SEO has been playing a significant role in ranking up your website, and it has been even misused by many to get the irrelevant content on top of the search engines. However, search engines have gotten smarter and the non-worthy stuff has definitely been eliminated from search results. The new algorithms by Google have played it quite smart and keeps only good and relevant material in the top results.
With the improving technology to monitor SEO techniques, new trends continue to emerge. There was a time when irrelevant stuffing of keywords had the power to get your website in top results but it is quite impossible now. That’s how trends change and that’s how only the good content gets a chance to rank up in results.
SEO trends have been changing since the start as improvements and innovations continue to evolve. SEO in 2018 is also expected to involve some great features with new technologies and the trends are already favoring the popular expectations.
So, let’s have a look at the emerging SEO trends of 2018.
1. Voice Search
Voice search has gotten in only a few years back but with such great improvements in voice recognition; it has become a great part of overall searches. Google stats say that about 55% teens and 40% of overall searchers use voice searches almost every day. Typing search is going to be left behind soon as the voice searching is growing.
Voice searching requires a whole different set of keywords than typing searchers. Usually, the voice searches incorporate conversational style keywords. So, you have to really entertain those keywords which are used in voice searches.
2. Relevant content
Google is getting smarter, and relevance is more important than ever if you want to stay in the game. Google has created algorithms which only recognize and rank the relevant content. So, whatever you are promoting should be done in a way that it stays relevant to the subject. If you are not relevant, then there are better chances of your content to be ignored by Google bots.
Stay focused on the subject being discussed and insert keywords accordingly. If you are talking about SEO techniques, make sure you are not wandering off to your favourite ice cream because it will neither sell your ice-cream nor rank your SEO article. So, stay focused and relevant to the subject.
3. Well structured content
There were times when only keywords mattered, but now you have to be well structured. If Google bots can’t identify the heading and subheadings which are generally recognized by using HTML tags, then forget ranking up. Well structured, easy to understand and properly identifiable content will get the top spots, and the non-structured, heading-less content will just be ignored by Google bots.
4. Mobile SEO
Most of the Google searches are done via mobiles now, ease of access to relevant gadgets and internet have made it highly easy for users to search instantly with gadgets in hand. The most common of these is mobile, and that’s why you can’t ignore mobile SEO anymore. Start using mobile SEO if you are thinking of keeping or raising your ranks in 2018. The competition is quite high and only those using fair and smart SEO techniques will stay in the top ranks of search results. Mobile friendliness of your website is more important than ever now.
5. Increased SERP features
Now the neatly arranged widgets and snippets are shaping up the view of search results. Search engines like Google are now sharp enough to view information in the form of helpful widgets so most of the work will be done on the search result page, and getting users to click your website will require much more efficiency. You have to arrange your information in a way so Google can detect it and arrange it in the form of snippets and that information must be attractive enough to get users to click on your links.
6. Increased focus on UX
It is one of the key points for SEO strategies in 2018. Companies are already optimizing their SEO strategies to provide smooth user experience to users. A great UX will help lower your bounce rate and help people take a good benefit of your website before ignoring it and moving on.
In order to provide good user experience to your website visitors, you need to have a good control over the speed of the page, check the readability for different devices because UX of every device should be great enough to keep users on your website. UX is now being focused by many as one of the core SEO strategies, and it definitely plays an important part in keeping your content in top ranking because lesser bounce rate has a very positive impact on SEO of the website.
7. Link Building
It is not obsolete yet; link building will still be a top trend in search engine optimization in 2018 because it plays a crucial role in SERPs and backlinks are a great importance in this regard. It helps Google to recognize that relevant content is posted in the website. You don’t have to add irrelevant links and stuff your content, but the relevant links should definitely be your focus.
8. Visual Searches
It is also a great new enhancement to search facilitations, and visual searches have already taken up a lot of room in the search engines. It will be one of the top SEO trends in 2018 because there will be a great focus on SEO according to visual content, as it is a more interactive approach. The platforms like Pinterest and search engines like Google and Bing have already started implementing and improving the visual search results. Visual content should be a centre of SEO optimization and it has already being used by brands because it helps a lot in standing out from the crowd.
Final Words
SEO trends continue to emerge, but 2018 will be a great revolution in SEO because a lot of new game-changing technologies will mature in this time and SEO optimization will get a better yet new shape.