Working on SEO on a daily basis to hope to see your ranking take off is good. However, many e-tailers are nowadays very numerous on the same market and position themselves on the same key queries. What if you were to take the plunge? In this article, we talk about predictive SEO, which refers to two very different concepts. The first is to predict future trends to position yourself on them before anyone else. The second is to anticipate the results of SEO work at a given time, whether it be technical, content or netlinking. To discover the advantages of predictive SEO, the tools to use and the pitfalls to avoid, read our guide on the subject!
First tool to build your predictive SEO: human logic
It seems so obvious that this option is often forgotten. Humans know how to anticipate some aspects of their future by correlating logic, the future and a little imagination. When you decide to explore new niches to prepare your SEO strategy, your common sense must become your first tool. Indeed, thinking about the raw data and imagining its evolution can already help you develop ideas that are as profitable as they are promising.
Anticipating decisions of sought-after brands
If you develop a stable business relationship with your suppliers, or even your competitors' suppliers, consider discussing their plans with them. They may be able to provide you with clues to get ahead of your competition.
For example, if you hear that a brand in your catalogue is working on a new product range, you can take this information into account to include this future range in the architecture of your online shop.
You can also prepare the ground by enriching your e-commerce blog on this subject in advance. Indeed, if a brand sells linen household linen and is preparing a range in recycled cotton, you can easily address the subject to position yourself on the key queriesin advance.
Feeling the merger between large companies
How do you find out about the most secret plans of big companies, such as a merger? The clues may be small, but if you follow the news of companies whose strategy or products interest you, some information will jump out at you.
Let's take the example of ARIIX, a company specialising in Multi-Level Marketing and the sale of wellness products. In 2019-2020, it performed remarkably well and won numerous awards in its field of activity. During 2020, rumours of a merger with NewAge began to circulate. At that time, NewAge ranges appeared in Ariix's online shops, and vice versa, even before the merger became official in 2021.
Where some would have seen this as a medium-term collaboration, some took the rumours seriously and anticipated their positioning on new queries in anticipation of the merger. The latter e-tailers had a considerable competitive advantage by being first on powerful key queries.
Predicting trend-setting events
Looking for your niche in cultural and sporting phenomenon merchandise? This is a great exercise in predictive SEO skills. Here are three clusters to work on your SEO according to future trends.
Find out about film productions
Focus your research on current events in the film industry. Don't just read the trade press, try to "network" to connect with reliable people in the industry. Curiosity will allow you to work on effective predictive SEO.
For example, Avatar was released in 2009, the second one will take more than 12 years to be released. The third opus is scheduled for 2024. Anticipating your content according to this data will allow you to position yourself better in the search results when the films are released.
Follow the video game calendar
Apply this same strategy to the world of video games. Gamers are a growing community and some e-sport disciplines will soon be invited to the Olympic Games. The potential for your online shop and your SEO strategy is enormous.
Stay on top of gaming trends by following reputable social media pages. Prepare your blog content and marketing for upcoming big game releases. This predictive SEO strategy can pay off, as the web is the gamer's favourite playground: your site will be ready for this new traffic when the time comes!
Keep up to date with sports news
The Olympic Games are easier to anticipate than other sports competitions. What if you were to focus on niches in sports? Traffic to niche disciplines will be lower, but with good marketing you can expect a high conversion rate. Feed a specialised blog with specific content . Position yourself on the keywords of upcoming competitions. This will give you a head start in appearing in the top SERP results when aficionados are interested in the event.
Staying ahead of the competition on societal change
No one could have foreseen the arrival of a pandemic, but some people realised that it would last and took the lead. If we take the example of previous major epidemics, we knew that it would take at least two years to control the spread and limit mortality in populations.
For example, in 2020, depending on the country, wearing a mask was not a central part of the protection strategy. However, many of us have realised that in the face of a respiratory illness, this protection would logically be indispensable post-containment.
For example, some players voluntarily mobilised their strategy in the FFP2 mask industry. Their predictive SEO strategy worked, as they were able to position themselves ahead of everyone else on promising trends.
To complete your predictive SEO strategy: artificial intelligence and predictive ranking
The human brain is a powerful machine in anticipating trends for a given business. However, it has certain limitations in knowing which SEO actions would be most profitable. To adopt a predictive SEO strategy,artificial intelligence is proving to be very effective. Here are 3 concepts to explore and integrate into your marketing strategy to improve your future SEO. By these means you may be able to determine which action taken on your project will affect your ranking.
Machine learning enables better use of predictive SEO
In recent years, SEOs have become increasingly interested in predictive SEO. Why? Because advances in machine learning are proving increasingly effective in a variety of areas. Indeed, this solution is infinitely faster and more reliable than "manual" research. Before, you had to go through the necessary and tedious steps of auditing, implementing the resulting recommendations, waiting and analysing the first results of this hard work.
Predictive ranking thus becomes one of the most reliable tools for predicting what will work tomorrow in your natural referencing strategy. It determines what actions to take in what proportion to achieve the results you expect.
How did we get here? The forerunners are called Uplix Lab AI or Oncrawl. These players are developing formidable predictive SEO solutions. According to Uplix, the machine learning shows a reliability of 92% for a margin of error of 8%!
Improve your content marketing with artificial intelligence predictions
Thanks to the machine learningyou will no longer need to manually go through your content and analyse it one by one to optimise it.Artificial intelligence does it better than you! Indeed, you can optimise a blog post or the impact of your social media strategy thanks to the recommendations of intelligent robots. You will be where your audience is waiting for you tomorrow on Google.
From the choice of key queries optimised for voice search to traffic-building topics, you can use the data from machine learning data to develop your content marketing in an intelligent way.
The technical pillar of predictive SEO, or anticipating algorithm changes
The advantage of machine learning is that everything is taken into account and calculated factually. There is no human error or cognitive bias that distorts the interpretation. Thus,artificial intelligence makes it possible to audit criteria that are tedious to analyse and to propose facts. Secondly, this predictive SEO tool describes a trend based on features and the weight they have in SEO.
Indeed, this is a non-negligible asset in the use ofartificial intelligence to please Google. If humans can be guided by good intuitions, they cannot match the computing power of AI. The latter is able to determine unsuspected SEO criteria and their weight in the web optimisation score thanks to permanent A/B tests.
To improve the technical side of your website, it will then be sufficient to follow the recommendations provided by the data and analysis of machine learning.
Predicting the impact of your netlinking campaigns thanks to predictive ranking
We have seen in the article on the Private Blog Network the shortcomings of the classic netlink. What if it was possible to anticipate these obstacles to better think about them thanks to predictive SEO?Artificial intelligence can calculate very precisely the gain or loss of popularity according to the profile of the links you buy or obtain "manually". This allows you to sharpen your netlinking strategy. Google will then increase the popularity of your site and improve its referencing.
All three areas of SEO are therefore covered by the machine learning and your "human" predictions are ready. Predictive SEO opens up great prospects for traffic on your website pages... And for conversion to boost your revenues.
Searching your niche with predictive SEO: what are the dangers?
Adopting a predictive SEO strategy that blends artificial intelligence with humanly predictable trends seems like the ultimate Eldorado. But what are the dangers posed by these future-knowing tools?
Danger #1 of predictive SEO: the risk is considerable
Betting everything on predictive SEO is very dangerous. By definition, the future is uncertain. No one, neither human nor machine, can determine with certainty what will happen. SEO is no exception to this rule! As in the casino, only commit what you can afford to lose.
In other words, integrate predictive SEO into your web and social media content strategies, but keep that element of suspicion and diversify your ways of working to please the search engines. Not only is predictive SEO risky, but it may one day penalise you in one form or another.
The golden rule for any entrepreneur is not to put all your eggs in one basket and not to give in to the shiny object syndrome by giving in to the latest SEO trends.
Danger #2 of predictive SEO: when the unexpected destroys your plans
If you have planned an entire campaign based on data machine learningbeware. Depending on your niche, it can all fall apart if something unexpected happens:
- The blockbuster on which you based key queries to attract traffic is cancelled (Take the example of Rust, where no one could have foreseen the tragic end of filming due to live ammunition on the set);
- The name of the video game that was supposed to be a hit has changed as you used predictive SEO to get traffic to your blog posts.
- Your supplier has broken the contract with you and you can no longer market their products even though the next marketing campaigns were ready.
The possibilities for the unexpected are incalculable. Although beyond your control, these grains of sand in the machine wipe out your entire strategy. Keep in mind this uncertainty intrinsic to predictive SEO.
Danger #3 of relying on predictive SEO: regulatory volatility between markets
Product regulation is a real nightmare for e-tailers who work with international suppliers and customers. The rules change a lot, but rarely in the same direction.
Imagine: you've prepared a whole strategy to drive traffic to a new wellness product line. Predictive SEO can do you a disservice if, a week before the launch, you no longer have sales approval in the territory your marketing campaigns were targeting.
A multinational company can easily dispense with marketing in a country because of this regulatory constraint. But as an entrepreneur, you may not have this advantage. Consider these criteria in your research, especially if you plan to market wellness, paramedical, cosmetic and other childcare or car safety products.
Conclusion: how to get ahead with predictive SEO while limiting the risks?
For planning your content strategy and marketing, predictive SEO is excellent. There are several reasons to include SEO predictions in your online business:
- You are ahead of the competition;
- You build a long-term strategy that will pay off when the search for your theme is strongest;
- You feed a blog with multiple resources without arousing the suspicion of competitors;
- You will be able to refine your keyword strategy to consolidate your presence on the first pages of search engines.
To establish a plan to anticipate future SEO trends, you have several tools at your disposal:
- The human logic and networking that allows you to have the traits of a trend to explore;
- The data from the machine learningdata is much more accurate and efficient.
For the three pillars of SEO, these tools will allow your pages to rank well. In your content marketing, in the netlinking campaign ( predictive SEO allows you to better choose your links), and in the technical criteria that will be valued by Google tomorrow.
Beware, however, that predictive SEO can be risky, even dangerous for your business because of the uncertain nature of predictions. Unforeseen events and regulatory changes in the markets you are targeting can destroy your entire strategy if you base it solely on the predictive SEO. The solution is to be cautious by mixing methods of working on the optimization of your sites. In addition to diversifying, you will consolidate your work and learn from your experiences.
