To all the people who thought SEO was no longer relevant, surprise, it is and perhaps even more relevant than ever. That being said, there have definitely been some interesting shifts in focus as well as new tools to optimize your site for 2020. Take a look at the following big trends that your company should be implementing to stay ahead of the game.
Just this last year, there have been 5 Google algorithm updates and the effect on SEO is noticeable. The most noticeable and recent one is having an impact on SERP’s.
Trend #1:
SERP’s
Prior to the recent algorithm, called BERT, if you used words that were not helpful to the search query or needed to be understood in context Google would provide an incorrect answer. Here is an example of how that worked before BERT:
If your business sells exam study guides for adults, in the past the SERP would provide incorrect options focusing on individual words. So instead of adults, you may get search results for young adults or even a specific grade level. Now, with BERT, your customer can find you based on full context. For the customer that’s convenient but for your site that means little to no clicks unless you change something fast.
What this means is when organizing your keywords you should think long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords mean people searching for specific phrases through omnichannel will arrive at your site. Tools like ClickFlow are great as they let you test how effective each page or page groupings are on your site.
Trend #2:
Keyword Research More Important than Ever
As stated previously consolidation on SERP’s means you need to up your keyword game fast. SEO services London can help you devise and implement a killer plan that will help you increase ranking and organic traffic despite consolidation that creates “zero-click searches”.
You can also try mixing the most popular SEO tools to help you rank. Here are a few tools that are highly recommended:
- Google Keyword Planner
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Answer The Public
- UberSuggest
Each of these will help you avoid direct keywords and instead think topics that will help you rank higher. Coming up with sets of topics and then use those to build your long-tail keywords will get a higher click rate.
Trend #3:
Metrics
We all know that without metrics our site is doomed. While you may be checking your analytics regularly, you may find that different metrics are affecting your sites ranking more than ever before. Be sure to pay close attention to the following engagement metrics so you know your site is quality:
Your bounce rate matters. Reviewing how many people come and leave quickly will help improve your site’s content and inspire you to add interactive content such as video and infographics to keep your visitors engaged longer.
Return Visits is another metric growing in popularity. This speaks to your brands’ ability to deliver and repeat customer interaction. This may mean implementing better follow up actions, offerings, newsletters, and other reminders that your site is still there.
Social Sharing will continue to dominate. Today’s biggest trend in metric revolves around the influencer. What they promote will equal dollar signs and more traffic for your site. Using them to your advantage is a must!
Wrap Up
If you are concerned about 2020 and Google’s latest algorithms affecting your website rankings, don’t be. By staying ahead of the trends and utilizing SEO services London, you can take advantage of these current trends and have your traffic, rankings, and conversions consistently increase.
