Do you have an SEO strategy for 2018? Have you been following the latest SEO trends and adapting how your company is staying ahead of the curve? If not, it’s time to start planning.
SEO is more important than ever before. 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. But finding the right strategy to dominate online search can be difficult.
SEO is an ever-changing science. Search behavior, algorithm changes, and emerging technologies are all affecting SEO.
Building an optimized website only takes you so far. You need to keep up with the latest SEO trends in order to stay ahead of the competition.
Read here to learn about 5 SEO trends you should be following in 2018.
1. The Rise of Mobile
It’s no secret that smartphones are changing the world. But you might be surprised to learn how influential mobile search can be.
55 percent of purchase-related conversions occur within one hour of mobile search. Google is also creating a mobile search index, which will give mobile-friendly websites a ranking advantage over competitors.
Mobile is one of the SEO trends that will continue for years to come.
You can make your site mobile-friendly by using mobile-responsive web design.
You can also add calls-to-action on mobile platforms to get more conversions.
2. Social Media
Social media is another trend that won’t be going away anytime soon.
While for the most part, social media doesn’t have a ranking effect, that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. You can get more traffic and conversions by taking advantage of social media sharing.
Add sharing widgets that encourage users to share content on their social media profiles. This will create a bigger conversation about your brand and doesn’t take much effort.
To really get an SEO boost out of your social media efforts, start using Google+ and Youtube.
(Surprise! Google+ is alive! Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.)
Both platforms are Google-based and tracked.
Therefore progress on those platforms is in fact incorporated into Google’s search results algorithm and can have a significant impact on your SEO!
3. Featured Snippets
It’s important to utilize every small advantage when it comes to organic search results. One such advantage that will be important in 2018 is featured snippets.
Featured snippets are small text boxes (often with images) that give more details on a site’s content. It can answer a user’s questions about your business and encourage them to click through to your site.
You can encourage Google to show a featured snippet on your page by adding content to your site.
Identify a common question related to your business or industry and give a clear answer on your website. This will make Google’s job easier and increase the likelihood you get a featured snippet.
4. Site Speed & User Experience
Convenience is king in 2018. How many times have you clicked away from a website because of slow loading times or functional issues?
You can focus on enhancing your site’s user experience to dominate search engine results. Test your site to analyze it’s loading speeds and for technical issues.
If your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing customers. Plain and simple.
You don’t want to give Google or user’s any reason to ignore your site. Test and learn what needs to be done to improve your site speed here.
5. Voice Search
Mobile is only the beginning of a new wave of search methods. In 2018, we can expect users to focus on a new way to search.
Voice search had a meteoric rise in 2017 thanks to artificial intelligence devices like Amazon Echo.
You can take advantage of voice search by targeting more conversational keywords and searches. Because people use different language when they type and speak, you should craft content around a typical voice query.
In addition, you will want to enhance any and all of your business listings with rich content.
The more information beyond your business name address and phone number (NAP) you have featured the more likely your business will be the one selected to answer a voice query.
Sign up for our listings optimization service to take control of your enhanced listings now…in real-time!
With these two tactics, you can stay ahead of the competition by getting a lion’s share of voice searches in 2018.
More SEO Trends
You have to adapt to trends to survive in the SEO world.
Make sure you pay attention to these new trends to dominate the SEO landscape in 2018.
Are you interested in taking advantage of these trends? We can help.
Contact us today to speak to one of our digital marketing gurus and get on the right track to SEO success.
