Key Features of SEO Promotion: Trends That Matter
Both SEO professionals and their clients want to know which SEO trends actually matter. Which new practices will pay off, which will stay relevant for the next two or three years, and which should be abandoned without breaking the website? How much longer will SEO itself last as a discipline? In this article, we look at the trends that matter and the algorithms you should keep in mind so you don't lose your top positions in Google search results.
Every year, search engines roll out new algorithms and trends that affect where a website ranks. The internet changes every day, and website owners work hard to keep up so their sites stay competitive.
New SEO trends keep emerging as search engine optimization evolves. Those who want to keep their site in the top results always follow the latest developments. If you don't, not only will your traffic drop, but your competitors will also pull ahead.
What's new, what should you focus on, and what stays the same? Both website owners and SEO specialists need to understand the key features of SEO promotion.
Content changes
The main benchmark for content is its usefulness. The emphasis should be on substance. Ideally, content should not be an ad for the product but should offer real value that promotes the product indirectly. It used to be different. Content on the homepage had only indirect value: what mattered was that it existed, not how informative it was, and that alone (provided other requirements were met) was enough to push a site into the top results. As a result:
- a copywriter's job came down to making sure the text existed at all and contained exact-match or broad-match keywords at the right density, volume, and frequency, while how informative the text was didn't matter at all;
- few people cared about working through the keyword list properly, and media content on the pages was a mere formality.
Users didn't like this. So search bots with new algorithms appeared that evaluate content by new rules. They take into account not only high- and mid-volume queries, but also long-tail, associative, and topical terms.
The goal is for algorithms to show users only informative pages, regardless of the search format. Today, this approach is only about 20% implemented, but everything is moving toward more useful content. Search engines have been introducing algorithms that evaluate how useful, reliable, and informative articles are, and this will remain the direction for years to come. For marketers, the main task will be to spread information not only online but offline as well. You will need to use every available channel to get the word out about your product, because users look for information about a product everywhere before they buy it.
Focus on smartphones
This is perhaps the most important trend. The number of people who search for information on their phones is growing much faster than the number who still use a desktop computer. That's why every website must be optimized for mobile devices.
Search engines check how conveniently order buttons and toolbars are placed and how readable the text is. Page load speed deserves a separate mention: every second counts. Users are generally willing to wait two or three seconds. If a page takes longer to load, they leave for a competitor's website right away. This deserves special attention.
Ideally, build a responsive version of the same website rather than a separate mobile version.
Company reputation
Search engines no longer focus only on keywords, so a website has to be convincing to the search engine. Brand reputation, meaning how much people trust the company, is also part of SEO.
Websites of companies with positive reviews and good advertising will rank first. But it's no secret that positive reviews can be bought.
So search engines now look at entirely different signals:
- whether the company partners with other businesses;
- whether news websites publish stories about the company;
- how well-known public figures view the project;
- how many customer complaints the company receives and how it resolves them.
Voice search and AMP
More and more people use voice search, so SEO specialists will have to optimize websites for voice queries. In the US, for example, about 40% of consumers use this convenient feature. After a voice request, the search engine returns the page you are looking for. It's a great way to make ordering much easier. However, users need to state precise characteristics to find what they need, rather than just describe what they want.
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) helps users find information and articles and access videos and text. Because it is so easy to use, this way of searching applies to mobile devices. To make your website work with AMP, you need to use the latest versions of JavaScript and HTML. This approach affects the stability and quality of the website. Search engines support this technology, and it has been considered one of the key trends in mobile SEO.
Final thoughts
The digital world continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Every new algorithm affects how websites rank in Google, which is why SEO specialists follow the latest trends. Many existing algorithms will keep working, but the emphasis will shift. Don't overlook any of the points above. Keep up with the times so you don't get lost among your competitors and can stay ahead.
