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Top 10 SEO Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2018

Seo trends

Do you know what happens when you do not update yourself on the latest SEO Trends? 

Yes, you find it hard to figure out why your website rankings are not sustaining. To get sustainable site traffic and conversions you’ve got to maintain your site rankings on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Google is constantly working on its algorithm to provide improved results to searchers. Keeping yourself updated helps you to know how to optimize your website and content accordingly. 

It will help you compete on Google rankings better and stay ahead of your game.

Ready to get the latest insights on what’s going on in SEO? 

Here are some key trends that you need to watch out and profit from in 2018.

SEO Trends 2018

Make the Most of SERP Features

You must have observed that the new SERP features are now dominating the search engine results. So, if you thought that a number one rank on the search engines is enough for you to get more leads and sales then that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Seo trends
Google featured results
Seo trends
Google quick answers

Here is the complete picture.

It’s the knowledge panels, rich answers, and local packs which are dominating the search engine results in today’s times. Targeting to rank for these features of Google will surely help you to get more clicks and conversions for your business. You can also use online tools like Rank Tracker to track competing sites showing up in these results.  

Website Speed – Faster the Better

Why is load speed such an important factor in website rankings?  

Most website visitors are extremely impatient. We all want quick results. So, the site that loads faster would always provide its users with a better overall experience. Your site should ideally load faster than three if not two seconds. You can use Google PageSpeed Insights, a simple tool to analyze your website speed and fix the relevant errors that it’s showing you.

Don’t Miss Out on Voice Search Optimization

Have you used Google’s voice command feature to make a search?

Yes, that’s what everyone’s switching to now.

Studies have shown that 55 percent of teens and 40 percent of adults use voice search every day. Online searchers love the convenience of getting search results without having to type in the query.

So, what’s the catch?

As a marketer, you need to figure out the conversational voice search queries in your industry and optimize your content for those queries.

How should you do it?

Use Rank Tracker to track for conversational search queries and optimize your site accordingly.

Strengthen Brand PR with Link-less Mentions

If you can consistently get your brand to be mentioned by high authority websites and you’re not getting backlinks on some of them, then it may not be such a big reason for worry. Many experts have talked about the need to build a brand online to start getting better search rankings. Google’s Panda patent on brand mentions defines non-linking citations as defined links.

How to get brand mentions for your site?

Well, there are lots journalists out there looking for expert advice, tips, and quotes for their stories. HARO is one platform where you can reply to these queries and you have a big chance of getting a brand citation from some very reputed news sites.

Search Results are Now Personalised

Search engines are now increasingly providing users with results that are more personalized and useful for their specific requirements. These results are based on details such as the search history of the user, their location, and their interests. 

How does that affect my website?

This means that if a prospect has clicked on your site for a particular search query then you become their preferred choice for a similar set of queries. Search engines will see this as a signal to rank you on top for those people and similar queries. This again means that if you are providing a satisfying and a relevant user-experience then you will get the recurring benefit for the same. 

Better your UX with Accelerated Mobile Pages

It is Google’s endeavour to provide a better experience to searchers online. AMP is a new web standard for content that’s suitable for the mobile device.  

Why so much fuss about mobile you may ask?

Take a look at this stat :

Nearly 60 percent of the searches now come from the mobile device. -Search Engine Land

Google has provided a set of guidelines for simple and lighter version of HTML. The web pages that are compliant with AMP load delightfully fast on the mobile device.

“Google now links to AMP pages in all its search results, which shows the project is now pretty central to the company’s plans.” Adam Greenberg

The biggest advantage of AMP pages is that these pages load 30 times faster than as their average load speed is only 0.7 seconds as compared to non-AMP pages whose average page load time is 22 seconds. Studies have shown a higher performance for AMP pages in terms of both traffic as well as rankings.

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Good Content Continues to be the King

This is one of the biggest ranking factors and continues to be so year on year. The quality of content that you produce directly correlates with the time that users spend on your site. That is a big factor for Google’s machine learning program to consider that your site visitors are satisfied with the overall experience. If your content provides users with answers to their questions, is thought-provoking and unique, they would naturally prefer you and so therefore, would Google. 

Seo trends
Importance of thought provoking content

When we say content quality, then it’s also important to look at interesting content formats like podcasts, embeddable images and infographics and interactive content formats like quizzes and polls.

37% of marketers stated that visual marketing was the most important form of content for their business. – Social Media Examiner

All these content formats will help you to get your audience to stick around.  Make sure you’re creating honest, out-of-box, solution-driven content and this practice will surely help you to get better results in 2018 and the years come.

Video will be Bigger

So, what’s with everyone we talking about making videos for their business? 

It’s very simple – video provides a superior experience to site visitors. Imagine visiting a software product website to find an introductory video of the product. You’ll naturally start watching the video before reading anything else.  It will give you information about the products in less time and you’ll definitely enjoy the experience of visuals, music, and characters in the video.  

By 2021 80% of all online traffic will be videos. – Cisco

Make sure you are optimizing your videos for search before you embed them on your site. While videos are great for SEO, make sure you don’t create video content just because the format works better. Remember, content quality applies equally to video content and if you’re creating videos make sure they are good. Providing solutions to audience questions while creating entertaining video content will always hold the key.


Keep Building Quality Backlinks


Quality links are still a critical part of a solid search engine optimisation strategy. The higher the quality of backlinks you acquire for your site, the better will it be. It is critical to build links with sites which have a high authority in your niche. Link building is a long-term strategy and if you keep getting quality backlinks and brand mentions for your site, you’ll surely get better site rankings. The key to strong links will be to build genuine contacts and create links that are natural and come from quality content.

How can you build quality backlinks?

The best way to create tons of quality backlinks is to create content that’s highly shareable. If your content includes original data or mind-blowing infographics then industry influencers would love to share them and link to them.

The process is simple.

Create remarkable content and reach out to influencers in your industry requesting for a link.

The second way is to pitch your stories to high authority websites. These strategies will go a long way to help you get quality links to your site.

Wish to Become World-Class SEO Expert?
Sharpen Your Search Engine Optimization Skils
Attend Live Orientation Session


Organic Click Through Rates

Did you know?

The value of #1 Google organic rankings have fallen by 37% in the last 2 years. Featured answers and knowledge graphs have taken away a chunk of the organic clicks from the number one ranking pages.

Google uses Rank Brain a machine learning program to understand which pages it should prefer to rank higher. Studies have also shown that pages with higher CTR are given more weight than those with a lower CTR.

The solution: Target higher click-through rates for each of your pages.

How?

Make sure your SEO title and description have an emotional hook for your target audience. Treat them like the copy of an ad.

Seo trends
Seo tags example

If you are able to get more users to click on your organic listing, you’ll get more traffic. The search engines on the other hand will get a positive signal too.

Conclusion

Search engines provide you with a huge opportunity to get in front of your audience. Search Engine Optimization is a constant process and you can’t afford to ignore what’s new and how to optimize better. Make sure you leverage each of these SEO Trends to stay on top of the organic and featured listings of Google SERPs. This wall all the SEO Trends in 2018. Over the year, there are many changes that occur and SEO also experiences those changes. Thus, you should also be aware of the latest SEO trends and insights that are going to take place in 2019.

If you are looking to learn the basics of SEO or wish to update yourself on the latest skill you could read our guide on SEO certification enroll for our certified SEO course.

Avatar of abhishek talreja
Abhishek Talreja
Abhishek Talreja is curious about everything content and marketing. He loves to keep it short, simple and meaningful. He has been published on sites like MarketingProfs, SitePoint and SEMrush. He is the founder of Prolific Content Marketing.

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