In January and February 2016 I returned to Australia and presented at the SEO Meetups event in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne. The session touched on the topic of where we have come from over the last few years, what is happening in search now and what will the next few years bring us. The topic touched on SEO, Content Marketing, App Marketing, Internet of Things, Social Media and Virtual Reality.

1. SEO Meetup Event
January 2016

2. Who am I? I’m a SEO Product Manager for eCG

3. What ebay classifieds group brands I worked with?

4. Evolution of Search
Where have we come from over last few years?

5. Google’s evolution upto 2013 (before Apps/AMP)
Source: http://insidesearch.blogspot.nl/2013/09/fifteen-years-onand-were-just-getting.html

6. Thinking back to the good old days
Limited number of AdWords results
No Carousels
No Answer Boxes
No Universal Search
No Knowledge Graph
Limited Related Search links
No Ratings/Review schema
You required a click to a website for the information
Mobile wasn’t a thing really
Apps were a second thought
More exact match domains ranked
Low quality content dominated the SERPs
Google often got UK and AU content mixed up

7. End of 2012 Google got aggressive on webspam
Source: https://www.highposition.com/blog/visible-search-without-page-one-position-one/

8. In 2014 webspam became even more of a focus
Source: https://blogs.agriya.com/2015/03/18/history-google-algorithm-updates-2014/

9. Algoroo focuses on AU specific algorithm shifts
Source https://algoroo.com/

10. Shift in Search
What changes made an impact or could impact you?

11. Google these days giving most common answers

12. Google these days driving more related searches

13. Google these days… no need to click

14. Google allows for product comparison

15. Google allows for animal comparison...

16. Google answers more questions

17. Google gives cooking tips

18. Google offers interactive widgets

19. Google is learning about it’s users

20. Google is learning about it’s users

21. Google is helping you find flights to book

22. Google is helping answer historical questions

23. Google answers are going beyond first answer

24. People also searched for results are extensive

25. TV Show Spoilers are right in the SERPs
Photo Credit: https://twitter.com/aleyda

26. Linked Queries could work better

27. Multiple questions now being answered

28. Google Shopping results showing more often

29. Presidential candidates get custom results
Source: https://googleblog.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/republican-debate-presidential-politics.html

30. Mobile UI is changing to show tabbed results
Spotted by https://twitter.com/1TGbingo

31. Mobile UI is changing to show no organic results

32. Mobile weather experience has no organic results

33. Voice search is slowly gaining adoption

34. Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Source: https://www.ampproject.org/

35. Facebook Instant Articles (mobile content)
Source: https://instantarticles.fb.com/

36. Shift in Search
What is happening in the app space?

37. Mobile growth is still happening but slowing
Source http://www.statista.com/statistics/274677/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-inaustralia/

38. Number of free mobile app downloads
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/241587/number-of-free-mobile-app-downloads-worldwide/

39. Number of paid app downloads
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/241589/number-of-paid-mobile-app-downloads-worldwide/

40. Facebook App Links can drive traffic to your app

41. Google is working on improved App discovery

42. Streaming of apps, no download needed

43. Google offering app installs within browser
Source: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ArtemRussakovskii/posts/dmdE7dzCw3J

44. Google AdWords App Promotion Options

45. Google Testing Interactive Interstitial Ads

46. Other Paid Products to Promote Apps
iAds - Closed June 30th 2016
Facebook Ads
Twitter Ads
Criteo (remarketing)
Incentivised Downloads

47. Facebook & Google dominate top Apps
Source: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/tops-of-2015-digital.html

48. Google App-Indexing will continue to expand

49. Bing also supports App Linking from SERPs

50. iOS Search API will start to gain traction
iOS Spotlight search adoption is low but steadily
growing as users discover it and it’s algorithm
improves.
iOS Spotlight search can surface content within
your apps
iOS Search API will cannibalize your organic
traffic from iOS device as Google is removed
from the search process
iOS Search API can start to drive downloads of
your mobile app

51. App Integrations will become essential
Source: https://newsroom.uber.com

52. WeChat shows the power of a app platform
• Instant Messaging
• Public Accounts for providing services
• Subscription Accounts for content
• WeChat Payment (p2p, bill payment)
• WeChat Wall (transfer,pay,wallet)
• City Services (book appointments, pay bills,
traffic fines, book transport)

53. Personal Assistant, ChatBots & Customer Service

54. Offer assistance without search or other apps

55. Messaging Apps are kinda popular...
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-future-of-texting-e-commerce-1451951064

56. Mobile messaging app user penetration in AU
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/486485/mobile-messaging-user-reach-australia/

57. Mobile messaging app users in Australia
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/485672/number-of-mobile-messaging-users-australia/

58. Shift in Search
What is happening in the local space?

59. Bing Integrates TripAdvisor Reviews in Local

60. Importance of local listings, reviews and ratings

61. Importance of local listings, reviews and ratings

62. Facebook is chasing after more local traffic

63. Facebook is chasing after more local business

64. Shift in Search
What is happening in the social space?

65. Facebook might get search right?

66. Social Networks spill over into the Search space
Social platforms offer
Google Organic Results
Integration into Universal Search
Alternative Traffic sources
Paid Targeted Options
Paid Amplifications
Diversification of traffic
Social Platforms are working on
Better cross-platform experience
Better internal search
Less reasons to leave their platforms
More ways to engage with users
Growing their advertising features

67. Google will expand Twitter integration
Source: https://googleblog.blogspot.nl/2015/05/tweets-take-flight-in-google-app.html

68. Pinterest will expand their ecommerce reach

69. Shift in Search
What is happening in the content space?

70. Hyper personalisation of content is getting better

71. Hyper personalisation of content is getting better

72. Hyper personalisation of content is getting better

73. Great content is required for success!
You should focus on GREAT content!
- it will attract new users
- it can lower bounce rate
- will increases pages/session
- will increase time spent on site
- will create conversions/transactions
- Can generate shares on social
- Will attract natural links
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/amanky/351269265/

74. Great content is required for success!
Think mobile first! Is the content mobile friendly?
Is the page size mobile friendly? 15mb images don’t work? Flash is bad!
Think how the content can be shared, how can you amplify it?
How will your content will look when being shared on social media?
Content takes longer to show impacts than it did previously, it’s not an
instant fix!
Content needs more than just text, think interactive elements, images,
video…
Great content requires investment!
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/itsmeritesh/10470324244/

75. Rise of ad blockers will affect your monetization
Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/graphiti/544716/the-fast-rise-of-ad-blockers/

76. Now you have 4 Pillars of SEO
TECHNICAL
CONTENT
OFFSITE
APPS

77. Future of Search
What is already here and what is coming soon

78. Big Data is required to scale up marketing
Understand historic & seasonal trends
Allow for predictive analytics
Optimise for conversions
Optimise for revenue
Understand your internal link graph
Evaluate performance of social
Be able to spot patterns
Be able to spot opportunities
Be able to understand what content works

79. Voice Search takes center space in your home
• Plays all your music using just your voice
• Immersive, 360º omni-directional audio
• Allows hands-free convenience with voice-control
• Answers questions, reads audiobooks and the news,
reports traffic and weather, gives info on local businesses,
provides sports scores and schedules
• Controls lights and switches with compatible WeMo,
Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, and
other smart home devices
• Always getting smarter and adding new features and skills
more than 95 added since product launch

80. Wearables will end up getting it right eventually
Mostly Voice Activated
Limited interaction options
Most still require daily charging
Powered by Voice Search
Most still depend on Mobile/Tablet device
Have no browsers
Support limited number of apps
Limited consumption of content
Crowded market
Estimated market size - 5 mil iOS & 2 mil Android
Benefits of Wearables?
Always with you
Always on
Always contactable
Always connected...

81. Consider the impact of Apple TV on content

82. Are you ready for Android TV?

83. Android Auto only wants select app partners

84. Apple CarPlay leads to more content consumed

85. Google Cardboard is a mass market solution
Source: https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/

86. Oculus Rift for consumption of premium content

87. Microsoft Hololens could change web interactions
Source: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us/experience

88. Bing will rise powered by Windows 10
Windows 10 on
200 million
devices and
aiming to Reach
1 Billion Devices
by 2018
Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/04/windows-10-now-active-on-over-200-million-devices/

89. IoT - Google’s Brillo & Weave
Source: https://developers.google.com/brillo/

90. IoT – Brita Filter with Amazon Dash Replacement
Source: http://amzn.to/1Riiovp

91. IoT - Samsung Smart Fridges
Source: http://www.samsung.com/global/ces2016/familyhub/

93. Where to find me online?
https://www.facebook.com/DavidIwanow/
https://twitter.com/davidiwanow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iwanow
https://plus.google.com/+DavidIwanow