Summary: The end of the year is always a time for reflection and prediction. Last year, we predicted 2012 would be a big year for SEO, and we were right. And this year, we’re predicting the same thing, but for different reasons. It’s our 2013 predictions that are the topic of 2012′s final TM podcast. Where is link building going? With the advent of Google Penguin, the old standard of link building was thought to have come to a screeching halt. Gone were the days of link directories and reciprocal links, in are the days of “natural” authoritative links. And while that was the goal of Penguin, SEOs are seeing that some of the older methods are still working. One such example is guest blogging. Many people in the industry seem to think that guest blogging is dead and no longer useful, this isn’t exactly true. In his end-of-the-year column, Search Engine Land’s Eric Ward discusses this very topic (and other link building myths). This is what he wrote about guest blogging: My dad used to tell me you are known by the company you keep, and this is true in the guest blog posting world as well. So, the way to use this tactic effectively is to think of it not as a mass shotgun approach, but a laser target approach. And that means a highly selective approach. I’ve heard some folks say that if a blog has the words “blog for us” or “be a guest blogger” that it means the site is worthless. This is another sub-myth of the guest blogging myth. It’s clear that while things are changing, older methods like guest blogging are still very effective when done correctly. What to watch for in 2013 We all know what SEO stands for–search engine optimization–but unlike a few years ago, it no longer just applies to optimizing a website’s title tags, meta description or content. Now, SEO is the umbrella term for the general optimization of your web presence, which means it’s more than just your title tags. The importance of Google Authorship cannot be understated and 2013 is going to be the year of Google Authors. Not only are we going to see more weight added to articles and pages with Authorship set up, but we’re also going to be seeing Authorship Analytics rolled out to everyone. And speaking of Google, if you have a local business and you’re not on Google+, you’re behind the curve already. Local search has been a hot topic for a while now, within the next 12 months, it’s going to be even bigger. Google+ will also be getting it’s own Analytics for brand/company pages, so managers will be able to track the performance of their pages. All-in-all, it’s going to be a big year. Tell us in the comments what you think is coming in 2013, we’d love to hear from you! Happy New Year, everyone!
