Let’s get the obvious out of the way; informative, well-written content will remain the most powerful SEO weapon we’ve got. As Google continues to refine its algorithms, the search engine becomes ever more proficient at identifying relevant content.

Keywords will remain important but will need to be used with an increasingly light touch. Simply peppering an article with keywords doesn’t work now, and it certainly won’t win any SEO contests in 2013. One of the most promising signs in SEO company reviews is a commitment to quality content.

Marketers spent $16.6 billion on electronic content writing in 2011, with good reason. No matter how highly optimized your site is in other areas, without content you’ll disappear into Google obscurity (which, practically speaking, means any ranking not on the first page of search results).

SEO Will Outperform PPC, but Many Won’t Notice

While marketers wisely invest in electronic content, they have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to SEO and PPC budgets. According to GroupM and Nielsen surveys, 95 percent of users click through on organic search results, a clear sign that SEO generates leads.

Google itself reports 75 percent of clicks on a search results page go to organic listings, with only 25 percent clicking on PPC ads. In light of these results, you’d think marketers would focus their search market budgets on SEO.

You’d be wrong. Forrester’s U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast suggests marketers will spend 88 percent of their budget on PPC through 2013 and 2014, leaving only 12 percent for SEO.

The reason for this is a little unclear but possibly due to that most human of needs, the quick fix. PPC provides rapid results, although pay-per-click profits can soar and plummet within days. SEO takes longer to set into motion and takes time to produce a continuous return on investment. Once established, however, SEO proves more enduring and more reliable than the volatile world of PPC.

Social Media Optimization

Social media’s importance as a marketing tool continues to grow. Visual marketing through Pinterest gained traction in 2012 and is likely to increase even more in 2013.

Marketers should keep an eye on Google+. While Google’s social network had a lackluster launch, Google+ has begun to produce significant traffic. This isn’t surprising; it only makes sense for Google to favor its own product in search results.

Expect to see more businesses engaging in video marketing as well. YouTube is, after all, the second most-used search engine. And Google owns YouTube, so a video with good optimization and carefully chosen tags performs well on both platforms. Combine the ability to share videos on social media with the possibility of a video going viral, and YouTube marketing has the potential to generate significant leads.

Mobile Searches

Mobile devices continue to pursue their vision of global domination; sometimes it seems the mobile juggernaut won’t rest until we’re handed our first smartphone at birth. Marketers are still adapting to mobile searches, which tend to be local in nature and highly actionable. People can browse a brick-and-mortar store with phone in hand, comparing store prices with regional and online competitors.

Such searches offer significant opportunities for marketers, but we’re still learning how to best leverage those searches into consistent lead generation and sales. A mobile version of your website, optimized for the longer, more regionally oriented keywords used in mobile searches, is essential.

Mobile websites should load quickly; you’re trying to attract the attention of people on the go, so your window of opportunity to grab their attention is smaller than for computer browsers. Google is also recommending webmasters use responsive web design that adapts site content to the viewers’ screens.

Responsive web design (RWD) allows you to use the same website for mobile and fixed devices but does require an experienced JavaScript programmer. RWD has some limitations as well; banner ads and embedded videos do not adapt well to resizing.

Voice Searches and SEO

Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri, proved very popular in 2012, for both her usefulness as a mobile search tool and her tendency to occasionally produce hilariously wrong answers to questions. Google’s vocal update of its little-used Google Search App indicates the search engine takes Siri, and vocal searches, very seriously.

What can we expect to see in 2013? Keywords remain vital for mobile searches, but we need to remember that people don’t talk the same way they type. As vocal search tools evolve, we’ll see slightly different keywords develop when compared to type-based searches.

Siri doesn’t just hunt Google Search. When asked to find local search results she also checks user reviews on Google Places and Yelp. Localized SEO is going to include a strong presence on these sites. Expect to see a fair bit of black-hat shenanigans in this area. Fake reviews are already rampant online, and searches influenced by user reviews will just increase the temptation to fake reviews.

A Pinch of Salt

One last thought on emerging SEO trends — remember these are just predictions. A new social media platform, changes to Google algorithms or advances in virtual assistant searches could disrupt the SEO market and completely reverse some of these trends. Your best strategy heading into the new year is to keep your ear to the ground for changes in the SEO market and be ready to change tactics as needed.

What is Google+?

Google+ is a social network and profile listing owned by Google and launched last year that’s already nearing a half a billion users. Those on Google+ are able to add people to their circle of friends, share content, post statuses and send messages. Closely tied to your Google email account and profile, the platform ties into all of the search engine giant’s many prominent features, from local search to trending content.

Now onto why you should use it.

1. Connect with Important People

Remember the first day, you set up your Facebook page and couldn’t believe how quickly you were able to connect with everyone from long-lost friends to distant family members? Google+ makes it easy to make connections with a much wider pool of individuals and helps to classify your relationships based on how you interact. In business and in life, connections are everything, and Google+ is a great way to establish yours on the Web.

2. Find More Relevant Content

To find the core of everything that Google+ is about, you need to look no further than the Google search engine. With the infrastructure of that powerful instrument already in place, Google+ is able to better connect you more accurately with the content that you’ll value most. The more you use G+, the more it not only becomes intuitive to your needs but helps other users you are connected with locate the goods, services or content you produced.

3. Your Own Personal Spotlight

Even better than liking something on Facebook, Google+’s “+1″ feature allows you to shine a light on the content you want to draw attention to. So if you published an article on an important blog or your business was featured in a prominent review, +1 is a simple and effective way to spread the news. The real bonus in this regard, however, is your +1 serves to ultimately boost the overall relevance rating of the content you selected.

4. Perspective on What’s Popular

When you +1 something on Google+, you can allow select individuals from your circle to see what you are interested in or promoting. When someone in one of your circles does the same, you gain insight into what’s popular and resonating within your community of friends or valued clients. The more pluses a story, product or review receives, the easier it is for the search engine to identify it as important, giving your circle of friends the desirable ability to carry influence online.

5. Improve Your SEO and Page Rankings

While traditional SEO still remains in play whether you have a blog or e-commerce website, Google +1 gives you a new tool to boost your rankings. By adding a +1 to spread the word about an article you posted to a blog or a positive product review, you are spreading awareness between your circles. The more people you are linked to, and in turn give your content the Plus One endorsement, the higher the impact to your search engine standing in terms of importance and authority over a given subject.

6. Own Your Content

One of the problems with the Internet is it’s hard to get credit for the content you produce, and even more difficult to keep it from being stolen and reproduced. Google+ is the new, more effective way to put your name on what you make, and represent the overall authorship you have online. The better the content, the more prolific, and the more followers, the stronger your author rank.

7. Incredible Potential

As previously stated, there are already more than 400 million registered users on Google+, with about a quarter of those active on a regular basis. As that number continues to grow with Google’s pervasive influence, being well established on G+ gives you access to an unlimited pool of connections, clients or customers. So, whether you are building your following as a blogger or selling classroom furniture to privately run schools, Google+ can help you find your audience.

While these seven reasons for getting on Google+ are compelling enough, it’s impossible to break down all the advantages in a single article. Just know if you want to be traveling on the same train as the most powerful entity on the Web, G+ is your ticket to ride.