SEO Trends to Watch for in 2018

16 Feb SEO Trends to Watch for in 2018

Today any successful business understands that the goal of search engine optimization (SEO) is to get your business to rank at the top of the list on any Google search – especially in a competitive environment. While a successful SEO campaign is a must for any business that wants to remain competitive and at the top of their industry, SEO strategies continue to evolve, so it is imperative that your business has an SEO strategy that harnesses the latest SEO trends and unfolding technology of this complex (and highly effective) marketing approach.

According to an article on Forbes.com, “In online marketing, few strategies are as competitive or as quickly evolving as search engine optimization. Marked by a history of algorithm updates, new technologies, and new techniques to win real estate at the top of search engine results pages, most SEO experts chomp at the bit to predict or learn the latest SEO trends that will shape our businesses’ digital futures.”

Following are some of the latest SEO trends that are predicted to dominate in the SEO field in 2018:

Video and Image Searches

Over the years, online searches and interactions have become more visual. In response, Google and other search engines have changed the way they treat images and videos in an online environment so there will be a definite improvement in search sophistication for visual assets.

Voice Searches and Featured Snippets

Search Engine Land explains that “One in five mobile search queries comes from a voice search.” This number is expected to increase even more with voice enabled assistant devices such as Google Home and Amazon Echo.  As the voice search grows, expect to see an increase in featured snippets, from which Google often sources its voice search results. The increased detail of search queries means you will need to go beyond the simple keyword and phrases to rank and focus more on terms and phrases people are naturally going to say out loud. If this trend continues, featured snippets may even begin to rival the top organic listing as the place to be if you want to get noticed.

Page Speed

In the fast-paced, on-demand society that we live in today, people want things, including information, immediately. It is very frustrating to click on a website that appears to answer your question and then have to wait for the page to load. If your web page is slow, your site traffic will suffer. Page speed is a user experience feature that is expected for all websites. Speed has always been a critical component in a user friendly site – but the emphasis on speed will continue to increase in 2018 and beyond.

Hyperlocal Marketing

Hyperlocal targeting, or marketing to customers within your area based upon their location, has the potential to help businesses answer the immediate needs of their prospects. Understanding how to optimize your content for these users can provide businesses with an excellent opportunity for success. Understanding the rise of hyperlocal marketing will be an important key to business success in the near future.

Mobile Will Continue to Be at the Forefront

Smartphones are everywhere and more and more web browsing is occurring on mobile devices. Today, more people use their smartphones to browse the internet than a traditional desktop computer. It is no longer an option to have a mobile-friendly website. It is now required and expected by the search engines and the users. In fact, mobile friendliness is now a search ranking factor.

Keep in mind that the most successful SEO strategies continue to focus on long-term results that will keep you competitive in the year ahead. SEO is a constantly changing industry and be sure that you partner with an experienced SEO company like On Top Visibility to design a successful SEO campaign for your business.

On Top Visibility is an experienced SEO company that can implement a proven SEO strategy that will target your audience, increase your website’s traffic, ensure first page rankings and increase revenue for your business.  Contact us today at 631-319-3600.