How to Forecast SEO Trends
If you could look into a crystal ball and see what the next big thing in SEO will be, you could become the trendsetter who gets all the business first. But crystal balls with visions of the future don’t exist, and if you want to get an idea about what the coming trends in SEO are going to be, for your company at least, you are going to have to teach yourself how to do a little SEO forecasting.
Although the entire SEO world is held up by Google’s standards and the many ranking factors that the search engine wants a website to have before it gets a good position, there are still all sorts of SEO trends that come and go.
And many trends have become so popular that their effect is felt long after the fact.
SEO trends goes beyond the ranking factors. In fact, trends often have nothing at all to do with what Google is up to and instead the trends are often customer and behaviour focused.
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What is SEO Forecasting?
SEO forecasting is something that the best SEO agencies will do as a part of their day to day business, but it is also something that you can learn to do, if you want to be more hands on with your online marketing. With forecasting, the process is all about looking at the data and the analytics of search traffic and creating patterns from what you see. Patterns are created through the repetitive behaviour or repetitive data that you come across in your analysis. Forecasting can be used by anyone with a website and it can really help your brand over the long term.
Why is forecasting important?
A lot of online selling is a seasonal thing. If you have been in business for long enough, you should have noticed that at some times of the year are just busier than others, and if you can pinpoint where your selling season falls and what factors affect it, you will be able to harness that data, alter your campaign, and make more money.
Forecasting will also help you to predict exactly when the site traffic and resulting sales are going to drop off, giving you time to set your expectations while preparing your company for the slower days.
Marketing and sales do not have to be unpredictable, and you don’t have to be stuck without sales at the worst time, but only if you have the knowledge and put that knowledge to good use.
Forecasting SEO
It’s a 4 step process that will change the way you look at marketing. When done right you will have access to information unique to your company.
Step 1 – Get the Data
Gathering data is the natural first step in the process. Without data, you are not going to be able to do any kind of forecasting. One of the best place to get data that is representative of your website and your traffic, is to go onto Google Analytics, and this is why it is important that you set up analytics on your site well before it even goes live.
You will want information that goes as far back as possible in order to identify patterns and those seasonal changes.
Step 2 – Look at Outside Factors
Not everything that affects your business is due to your industry or the time of year. Sometimes something like a Google algorithm change, a marketing campaign, or a sale, can have an effect on the patterns that you are seeing. You need to consider these factors when doing the analysis.
Step 3 – Try a Forecasting Tool
There are quite a few very helpful options when it comes to forecasting tools and each is designed to help you plan where you are going from here. Sometimes it is best to use a couple of different options and then compare the results to see if they are accurate. Most forecasting tools are automated but once you get used to using one, you can actually create your own in-house template to customise you reports further and make them more precise.
Ahrefs and Moz both offer excellent forecasting tools but you will need to pay for them. If you are looking for a free option to practice your forecasting, consider using Prophet by Facebook and Google Data Studio.
Step 4 – Analyse
Once you have everything in front of you, you need to start putting all of the pieces together to see the bigger picture. Along with patterns for peak periods, you should also look at weaknesses and areas where changes are necessary.
Now that you know what forecasting is and how to get started, it is a good time to mention that forecasting is in its essence a prediction.
You should not base the foundation of your entire SEO strategy on your forecast, but instead take lessons from it. And you should definitely not forget to include your keywords in your forecasting analysis, as this is one of the most obvious places where the trends can be predicted for your industry.
If you liked this article you might also be interested in, how to create the best backlink strategy, and, the importance of finding quality backlinks for SEO.
