SEO 2020: Top Trends to Follow This Year
Digital Marketing is a dynamic field – if you blink, you lose. With Google constantly updating its algorithms, you must keep abreast of the trends if you want to stay in business. You might have a website ranking in the top few one day, only for it to slide down to the second or third page of search engine results when an update is rolled out. If you don’t respond to the changes promptly you might be in for irreparable damage. Nobody wants that!
Given how we can’t be sure of Google’s next move, however, it can become an anxiety-inducing worry. It doesn’t need to be one though. Google’s decisions are influenced by the changes in the system around it so you can predict how it might change the algorithm, especially if you know where to look. So, here are some shifts you should be following and talking into account the influence of if you want to be better prepared for the changes in SEO.
Greater Use of Voice Search
With the increasing popularity of Google Assistant, you can be sure that voice search is the future. So, if you want to rank on top you should begin optimizing your site according to how users speak. What this means is that for example, when users were typing, their queries were short. Now, that they’re using voice search, however, their queries will include long-tail search keywords and will be more of a complete sentence.
Featured Snippets are here to Stay
While you’re fighting to rank at the top of the search engine results page (SERP), you might lose the war if you do not optimize for featured snippets. All the people searching on their smartphones, won’t even look at the page, they’ll skim through the snippets to find their answer which means you might miss out on a ton of traffic volume. So, make sure your content tries to answer the queries of smartphone users.
Mobile Compatibility
With searches increasingly being done on cell phones, Google is looking to introduce a new variable into its ranking algorithm. Previously, indexing was done keeping in mind how the website rendered on the desktop, but now, its mobile content will be analyzed and ranking will take that into consideration when positioning the site. This may take time for Google to implement, but you should take a head start while you can. It’ll prove beneficial in the long haul for sure.
Use Video to Your Advantage
Videos are here to stay so you should make them a pillar of your SEO strategy. It may be hard at first, but if you persevere, you will reap great benefits in the future.
Content with embedded videos has a higher chance of being ranked on the first SERP as compared to content that just offers text and images. And, why wouldn’t it? It is much more engaging then the typical wordy article. Google realizes this, and can see the demand for it from its users which is why you can be sure it will make this a consideration in its rankings.
Advancement of AI
AI is the future. We’re seeing an unprecedented surge in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning in every field and that includes the engineers at Google. Their RankBrain algorithm which was introduced in 2015, pushes more relevant search results to the top based on the search intent of the user. And, it does so with the help of machine learning through which it interprets the relationship between words used in the query.
With RankBrain and their newer Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), we may be on the brink of a revolution. In the years ahead, there may be tweaking sites to satisfy the algorithm but rather the focus may be on the quality and relevance of the articles you post.
Final Words
There you go, just keep these in mind and you won’t ever be caught off guard with changes in the algorithm. While you’re at it, you might also want to do a more in-depth search in the technologies surrounding it. Keeping abreast of the latest breakthroughs in AI, and deep learning, etc. are sure to come in handy. Technology is improving rapidly and so must you. Make sure you get a high-speed internet connection like WOW internet to ensure you never miss out on anything. So, what are you waiting for? Get working on your new strategy!