The Big SEO Updates & Trends of 2018

2018 is BIG for SEO. With the launch of official mobile-First Indexing, emphasis on voice search, Artificial Intelligence, RankBrain, machine learning, and search personalization, Google is now empathizing more on updates. Over the past few years, these updates have created a buzz on the world of SEO.

Google mainly focuses on ranking websites offering the best user experience, regardless of other major signals. It is a known fact that Google is making rapid changes to its core algorithm regularly. In order to rank a keyword #1 in Google search or achieve a better position, you have to update your SEO strategies according to the latest trends. Having an in-depth understanding of SEO is the key to achieve success. Approximately 55% of B2B website traffic comes from search engines, which indicates that SEO generated a greater volume of leads compared to any other pain/non-paid or social campaigns. Hence, it is certain that SEO is very important for any online marketing initiative.

Here are the top SEO trends in 2018 you must follow:

#1: Voice Search

Approximately 20% of all search queries in Google are from voice search – as per 2016 reports.

Undoubtedly, users are benefitting from the power of voice search to the optimum. As per market predictions, voice search has the potential to reach up to 50% in the coming years, by 2020.

The top industries online suggest something similar. If you look at the record, Apple switched from Bing to Google for their Personal Voice Assistant – Siri, in 2016. Likewise, Amazon’s “Echo Dot” Voice Search Assistant was rated as the best-selling product of 2017.

Hence, Voice Search is not only a trending SEO rule in 2018, but perhaps it is a long-term affair. Rank brain by Google features search results by measuring complex parameters, which users face through this search technique.

Overall, Voice Search is likely to change the game of content creation by adding a conversational tone and answering questions directly. Adding long-tail keywords and using natural local language is going to be a priority.

#2: Quality & Link-Worthy Content Matter the Most

Fresh, evergreen, reliable, useful, and engaging content is the next priority for overall SEO success in 2018 and beyond. Creating user-driven and link-worthy content answering all relevant questions and providing necessary information is pivotal. Quality content is a “forever” trend, and content that matters to your users is more important than search engines.

Although highly optimized pages for search engines often rank better, they don’t convert enough. Conversion is only possible when your content convinces users. If the user is satisfied, only then they will buy. To build quality content, focus on keyword research, analyze trendy topics, read articles, follow niche authors, add meaningful on-page SEO, proofread, use grammar checkers, and publish with good readability score.

The Schema is a crucial area that continues to be the focal point in accomplishing measurable results within online organic search.

#3: Video & Visual Search

According to a Cisco study, the video would account for more than 82% of all user internet traffic by 2021. This clearly means that within the next few years, video content would surpass all other forms of content. YouTube, which is the second largest search engine in the world, offers massive opportunity to get brands right in front of its prospects in building optimized video content. Other channels like Dailymotion, Metacafe, Google+ and similar are also coming up.

Likewise, Visual or Image Search is also playing a key role in bringing targeted traffic to a website. Being creative with the images brings content engagement and search engines can index these unique visuals to draw more traffic via Google search queries. Tools like Pexels and Unsplash are excellent for creating high-resolution images. Share these images on sites like Instagram and Pinterest to bring new visits to your website.

Videos and images with an effective SEO title, custom thumbnails, meaningful descriptions, and reliable transcriptions are the norms.

#4: Link Building Still Exists

Link building remains the key SEO ranking factor in 2018. Generating innumerable links does not really matter; what matters is building links from highly authoritative sites.

Link building actually builds authority. You should aim to get links from the most relevant sites. Gaining links or linking to and from unnatural sites invite Google Penalty, which everyone dreads. Note that internal links not only add value to the content but also offer a chance to bring in more traffic to previous posts.

Here’s what you should consider for link building in 2018:

• Understand the quality criteria of Google
• Poor quality guest posts are a big NO
• Avoid doorway sites
• Choose “Anchor Text” for each link
• Do not copy your competitor’s strategy for link building

Besides these, some of the common trends you can expect in 2018 are:

• SSL Security
• Google Local SEO
• Mobile Searches
• Mobile First Index
• Social Signals
• Higher CTR

Final Word

Many things are expected to change in the SEO trends this year. Apply these new changes in SEO strategies for success.

Author: Andrella

I am Andrella. I am a internet marketing consultant and a writer who write about latest digital marketing trends. My motive is to provide useful information to users which helps them to grow their online business marketing needs.