SEO in 2018
SEO Trends for 2018
The end of 2017 finds the SEO Industry in turmoil. Constant search engine algorithm changes, the labor intensive methods required to improve and maintain SERP rankings, and improved paid marketing tools that provide focused and cost effective campaigns with immediate results have left many SEO Experts questioning their continued participation in the business. I am not one of them. I believe that SEO remains a strong part of an overall strategy for businesses wanting to increase profitability.The following is a list of changes that will have a strong influence on SEO strategy in 2018.
User experience (UX)
Google has made it clear that in 2018 the focus will continue to be on the website user, and this should make more sites deliver a smooth UX for their visitors. Positive UX helps users to engage with the website, the products, and the brand. Unique and valuable website content that is useful for website visitors will be a major factor in determining site placement in SERPs. Websites need to have quick load time, good mobile UX, and good desktop UX.Increases in traffic alone are no longer the end goal. Website visitors must receive value from their visit to a website, and convert from visitors to customers.
Voice search
The rise of digital assistants and voice search has presented a growing market that continues to change the way search queries are performed. According to Google, 1 out of 5 searches already come from voice search. Voice Search means that a search for “auto repair” will now possibly become “auto repair shop with loaner cars near me.” Search is now moving from just keywords to the way that people actually communicate and ask for information in conversation.The popularity of Featured Snippets has increased the competition among companies trying to appear in “position 0” in the SERP. Gaining a featured snippet in search requires catering to a specific combination of factors, which has opened up SEO beyond the traditional race to the top of Google. According to Stone Temple Consulting, almost 30% of the test Google search queries show Featured Snippets. This highlights the need for a strategy on how to optimize a site’s content to meet Google’s standards for Featured Snippets.Lists, tables and graphs tend to be popular, while it’s also useful to create content in a Q&A format, making it easier for Google to extract the right content to show up as a featured snippet. An interesting angle to focus on during the next year is the optimization of featured snippets for voice search. The combination of two growing trends in the search market can create a great opportunity for more companies to show up at the top of the SERPs. This will involve considering the changes in the search queries, focusing more on longer keywords and natural language.A similar way to reach the top of the SERPs is to create content that serves as a Quick Answer. Google’s Answer Box is an enhanced type of Featured Snippet that aims to answer a question in a more appealing way. It usually follows a “how” or “what” structure and is Google’s attempt to use search intent to organize the search results in a more useful way. It has been observed that the results that show up in an Answer Box can see a CTR of 32.3%. This will bring out the need for more companies to learn more about search intent and how they can optimize their content to show up in an Answer Box. Thus, a carefully crafted Answer Box strategy can increase a site’s authority, but also a brand’s conversion.RELATED ARTICLESWhat is HTTP/2 and how does it benefit SEO?Amazon SEO: A guide to improving your rankings on AmazonHow to write blog headlines that drive search trafficTen steps to successful SEO for startups
Mobile-first index
2018 is more than likely to be the year that brands realize the potential of putting mobile first, rather than catering to mobile as an afterthought. This is particularly true if Google decides to make 2018 the year it finally deploys its mobile-first index.But even if it doesn’t, brands and businesses need to put mobile first anyway: a recent study by BrightEdge found that, 57% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. More than this, there is a significant difference between the way that keywords rank on mobile and the way they rank on desktop – so mobile-first content is needed in order to have the best chance of being visible in mobile search.As mobile searches are all about context, brands should provide the best possible results for every question, while local SEO is going to become even more popular. Mobile users will seek for more content while they are on the go, which means that brands will face a big opportunity of marketing their business at a local context.Mobile optimization for local users, along with the rise of voice search, can provide an excellent way to create a successful SEO strategy in 2018 by facilitating the search experience through personalized and relevant answers.Site speed is critical for search engines and your page’s performance at the SERPs. Accelerated Mobile Pages can make a page load up to four times faster than a standard mobile page. According to Chartbeat, AMP load in a second and they also see a 35% improvement in engagement time. Google’s focus on AMP has made more publishers consider their use, currently counting more than 2 billion Accelerated Mobile Pages.The demand is expected to grow in 2018, helping companies improve their engagement and the overall user experience through fast and responsive mobile pages. Brands that want to keep up with the changes in mobile search have to keep up with the trend and experiment, whether they need AMP or any other fixes to improve their site speed.
The rise of visual search
Visual search is an exciting area and the combination of technological innovation and user experience can take searching to the next level. As the internet becomes more visually-focused, there is a great opportunity to explore the power of visual search. Major tech companies including Bing, Pinterest and Google have already invested in developing powerful visual search engines in a bid to capitalize on this new trend.An SEO strategy in 2018 needs to consider the way we consume visual content and how search engines now go beyond text to explore the changing habits of search. Rich visuals now become more engaging and the use of neuroscience and innovation bring out an interesting and competitive market.As the competition increases, more companies seem to acknowledge the potential of a successful visual search, while brands need to focus even more on optimizing their visual content for SEO purposes.
Improving SEO in 2018
As it seems, 2018 will be an interesting year for SEO. Traditional SEO techniques are still effective, but a number of trends are in the works that could significantly alter the practice of optimizing for search.What is useful to understand while we proceed towards 2018 is that SEO is already changing, and the ranking in the first organic spot is not the ultimate goal anymore. As search engines evolve, there are multiple opportunities to increase your search traffic without necessarily focusing on organic SERPs.The rise of featured snippets, PPC, voice search and local SEO can often yield better results than an organic ranking. That’s why it’s useful to keep up with the latest trends and discover how your brand can maintain a successful SEO strategy for the year ahead by blending established and growing trends.