In our ever-changing digital world, it may feel impossible to keep up with the times. New websites are constantly being launched causing online competition to increase. SEO strategy is important because search engines, like Google, expect websites to meet specific requirements. By knowing and implementing the latest SEO trends, you’ll be able to promote and advertise your business more effectively.
While search engines, like Google, usually determine the new SEO trends, they are often influenced by what consumers want when they use the internet. So, as 2020 approaches, what are some of the SEO trends you need to prepare for?
These 5 SEO trends for 2020 are based on consumer’s expectations for the internet:
1. Voice Search
“Hey Google, what are the leading SEO trends this year?”
Voice searches have become a popular trend among internet users now that most people have smartphones. Not only are searches done on phones, they’re also made on artificial intelligence systems like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and the Apple HomePod. The prediction is that by 2020, over 50% of the searches done on the internet will be voice searches.
So, it’s important to implement conversational searches into your SEO strategy if you want to continue generating organic traffic. In order to stand out in the search engines, your content needs to adapt to this new trend.
2. Video
Videos on the internet, just like voice searches, are becoming much more popular. Studies show that 6 out of 10 people choose to watch online videos instead of television. It seems that YouTube has become the new TV.
Since current internet users would rather get information through online videos, it’s increasingly important that businesses begin implementing them. A high-quality video will attract many users if it’s engaging and effective. When done creatively, videos can achieve more than written content alone.
So how does this affect SEO? If you want to reach more people with your videos, you’ll need to optimize them for search users. Just make sure to use relevant keywords in the headline and description of your video. Doing this will ensure that your video will be seen by the largest number of people who are interested in that subject.
3. Featured Snippets
When you enter a question on Google, a section comes up with the rest of the results, right above the #1 organic result on the page. This section is known as the Featured Snippet or “Position 0.”
You need to provide clear and relevant answers to the most asked questions on your website if you want to take advantage of this feature and drive more clicks to your website. Based on their quality, Featured Snippets are evaluated and pushed to the top by Google.
This isn’t a trend to take lightly since Featured Snippets generate over half of traffic clicks on Google, 54.68% in 2019. It’s predicted that this number will continue to increase in 2020. So, if you want your website to thrive, you must start SEO practices that will enable your site for the Featured Snippet section on search engines.
Featured Snippets represent an excellent opportunity for content creators since it gives you the ability to generate more organic traffic, even if you’re not ranking in the #1 position.
4. Secure Websites
While user safety doesn’t appear to have much to do with SEO, it is very important. When a user doesn’t feel safe visiting a web page, they usually leave it quickly. Also, they probably won’t proceed to your page if a “Not Secure” warning appears. As a result, high bounce rates could affect the position of that page in the organic search listing.
For these reasons, it is vital that you enable HTTPS protocol for your website. HTTPS provides users a secure connection that is authenticated and encrypted. According to Google, HTTPS “helps prevent intruders from tampering with the communications between your websites and your users’ browsers.”
You have a responsibility to protect the privacy of your users if you collect personal information from them on your website. Because Google wants to give its users a secure browsing experience, businesses that implement HTTPS may see a minor SEO boost. It’s important to reassure your users that their information will be protected. Every day there are new security measures that can be implemented into your website, so your users feel safe.
5. Dwell Time and CTR
With the advance of technology, we have become even more impatient than ever. And with all the online competition, if your website doesn’t convince a visitor to stay within a few seconds, they’ll be gone.
Search engines now consider dwell time (the amount of time a person spends on a web page before bouncing out) as one of the criteria for ranking websites. Click-through-rate (CTR) and dwell time are more important now than ever before, and that will matter even more in 2020.
So, make sure your website and webpage loading speed are both fast. Remember that visitors want to quickly find the information they’re looking for, so cut to the chase immediately. Your homepage should be clear, and your navigation must be simple. A one-second delay in your webpage load time can reduce your conversion rate by 7%, and it can also reduce your ranking search engine results pages (SERP). It’s important to note that in SEO, dwell time is different than CTR. Dwell time is more interested in what people do after they click on the page, not the number of people who click on it. CTR tracks the number of people who click on a link based on the number who saw the SERP.
Both factors are important because they offer great insight into the satisfaction of the web searcher. The length of time someone lingers on a page and the links that person clicks on lets you, the marketer, know if they’re finding the information they need and how interested they are in your content.
Bottom Line
As you can see, SEO is very important for businesses today no matter what industry you’re in. Google is a search engine that processes information based on how users behave online, and it’s getting even more accurate at it. This means that every year new trends appear that shape the way information is published on the internet. All you really have to do to improve your SEO, though, is put your consumers first and give them what they’re looking for.
If you’re already aware of these trends, then it’s time to implement them and generate even more targeted traffic from Google. If you need additional help with SEO services or have questions about these trends, call today and speak with one of our SEO experts.