.au/	30
35	http://aixindashi.org/	29
36	http://www.sociopost.com/	29
37	http://cocosislandsnews.info/	28
38	http://registertovotetoday.com/	28
39	http://sfcsf.org/	28
40	http://tinyblogs.net/	28
41	http://www.bishtarin.ir/	28
42	http://www.buzzingtopics.com/	28
43	http://www.iesa.co/	28
44	http://www.usefulenglish.net/	28
45	http://addthismark.com/	27
46	http://bookmarkbay.com/	27
47	http://chaoticcoding.info/	27
48	http://punteglias.info/	27
49	http://www.addthismark.com/	27
50	http://www.akonter.com/	27
51	http://6buk.com/	26
52	http://cabaneduvelan.info/	26
53	http://theineptowl.info/	26
54	http://www.emolinks.com/	26
55	https://www.aboogy.com/	26
56	http://freeticketopen.com/	25
57	http://jazbomb.info/	25
58	http://milocalbuilder.com/	25
59	http://pligg.in/	25
60	http://www.ambedo.com/	25
61	http://www.freeticketopen.com/	25
62	http://aperfectimage.info/	24
63	http://pipinews.com/	24
64	http://saintpierreandmiquelonnews.info/	24
65	http://salbithuette.info/	24
66	http://sendgift.info/	24
67	http://www.socialbookmarkzone.info/	24
68	http://www.mettablog.com/	23
69	http://guter-punkt.info/	23
70	http://jordaninfo.info/	23
71	http://newsciti.com/	23
72	http://wildernessact.info/	23
73	http://www.bookmarkfeeds.com/	23
74	http://www.newsciti.com/	23
75	http://www.popzu.com/	23
76	http://www.votetags.info/	23
77	http://bestouyagames.info/	22
78	http://desert-dwellers.info/	22
79	http://www.bookmarkgroups.com/	22
80	http://www.bookmarkingbase.com/	22
81	http://www.prbookmarks.com/	22
82	http://3-peace.info/	22
83	http://midascareteam.info/	21
84	http://transd.info/	21
85	http://uslocalbusiness.com/	21
86	http://www.businesscyclone.com/	21
87	http://www.fulldoze.com/	21
88	http://www.uscommon.com/	21
89	http://www.braniewo.net/	21
90	http://jayrigby.info/	20
91	http://www.americansview.com/	20
92	http://www.bookmarkinghost.info/	20
93	http://www.bookmarks2u.com/	20
94	http://www.onlinewebmarks.com/	20
95	http://www.seobookmarkingsites.com/	20
96	http://www.sscaspirants.com/	20
97	http://www.watchdogarea.com/	20
98	http://x-drl.info/	20
99	http://www.activebookmarks.com/	19
100	http://www.bookmarkwiki.com/	19
101	http://www.ewebmarks.com/	19
102	http://www.greateststory.info/	19
103	http://www.openwebmarks.com/	19
104	http://www.socialbookmarknow.info/	19
105	http://www.windowly.com/	18
106	http://freetrialcc.com/	17
107	http://skinggle.com/	17
108	http://www.a2zbookmarking.com/	17
109	http://www.peoplebookmarks.com/	17
110	http://bloggalot.com/	17
111	http://switchbookmarks.com/	16
112	http://www.a1bookmarks.com/	16
113	http://www.ytgsy.com/	15
114	http://www.heartfitkid.org/	13
115	http://www.stephaniema.org/	10
116	http://www.scoop.it/	87
117	https://www.xing.com/	91
118	http://www.citeulike.org/	79
119	http://www.fark.com/	78
120	http://www.bibsonomy.org/	68
121	http://linkarena.com/	76
122	http://segnalo.virgilio.it/	75
123	http://blinklist.com/	87
124	http://it.toolbox.com/	70
125	http://pinboard.in/	67
126	http://www.pearltrees.com/	72
127	http://netvouz.com/	65
128	http://blogmarks.net/	69
129	http://www.socialmarker.com/	54
130	http://www.bookmarker.work/	1

100+ Do follow Social Bookmarking Sites 2016 list for SEO Professionals

03:05 do follow bookmarking sites, seo off page sites, social bookmarking sites

Facebook Added New Reactions to its 'Like' Button.

Mark Zuckerberg already said last September that, they are trying to make some changes in Facebook 'like' button. Just after 5 months, that is 24th of February 2016 Facebook has officially expanded the Like button and launched "Reactions" globally. This new feature is made up of a variety of faces and a heart. It allows users to express their love, laughter, sadness, anger, or shock through an emoticon. These icons are included in the like button. On simply hover over the Like button on desktop or hold down the Like button on mobile, these icons will appear and you just click any one of them to express your feelings.

Earlier, there were only three options for a user to respond to a post - 'like', 'comment' and 'share' buttons. FB users was regularly making requests to add 'dislike' button or more features to their feelings. Through this new feature Facebook expects more encagement among mobile facebook users. They are measuring emotional responses of all users for all forms of content marketing. Many brands are looking forward to make use of this new feature from Facebook in their business.

Facebook Added New Reactions to its 'Like' Button.

10:40 digital marketing, Facebook Reactions, SEO, SMO, social media updates

Have you noticed the changes in Google Search Engine Result Pages?

When I searched for "web designing companies" in Google last day, the search result appeared with slight changes. I noticed that the Search ads that is usually appearing on the right side of the search result was not there. Google has removed ads from the right side of its search results. After searching on Google I come to know that Google will no longer show ads to the right of its search results, instead it will show four ads at the top with two exceptions. Also Google will show PLAs (Product Listing Ads) and ads in the knowledge graph on the right hand side.

Google’s official statement was like this, “We’ve been testing this layout for a long time, so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries. We’ll continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.”

Lets take a look at these changes on the search result. Here is a screen shot of the Google search result, appeared last week for the keyword "London hotel".

You can see ads showing on the right side. When you search for the same keyword now, you get the result like this.

This roll out of Google affects paid search ads (PPC), search engine optimization (SEO) and businesses. It effect users worldwide in all languages and will bring the desktop experience closer to the mobile experience. Without any doubt PPC gears up from this update. And that's Google is looking for. It will definitely increase traffic to 4 ads sites at the top of a search results page. This demonstrates Google’s preference for paid search over SEO. They constantly are creating challenges for SEO professionals while making more features and customizations for paid search. Lets wait and see how it affects SEO. 

Have you noticed the changes in Google Search Engine Result Pages?

05:08 digital marketing, digital marketing tips, Googlr Adwords, PPC ads, SEO

#NetNeutrality: TRAI prohibits discriminatory tariffs for data

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) releases the Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations. It fully backed net neutrality and effectively killed Facebook’s Free Basics in one of the world’s largest internet markets. "No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on basis of content," TRAI said in a statement.

Nearly for the last 1 year, it was a serious conflict between net neutrality activists and facebook's free basics. Facebook in partnering with the Internet Service Providers tried to control the online traffic in India. But the net neutrality activists strongly opposed this movement. They argued that the internet should be free and equal for all users.

What Net Neutrality means?

Net neutrality means access to free and unbiased internet for anyone from anywhere around the world. All content is equal and all sites must be equally accessible without any discrimination. It also means no matter what telecom operator you are with, you should be able to access all data on the internet at the exact same speed. If you have any internet plan over your mobile or any other device you have the right to access all data over the internet.

As a result of net neutrality law, Facebook's Free Basics and Airtel Zero won't be allowed to be offered in the country. Otherwise users have to pay distinct money for each site they are using. Net neutrality won't allow that. It is a big win for the supporters of net neutrality activists in India.

#NetNeutrality: TRAI prohibits discriminatory tariffs for data

02:42 free basics, internet india, internet.org, net neutrality

Logical SEO Tactics for 2016

Digital marketing world found so many trends in the year 2015. The Panda updates and Mobilegeddon were the algorithm updates in 2015. The immediate impact was unclear, and these updates may take some time to roll out. So, what should you expect for 2016, and how do you create a sustainable SEO strategy to survive the changes in the SEO world?

# Responsive and MobileFriendly Sites

Responsive design is nothing new. One of the Google algorith update this year was regarding mobile-friendly design of the website. Google announces a new open initiative, "AMP" aimed at making pages load more quickly on mobile devices. Based on the trends, we expect that mobile will help to push internet penetration beyond 50% of the world’s population during mid to late 2016. More people are buying hand held devices to access internet instead of desktops and laptops. Business owners need to prepare their website in these hand-held devices. If your website is not mobile friendly your rankings in SERP can fall down.

# App Store Optimization(App Indexing)

It is the process of optimizing mobile apps to rank higher in search results in the app stores. In 2015 mobile apps constitute more than 50% of total time spend on internet by the people. This ratio will increase in the coming year. The main factors included in App Store Optimization are Title, Keywords, Ratings and Reviews. If you are not doing App Store Optimization your apps are not discovered through app store searches.

# Optimized Landing Pages for better conversion

As first impression is the best impression, a landing page should be well optimized to get a positive impression in the minds of customers about the products or service provided by the company. Landing page is where you initiate a relationshipA well-designed landing page can improve your lead generation and sales. Landing page should be simple and it should display exactly what the customers are looking for. The more landing pages you create, the more gateways you open up for search traffic.

# More importance to Social Media

Currently social media is the best platform for digital marketing and even it is one of the factor deciding the website perfomance in the search engine result listings. Update your social media pages everytime with posts, events, status or any other announcements to get in touch with all your followers. Ads on social medias are also important to drive traffic to your site and there by growing sales for your company.

# Heading tags

Proper Use Of H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6 heading elements are also important. Every page must have an h1 tag. Use only one H1 element. You can use multiple elements for remaining header tags. No need to use all six HTML elements but you should not skip any levels (i.e  if any site is introduced with a heading in h1, and a sub-heading in h3, the hierarchy will be broken). It is important to place keywords in those headings, within Heading tags.

# Trace down Competitor’s perfomance

As digital marketing got wide acceptance, the competition in this field is also increasing. We have to focus on keywords and website perfomance in the search engines along with tracing competitor's perfomance. Dont focus on short keywords, instead go for long term keywords with localization. Keenly watch the top rated site perfomance within the industry we are focusing. We should watch their strategy, plans and should be aware how they had become top in the search listings. Then implement those plans along with our site requirements and strategies.

There are some more things to be noted while doing SEO. Site loading time, URL structure, quality contents are some of them. Tactics of SEO should always be updated. Keep reding SEO related blogs and understand the current trends in SEO. Follow blogs from MOZ, Search Engine Journal....

Logical SEO Tactics for 2016

23:28 digital marketing, seo tactics, seo tips