The fascinating world of SEO is ever-changing alongside Google and the constant amendments made to it’s algorithm. The right techniques used in SEO can change at a drop of a hat, things that may have got you straight to the first few pages of Google may no longer work once Google has decided to change the algorithm.
Of course with SEO, your aim is to get to the top of Google. To help you to continue to reach this goal, we have highlighted some of the most interesting trends in SEO of 2018.
More emphasis on video an image search
Online interaction has become far more visual and the demand for more visual-friendly social media platforms is higher than ever going into 2018. This is attributed to the instant gratification culture – less people are willing to read large chunks of texts. Because of this, there are likely to be changes as to how Google treats images and videos on an online platform.
Increase in Voice search
Sales of smart speakers have shot up and as a result, SEO is going to have to keep up with the way that voice searches work. People are getting more accustomed to consuming search results by ear, and therefore are seeing text less. Meta-titles should be very much to the point and shorter as people tend to skip the options on the smart speaker if they do not like what they hear or are unsure.
Expansion beyond Google and Bing
In 2018, Google will continue to dominate SEO. But other services like Yelp, Siri and Amazon are becoming relevant search engine in their own right. For example, instead of people searching “lamp” on Google, they are going straight to Amazon and searching for they want on there. YouTube is also a big one – the second most popular search engine. Working on YouTube SEO for certain topics, can push websites up the rankings on other search engines.
Hyperlocal results are said to have more of a place on Google
Hyperlocal means the targeting of customers based on physical proximity and showing results relevant to this. The rise is said to be attributed to more searches being made by mobile users who have their location services on, in some cases without even knowing. The SEO needs to up to date with the trend and work on ways of targeting more local customers as well as more general customers.
Other Techniques:
- Shorter paragraphs – 2 or 3 sentences on average.
- Shorter sentences – easier to follow on a screen.
- Write in the inverted pyramid style – this method means that you give important information at the start of the article and following it up with less important info. Meaning that you can pack your article with words and those scan readers will still be able to consume to your content and engage with the site.
- Focus on topics rather than key words – the new changing algorithm’s objectives are to understand the intention of users: so, what they expect, what they are looking for and which results could help them best answer their problems/queries. Look at queries over key words.
