Blogging, in one form or another, has existed for nearly as long as the internet itself. And, much like the internet, the practice of blogging has changed a lot in that relatively short time span. It’s reasonable to expect blogging to continue to adapt in the coming years as well. But what does the future of blogging hold exactly? How will businesses utilize blog content over the next five, ten, or even twenty years? Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing for sure. Still, we’re going to offer our best guesses about how blogging will progress in the immediate future, so that you can plan with greater confidence now. Check out our predictions here:
Increased Prevalence of Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are a fascinating development in the history of Google. Over the past several years, over 100,000 search terms have garnered a featured snippet. These snippets come in the form of a short bit of text, a list, or even a graph that addresses a search query, and they appear at the top of a search-engine results page (SERP). Furthermore, Google has begun to introduce “doubled” featured snippets for certain terms. This essentially means that the entire top half of the SERP is devoted to snippets.
It makes sense for Google to pursue this tactic further because it’s user-friendly; rather than having to click on a website to find an answer, searchers can get the info they need straight from Google. Without going too far in-depth on the matter, featured snippets present somewhat of a double-edged sword for marketers. On one hand, they’re quite beneficial because they allow businesses that write excellent, to-the-point content to “jump over” more established competitors and grab valuable exposure. However, occupying a featured-snippet spot may also lead to a decrease in traffic to that webpage.
Revised Content
Some businesses have maintained a blog for five or more years already. That means they’ve covered a wide variety of subjects, which makes it difficult to write “fresh” content. As such, many marketers are going back through their archives and updating old content. Remember, the internet is not an archive; it’s a constantly-evolving landscape. If you find yourself struggling to come up with new blog topic ideas, then going back to your previous work can provide some quick inspiration.
Long, Informative Pages
In this respect, the future is already here. The rise of pillar pages over the past several years has ushered in a period where blogs have more in common with massive Wikipedia pages than short articles. The movement toward rich, dense blog content has occurred for two primary reasons: first, longer content has a greater opportunity to rank for competitive search terms, and second, searchers gravitate toward long-form content. In general, these pieces can answer more questions and cover more ground than shorter ones.
Keywords
If blogging for a long period of time has taught us anything, it’s that keywords still matter. Though the keyword has been declared “dead” on multiple occasions, the fact remains that they still hold weight. True, practices like keyword stuffing have long fallen out of favor, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore keyword research or on-site optimization. Unless the nature of search engines alters drastically, keywords will likely hold a place in marketing strategy for years to come.
Blogging Beyond SEO
Having said that, it stands to reason that blogs will evolve beyond mere tools to boost SEO rankings. Indeed, that transition is already occurring. While blogs still provide a tangible benefit in regard to SEO, their primary purpose is shifting to address search queries directly. Blogs are, at their best, rich sources of information that provide definite answers. And a switch toward that ideal way of thinking will benefit both businesses and consumers alike!
Final Thoughts
The only constant is change. Rather than worrying about how you’ll handle changes to SEO rankings in the future, it’s best to attempt to maximize your blog’s impact today. If you’re ready to take your content to the next level, then contact the Agile & Co. team here. We have years of experience optimizing content across numerous industries, and we will improve your business’s marketing efforts. Plus, for more information about how to generate more leads through your website, check out our free eBook here:
