Top 10 SEO trends that will dominate 2018
SEO Executive with management experience and exceptional people skills. Analyst with extensive experience in Handel SEO project for Total Website Promotion in Search Engine most in Google, Yahoo & Bing. Versed in On page & Off Page SEO and SEO Tools & Google Tools. Desires a challenging role as a Search Engine Optimizer.
Still struggling to improve rankings for your website pages in Google and other popular search engines? With 2017 about to end, how well have you influenced search engines to keep your business up in the online world? Considering your keyword usage, domain strength, inbound linking, user-data analysis and quality content- are you upgrading to the latest SEO optimization strategies for your business?
Embrace the latest SEO strategies – More focus on consumers
As search engines play an important role in consumer’s buying pattern, you can expect Google algorithm to show more emphasis on the end user and their overall browsing experience. This can be done to ensure users continue to use the search engines.
You can also expect other search engines to provide more weight on the end-users experience and rank sites accordingly who are able to effectively abide their philosophy.
Video marketing, infographics, link building were among the most talked SEO trends for quite a while now, but, if you have limited yourself with only those may not earn you benefits that are being offered by other effective methods that you may not have known.
In this post, I would like to highlight on 10 SEO trends (Old & New) that will help you gain a competitive advantage and improve SERPs in 2018.
Let’s take a look at them:
Voice search
Image source: Pixabay
Released in the year 2002 by Google, voice search commands are being highly adopted by smartphone users to look up for information and products online. In 2014, Google added a new feature to its voice search, allowing users to perform the search in five different languages.
How does it influence SEO?
With personal assistance, fun and entertainment, as well as, the general information being looked up by voice search- this time-saving and effortless search option, is expected to change local search that includes online shopping experience too.
Takeaway
– Make sure your mobile site does not block your resources that include CSS files, videos, images, etc.
– Avoid using flash and optimize load speed
– Adopt Rank Tracker to pick Google Auto-complete keywords with high rankings
– Infuse a conversation speech or question format content in your blog page, social media, and even FAQ section.
– Ensure high-quality images
– Register with Google My Business page
Accelerated Mobile Page
Image source: Pixabay
Considering the increasing number of abandonment ratios by online users for sites that don’t load quickly, Google launched Accelerated Mobile Page project in 2016. In less than six months, until now, Google started sending users to AMP pages for offering a better experience.
How does it influence SEO?
Now when you search for a topic or keyword on Google using your mobile device, Google will rank sites using AMP in their Top stories section of each search result pages. Any story you choose will load blazing fasts, which in turn, matter the SEO for your business as it will reduce bounce rates and lead to higher conversion rates.
Takeaway
AMP is overhauled with three core elements that include:
AMP HTML- New set custom AMP commands
AMP JS- JavaScript structure for loading of external resources faster
AMP CDN- Content Delivery Network- Caching for faster content delivery
Content marketing
Source image: Pixabay
From targeting the correct keywords using Google Keyword Planner to sharing valuable information- content marketing was and will always be one of the most important SEO trends for years to come. Hence, you would not like to overlook the importance of content marketing in your SEO strategy 2018.
How does it influence SEO?
Google algorithm will read your text, index them and then provide ranking in their search engines. Therefore, the quality and consistency of your content will determine the reach of your business to online users.
Takeaway
– Hire a professional blogger
– Optimize keyword strategy
– Perform high-domain link building tactics
Mobile optimization
Image source: Pixabay
As per StatCounter Global Stats, mobile and tablet devices overtook desktops as the primary device for internet usage. And, with increasing number of smartphones users worldwide (estimated to reach 2.87 billion by 2020) you would not like to miss in targeting such a potential customer base in 2018.
How does it influence SEO?
Google still considers the desktop version for rankings, however, the addition of mobile site along with other important factors that include speed and user experience will be the key of your site’s search engine visibility.
Takeaway
– Ensure responsive website
– Separate URLs for each mobile page
– Avoid Flash
– Faster page load speed
User-experience optimization
Image source: Pixabay
As Google search engine algorithm has become more sophisticated- apart from focusing on quality content it also takes UX into consideration while ranking. While “best” is the objective- Google also keeps a track of pages and sites that satisfy the user.
How does it influence SEO?
Many big brands including Amazon are seen to redesigning their websites at regular interval to ensure they can respond to their user’s ever-changing needs. The Google algorithm now revolves around a site’s usability that includes components like speed, easy navigation, and layout.
Takeaway
– Create user-specific content
– Test readability for different devices
– Offer visual-oriented layout
– Effective link build building
– Local-specific landing pages
– Allow social share buttons
Long-tail keywords
Image source: Pixabay
Long-tail keywords are generally a phrase that can contain maximum three words and have to be more specific and less competitive than generic keywords.
For example, considering the keyword “tea” or “marketing” may take a long time for improving the ranking for each on Google, however, using less searched terms like “home tea-maker” or “SEO marketing for your business” can improve your chances of raking high in Google.
How does it influence SEO?
Google shows up roughly 60 characters on a SERP, but that doesn’t mean that you limit your keyword length to that. The search snippet title displayed by Google can be dynamic based on the search query, therefore, don’t stop yourself from creating longer titles that suit your pages.
Long-tail keywords are most likely searched by people who would like to take an immediate action or when they are using voice search.
Takeaway
– Know your unique selling point
– Use Google AdWords Keyword Planner
– Search for new keywords using relevant phrases
– Expand your keyword search by using Google’s autocomplete feature (for e.g. best SEO marketing):
– Mail a list of relevant search terms
– Apply them in your long-term keyword SEO strategy
Local SEO
Image source: Pixabay
With the increasing number of smartphones users across the globe and with the help of Google Maps, people are finding it easy to look-up for local information that includes company business hours, address, phone number, online reviews and more.
Google has also added a new FAQ feature to Google Maps allowing users to post questions to business owners and allow them to respond.
How does it influence SEO?
Google along with other search engines have an algorithm that determines local business rankings as per proper categorization in the business directories- the business name, phone number and address being crawlable on the website, and citations.
Takeaway
– Improve quality backlinks
– Ensure enough content with crawlable keywords
– Encourage reviews on Google My Business account
– Infuse keyword in your business name
– Schema structured data
Google Quick Answer Box
When you search for an information on Google, you might have noticed a list of search results along with an informational box at the top of the page that offers an immediate answer to your search terms. This area is known as Google Quick Answers Box.
How does it influence SEO?
After the Hummingbird update in 2015, Google brought a change in the search algorithm to improve results for “conversational search.” And, with the release of Rank Brain, the search engine is smarter at answering user specific questions, rather than considering only specific keywords.
Takeaway
– Create content with phrases like “how,” “why” and “where”
– Eliminate questions that are already showing up in Google Quick Answer box
– Use Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant queries to your industry
– Look-up for Google Related Searches that matches your specific keyword
– You can also refer queries from “Google People also ask” box
Microformat
Image source: Pixabay
Microformat abbreviated as “μF” is a markup HTML/XHTML tags are given to support additional metadata and other attributes such as contact information, social relationships, and geographical coordinates for end users automatically.
How does it influence SEO?
Considered to be small HTML patterns, Microformat points to resources and information about a website. Therefore, the more information you make visible to Google, the more accurately it can rank your site.
Takeaway
– Offer quality content and tag data accordingly
– Use Google Rich Snippets Tool to test
– Use Google Webmaster Tool to identify structured data an use them
AI (Artificial intelligence)
Image source: Pixabay
If you think AI an abbreviation of Artificial Intelligence only exists in science fiction novel, then let me tell it is the next big technology adopted by Google’s RainBrain algorithm update as on 26th October 2015.
In an interview, Google confirmed RainBrain AI system to be the third most important factor in the ranking algorithm, with links and content.
How does it influence SEO?
Google Hummingbird is the overall search algorithm, just like our heart that pumps blood through the blood vessel of our circulatory system. RainBrain (a computer program) is the part of the overall Hummingbird algorithm that is used to process search results across billions of pages and pull the most relevant information for specific queries.
Takeaway
– Focus on individual keywords for your specific landing pages
– Adopt a predictive analytic tool to forecast keywords
– Avoid manipulative link building strategy and keyword stuffing
– Encourage customer reviews
Over to you
SEO trends evolve year-after-year and so you should keep up with the pace to influence Google algorithm and stay up in rankings.
Not only search engine algorithm changes but also the way people search keeps changing, therefore, considering the above 10 SEO trends- digital marketers and business owners can make their website ready for ranking high in 2018.
If you do not upgrade your SEO strategy and simply stick to traditional methods, you might find it difficult to push your website pages in top 10 results, and even worst, get penalized by Google for continuing aggressive and forceful SEO tactics to gain ranking.
Search engine optimization is a never-ending process.
Unfortunately, it is time-consuming too!
However, with the advancement of technology and Google latest updates you can improve rankings by adopting voice search, accelerated mobile pages, content marketing, mobile optimization, user-experience optimization, long-tail keywords, local SEO, Google Quick Answer Box, Microformat and Artificial Intelligence in your SEO strategy 2018.
What is more important to understand that SEO is already changing and as we move towards the year 2018 only focusing on organic opportunities should not be your ultimate goal, instead with the evolution search engines there are multiple opportunities to increase your site rankings.
There are many more SEO factors that you can consider in coming year, however, you cannot afford to ignore the ones mentioned in this blog post.
And the key to a success, is to keep learning and performing the most promising SEO strategies.
Hope that’s helpful! Whether you are a marketer or a business owner, or even an agency for SEO, it’s always beneficial to research and learning new SEO tactics. I’m sure there are lot more out there which can only benefit your site, if you try them.
What’s your SEO strategy for 2018, please share your views in the comment section below. By doing so, you get a chance to educate our viewers to grab new SEO tactics for their growing business.
Stay tuned for more updates and discover how your site can maintain a successful SEO strategy for your business.
