Top SEO Trends In 2018
Online visibility is an essential component to any company’s strategy, however the digital landscape is in an ongoing state of change so it’s mandatory to stay on top of these changes to make sure that your online presence is optimised. Google releases between 500 and 600 updates yearly, with most of them merely fine-tuning their secretive search ranking algorithm. With Google being such a formidable force in today’s online environment, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has become increasingly important for businesses to increase their website traffic, customer engagement, and ultimately their sales.
User behaviour is shifting rapidly with new technology, so Google must monitor these changes and revise their search algorithm respectively to ensure the user experience is as seamless as possible. If a website is going to grow online, they too must stay on top of the changing trends in SEO. In fact, using out-of-date SEO strategies can trigger penalties that decrease a website’s search engine results page (SERP) listings, so here we’ll look into the top SEO trends to bear in mind for your website in 2018.
Voice Search
A large number of users are now opting to utilise voice searches instead of traditional keyboard searches, so this will obviously be a top SEO trend in 2018. Voice searches are quicker and more convenient, which is why it isn’t surprising that 1 in 5 online searches stem from voice queries. If the current surge in voice searches continues at the same velocity, almost 50% of all online searches will be performed via speech by the year 2020!
What this means for websites is that they should start adding more long-tailed keywords into their SEO strategy, especially those with a natural conversational tone. For example, if a website has a keyword phrase like “best Sydney restaurants”, it could also be associated with a phrase like “Where are the best Sydney restaurants near me?”
Link Building
Link building has always been an important tool for SEO, and this will still be a vital aspect in calculating SERP listings in 2018. Generating valuable links to trustworthy websites is still the most convenient way for Google to determine if a website is trusted, so adding value through quality links that helps you construct an authority in your target niche is an effective strategy.
Despite this, the trend towards link building is now more long-term, so having links from sites applicable to your industry and referral traffic will be very valuable in the near future.
Mobile Optimisation
Since 2015, online searches via mobile devices has surpassed that from desktops, so Google has made it very clear that websites that are optimised for mobile devices will be ranked higher in SERP listings.
The reason that mobile optimisation is a top SEO trend for 2018 is because Google has reported that they are experimenting with mobile-first indexing, which clearly illustrates that mobile optimisation will be prioritised in the upcoming year. If your website hasn’t already been optimised for mobile devices, now is unquestionably the time to start!
Accelerated Mobile Pages
Website loading speeds play an essential role in SERP listings, and Google’s search results algorithm will not surprisingly favour those with quicker speeds. In reality, Google has constructed an open source project that assists websites to load pages faster on mobile devices. The project named ‘Accelerated Mobile Pages’ (AMP) allows individual web pages to load 4 times quicker than regular pages, and uses only 10% of the data in doing so!
While AMP is not directly influencing SERP listings yet, it will influence other areas closely related to Google’s search results algorithm, like bounce rate and session duration of users. AMP can be simply installed into HTML or JavaScript code, though plugins will be needed for content management systems such as Drupal and WordPress.
How To Work On SEO For Your Website in 2018
Even though traditional SEO techniques such as link building will still be effective in 2018, there are other surfacing trends that Google is targeting in the future which may significantly transform the practice of SEO. It’s clear that SEO is already evolving to stay on top of changes in user behaviour and to maximise the overall user experience. By recognising the latest SEO trends and implementing strategies now, your website will be optimised and ready to receive targeted clients from higher SERP listings.
If you have any issues or concerns about how you can optimise your website to conform with the latest SEO trends, get in touch with Internet Marketing Experts Albany on 1300 595 013, or visit their website for further details: http://www.internetmarketingexpertsalbany.com.au