Hold onto your underwear and get ready to dive into our SEO trends for 2024!
Let’s talk about SEO, that digital marketing superhero that’s been flexing its muscles, often in
Ok, so are you ready for a mind-boggling stat? According to the cool cats over at Bright Edge, SEO is like a traffic-conjuring wizard, generating over 1000% more oomph than organic social media. Yeah, you read that right – 1000%! That’s not just a home run; it’s a grand slam in the digital ballpark!
“So what’s the future of SEO?” you ask, with a twinkle in your eye. Fear not, my curious comrades! We’ve done some painstaking research on your behalf and come up with our top 7 Trends we see as core focus for all you SEO’s and business owners in 2024.
1. Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)
What is Google Search Generative Experience?
Imagine a world where your search engine doesn’t just find answers, it creates them! That’s what Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is all about. It’s like having a super-smart digital genie at your fingertips. SGE represents a monumental shift in search engine tech. Instead of just digging through existing web pages to answer your queries, SGE uses cutting-edge AI to generate fresh, accurate, and relevant responses on the fly. It’s like moving from a library that only has existing books to one that writes a new book just for you, every time you ask a question!
Ok, so how is AI & Machine Learning going to affect search results?
This new era, where AI and machine learning reign supreme, is transforming search results in a big way. AI’s ability to understand and process language is getting scarily good, meaning search engines can grasp the context, nuances, and intent behind your queries. The result? Ultra-personalized, spot-on answers that feel like they were tailor-made just for you. It’s like having a mind-reading assistant who knows exactly what you need before you even finish asking.
So how do I optimise my website and content to rank with SGE?
To play nice with SGE, your content strategy needs a makeover. First, focus on creating content that answers questions comprehensively and conversationally – think of how you’d explain something to a curious friend. Next, sprinkle in a healthy dose of context and relevance. Ensure your content isn’t just factually accurate but also rich in nuanced detail and current trends. Lastly, don’t forget about clarity and readability. The easier it is for AI to digest and understand your content, the more likely it is to be recommended by SGE. Think of it as teaching a super-intelligent student who’s eager to learn and share your content with the world!
2. UX as a Ranking Factor
Is UX that important to Google? Why?
Search engines like Google increasingly prioritize user-centric metrics in their ranking algorithms. This shift means that a website’s ability to engage, satisfy, and retain visitors directly influences its search engine rankings. Elements such as mobile-friendliness, page loading speed, intuitive navigation, and accessible design are not just about enhancing user satisfaction anymore; they are essential for SEO success. By providing a seamless and enjoyable UX, websites can reduce bounce rates, increase time spent on site, and encourage more interactions, signaling to search engines their value to users. This convergence of UX and SEO represents a holistic approach to creating websites that not only rank well but also deliver meaningful and satisfying user experiences.
How UX improvements affect your rankings
Google’s specific UX signals, particularly Core Web Vitals, play a significant role in determining website rankings. Core Web Vitals focus on three key aspects of user experience:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. A good LCP score ensures that the main content of a page loads quickly, ideally within 2.5 seconds of when the page first starts loading.
- First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity. FID tracks the time from when a user first interacts with a page (like clicking a link or tapping a button) to the time when the browser responds to that interaction. A good threshold is less than 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability. It quantifies the amount of unexpected layout shift of visible page content. A good CLS score is less than 0.1.
These metrics are part of Google’s broader Page Experience signals, which also include mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS-security, and intrusive interstitial guidelines. Websites that excel in these areas are likely to rank higher in search results, as Google aims to promote sites that offer a superior and more user-friendly experience. This shift underscores the importance of optimizing both the technical aspects and the user-focused aspects of a website for better SEO performance.
Top tips for boosting SEO through UX
There are a miriad of options for SEO boosting UX improvements, but let’s just stick to 3 of the very basics:
- Optimize for Mobile Usability: With mobile devices accounting for a significant portion of web traffic, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is essential. This includes responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes, easy-to-use navigation, and touch-friendly buttons and links. Google’s mobile-first indexing means the mobile version of your website is predominantly used for indexing and ranking.
- Enhance Page Loading Speed: Page speed is a critical factor for both UX and SEO. Slow-loading pages lead to higher bounce rates and lower user engagement. Optimize images, leverage browser caching, minimize HTTP requests, and use a content delivery network (CDN) to increase loading speed. Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.
- Improve User Engagement and Content Quality: High-quality, relevant content tailored to your audience increases user engagement, time on site, and repeat visits. Ensure your content is easy to read and navigate with clear headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points. Incorporating multimedia elements like images and videos can also enhance user engagement. User feedback tools and analytics can provide insights into how users interact with your content, helping to refine and improve the overall experience.
By focusing on these areas, you can create a more user-friendly website, which in turn can lead to better search engine rankings.
3. Google E-A-T
What E-A-T actually is
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a concept highlighted in Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (link to the full PDF here), used to assess the quality of content on the web. E-A-T is particularly important for Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) pages, which are pages that could potentially impact the financial stability, health, safety, or well-being of users.
- Expertise: This refers to the depth of knowledge or skill demonstrated by the site or content creator in their particular field. For factual topics, Google looks for content created by experts with the necessary qualifications or proven experience in their subject matter.
- Authoritativeness: This is about the credibility of the website, content, and the author. It includes factors like credentials, the quality of the information provided, external references and citations, and the overall reputation in the field.
- Trustworthiness: This involves the reliability and honesty of the site. Secure websites (HTTPS), clear author attribution, transparency about the organization or author, accurate content, and the presence of legitimate contact information contribute to trustworthiness.
While E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor like keywords or backlinks, it heavily influences content quality, which Google prioritizes. High E-A-T content tends to rank better because it aligns with Google’s goal of providing users with the most reliable and valuable information. Improving E-A-T can enhance a site’s overall SEO performance, especially for YMYL sites.
How to demonstrate E-A-T in your content
We’ve defined it, now let’s look at some practical ways to implement it in your website content…
First up, Expertise: You’re the expert, right? So, show it off in your content! If you’re well-versed in a topic, ensure your knowledge shines through. This could mean writing detailed, insightful blog posts or creating informative videos. Say you’re a fitness coach; share unique workout tips or nutrition advice that showcases your deep understanding. It’s all about letting your audience know, “Hey, I really know my stuff!”
Moving on to Authoritativeness: This one’s all about reputation. You want others to recognize you as a go-to source in your field. How? Well, you could get mentioned on reputable sites, gather positive reviews, or even contribute to well-known publications in your niche. Think of it like being a guest speaker at a big conference. If others trust and cite your work, Google takes notice and thinks, “Hmm, this person must be important in their field.”
Lastly, Trustworthiness: Trust is key. Make sure your website is secure (hello, HTTPS), provide clear contact information, and be transparent about who’s behind your content. If you’re making claims, back them up with reliable sources. It’s like telling a friend, “Don’t just take my word for it; here’s the proof.” Plus, being honest and upfront builds a stronger bond with your audience.
In a nutshell, to rock E-A-T in your content, you need to show off your expertise, build a solid rep, and be a trustworthy source. It’s like being a well-respected, knowledgeable friend who always has the facts to back up their stories. Keep it real, be genuine, and the E-A-T will follow!
E-A-T and YMYL (Your Money Your Life) websites
YMYL stands for “Your Money or Your Life,” a term Google uses to describe websites that could potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety. This includes websites that offer news and current events, banking, financial advice, healthcare and government sites – even online shopping!
For YMYL sites, showcasing expertise isn’t just impressive; it’s essential. This means content should be created by individuals or entities with a deep understanding and knowledge of the subject. For example, medical advice should come from healthcare professionals, financial advice from qualified financial advisors, and so on. The same goes for displaying authoritativeness – i.e. a site’s credibility and reputation in its field. For YMYL topics, where incorrect information can have serious implications, it’s critical that the content is recognised as coming from a credible and authoritative source. This could be demonstrated through professional acknowledgments, citations from reputable sources, or recognition from others in the field.
Trustworthiness a little more involved. Basically, users should feel confident that the information they are receiving is accurate, reliable, and safe. This includes transparent authorship, clear sourcing of information, secure website transactions (especially where financial transactions occur), and an overall sense of integrity in the site’s purpose and content.
4. Zero-Click Searches
What are Zero-Click anyway?
You know when you Google something, and the answer just pops up at the top of the search results page? That’s a zero-click search. You get your answer straight away, without needing to click on any website links. By the end of 2022, one study by SEM Rush indicated that Zero-Clicks made up over 25% of Search CTR’s for desktop:
Image credit: Semrush
This has become super common because search engines, especially Google, have gotten really good at understanding exactly what we’re looking for. They pull up things like featured snippets, knowledge panels, local business info, or even direct answers to questions right at the top of the search page. It’s super handy for us as users because, let’s be honest, we want answers fast and easy.
But here’s the catch for website owners and content creators: if people are getting all the info they need straight from the search results, they’re not clicking through to actual websites as much. This means potentially less traffic for those sites, which can be a bit of a challenge, especially if your site relies on ad revenue or you’re trying to raise brand awareness.
So, while zero-click searches are great for users looking for quick answers, they’re changing the game for SEO and online marketing, pushing businesses and content creators to adapt and find new ways to attract and engage their audience.
How you can take advantage of Zero-Click
It might seem a bit tricky at first, since people are getting their answers directly from the search results, but there are definitely ways to use this to your advantage.
- Optimize for Featured Snippets: These are the boxes that pop up at the top of Google’s search results, providing quick answers. If you can get your content into these snippets, it’s like having a free ad at the top of Google! Focus on answering common questions related to your business or industry in a clear, concise way on your website. You’ll need to be aware of FAQ schema to implement these answers according to Google’s best practice. That way, Google might pick your answer to display.
- Local SEO for Local Businesses: If you’re a local business, zero-click searches are actually your friend. When people search for businesses “near me” or look for local services, they’ll often see a map and a list of businesses straight away. Make sure your Google My Business profile is up to date with your address, phone number, and other key details, so you show up in these local searches.
- Build Brand Awareness: Even if people don’t click through to your site, just appearing in these zero-click searches can boost brand recognition. If your business’s name keeps popping up with helpful info, people start to recognize and trust your brand. When they do need more in-depth info or services, they’ll remember you and likely seek you out.
- Use Structured Data: This is a bit more technical, but using structured data (or schema markup) on your website can help search engines understand your content better. This increases your chances of appearing in rich snippets (like those FAQs or quick info boxes) that show up in zero-click searches.
- Focus on User Intent: Think about what people searching for your services or products really want to know, and tailor your content to answer those questions. Even if they don’t click through right away, providing valuable information creates a positive association with your brand.
In short, it’s all about playing the game smart. Zero-click searches might mean fewer direct clicks, but they open up new opportunities for visibility, brand building, and local engagement. Think of them as a chance to showcase your expertise and build trust right there in the search results.
But I want site visits – how do I balance Zero-Click and attracting users to my site?
Balancing between attracting clicks to your website and providing instant answers in zero-click searches is a bit like walking a tightrope. You want to be helpful but also ensure that your audience has a reason to visit your site. Here’s how you can strike that balance:
- Tease Your Content: It’s like giving a movie trailer before the full film. Provide enough information in your snippets or search result previews to answer part of the user’s query but leave some intriguing details out. This way, users are tempted to click through to your website for the full story.
- Optimize for Rich Snippets and Featured Snippets: While these often provide direct answers, they also prominently display your website’s name. This can boost brand recognition. Plus, if your snippet is the most helpful, users may click through to your site seeking more in-depth information.
- Focus on Long-Form, Detailed Content: Create comprehensive guides or articles that go way beyond the basic answer. This type of content is valuable because it offers more than a searcher can find in a quick snippet. It establishes your site as a go-to resource for in-depth information.
- Use a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA): In your content snippets or meta descriptions, include a compelling CTA that encourages users to click through for more detailed information, a related offer, or additional resources.
- Address Questions Partially Answered by Google: Sometimes, Google’s snippets provide a basic answer but don’t cover the topic exhaustively. Identify these gaps and create content that provides a more comprehensive answer than what’s available in the snippet.
- Create Content for Different Stages of the Customer Journey: Some users look for quick answers, while others are in the research phase. Develop a variety of content that caters to different needs – some that satisfy immediate answers and others that invite deeper exploration into the topic.
- Leverage Engaging Multimedia Content: Utilize formats like videos, infographics, or interactive tools that can’t be fully conveyed in a search snippet. These formats encourage users to visit your site for the full experience.
Remember, the goal is to provide value at every interaction – whether that’s giving a quick answer in a snippet or drawing visitors to your website for more detailed information. By doing so, you build trust and authority, which are key in today’s digital landscape.
5. Video SEO
In case you haven’t delved into video for your own marketing strategies, Video SEO is optimizing your video content to increase its visibility and ranking on search engines. This includes using relevant keywords in the title, description, and tags, ensuring video accessibility through captions and transcripts, and creating engaging thumbnails. The obvious goal is to make videos more discoverable, attracting more views and traffic to your website or video platform.
Why is Video SEO important?
You know how everyone seems to be watching videos online these days? Well, that’s not just a trend. Videos are a huge deal in SEO for several reasons. According to Hubspot, in 2023, the average person is watching about 17 hours of online videos per week. This is a significant increase, considering the growing preference for video content across various platforms. Additionally, the number of digital video viewers worldwide is expected to reach around 3.5 billion. So let’s look at the core factors why video content is important in your SEO strategy…
First up, Engagement: People love watching videos. They’re easy to consume, can be super entertaining, and often give a break from reading lengthy text. When you have engaging video content on your site, visitors tend to stick around longer. This increased ‘dwell time’ sends a positive signal to search engines, suggesting that your site is providing valuable content.
Then there’s Visibility in Search Results: Google often includes video results in its search pages. So, if you’ve got a video that’s well optimized (think great title, description, tags), it could pop up in those searches. That means more eyes on your content!
Accessibility and Reach: Videos can make your content accessible to a broader audience, including those who prefer audio-visual content over text. Plus, videos are super shareable. They get passed around social media and can even go viral, bringing a lot more traffic your way.
Keywords and Context: Just like with written content, you can optimize videos with keywords. But here’s the cool part – Google’s getting better at understanding videos. They’re using AI to analyze video content, even the spoken part, to understand what it’s about. This helps in matching your video to relevant search queries.
And don’t forget Backlinks: If your video is compelling and informative, other websites might link to it. These backlinks are SEO gold, boosting your site’s authority and ranking.
How to integrate Video in your broader Content Strategy
Videos bring a dynamic edge to your content. Imagine you’ve written a detailed blog post about a topic. Now, add a video summarising the key points or demonstrating a process you’ve described. It’s not just engaging; it also caters to different preferences. Some folks love to read, while others might prefer a quick video. This way, you’re reaching both audiences.
Then there’s the SEO magic. Search engines love diversity in content, and mixing up text with videos can boost your site’s visibility. Imagine your video gets a spot in those coveted ‘video snippets’ in Google’s search results – that’s some prime real estate right there!
Now, think about social media. Videos are shareable, often going viral. When you create a cool video and link it to your text content, you’re essentially giving your audience a shareable snippet of your brand. They share the video, traffic flows back to your site, and voila – you’re reaching a broader audience!
And let’s not forget about deepening user engagement. Videos can make complex topics more digestible. So, if your text dives deep into a subject, a complementary video can be that lightbulb moment where things click for your audience.
In short, combining videos with text-based content isn’t just about being trendy. It’s about enhancing the user experience, improving your SEO, boosting social media engagement, and ultimately, giving your audience a richer, more varied diet of content. It’s like telling a story in two languages – more people get it, and they’re likely to stick around for more.
6. Topical Authority & Topic Clusters
Think of topical authority like being the go-to expert in your neighborhood on a specific topic. It’s about having a deep, comprehensive understanding of a subject area. In the world of SEO and content creation, this means you’re not just creating one-off pieces about a topic. Instead, you’re building a whole library of content that covers various aspects of that topic in detail.
Now, enter topic clusters. Imagine your main topic is like the sun, and each piece of content you create is a planet orbiting around it. Each ‘planet’ is a detailed article on a specific aspect of that main topic. For example, if your main topic is ‘Healthy Eating,’ your ‘planets’ could be articles about meal planning, recipes, nutritional advice, and so on. All these articles link back to a central, comprehensive piece, often called a ‘pillar page,’ which gives an overview of the main topic.
This strategy does a couple of cool things for your website. First, it shows search engines like Google that you’re not just knowledgeable about one tiny part of a topic, but you’ve got a wealth of information on the entire subject. This can help improve your rankings. Second, it makes for a great user experience because visitors can easily navigate through related articles, soaking up all the knowledge they need from a source that clearly knows their stuff.
In short, building topical authority with topic clusters is like creating a mini-universe of information on your website. It’s not just about having one great article; it’s about creating a whole ecosystem of content that supports and enriches your main subject. This approach can set you apart as a true authority in your niche and can be a game-changer for your SEO strategy.
How to structure your Site and Content to establish Authority
To establish authority in your niche, structure your site around topic clusters. Start with a comprehensive pillar page that gives a broad overview of your main topic. Then, create detailed content pieces (like blog posts or articles) covering subtopics related to your main theme. These are your cluster content, linking back to your pillar page. Use relevant keywords naturally, ensure high-quality, informative content, and update regularly. This not only helps in SEO but also shows your audience (and search engines) that you’re a knowledgeable, go-to resource in your niche.
There’s no golden number or magic ratio, but a lot of SEOs (including us) have seen success using around 3 topical Content Pieces (the topical cluster) that speak to your niche Landing Page. Remember, consistency and depth of information are key!
Is using Topic Clusters to increase my Authority going to reflect in Search Rankings?
Building topical authority significantly boosts your search rankings. There are some caveats to this, including that we’re assuming your site is already following SEO best practices on a technical level, and that you have a solid overarching web strategy.
But when you consistently create in-depth, quality content around a specific topic, search engines recognize you as an expert in that field. This focused approach, supported by well-structured topic clusters and relevant keywords, enhances your site’s relevance for related searches. As a result, Google is more likely to rank your pages higher, driving more organic traffic to your site.
Essentially, being a known authority in a niche tells search engines you’re providing valuable, trustworthy information that searchers will find useful.
7. Refreshing Existing Content
Updating and refreshing old content is crucial for maintaining SEO relevance and accuracy. This is especially relevant for sites where key content generates a lot of traffic and potentially leads too! Niche examples could include guides for travel, explainers or how to’s for DIY, or even evergreen content that has (ehem) not maintained it’s greenery in the face of new data.
Google values fresh, up-to-date information. When you regularly revise outdated articles, adding new data, insights, or relevant links, you’re signalling to Google that your content is current and valuable. This can improve your search rankings, as Google’s algorithm prefers content that stays relevant and useful to users.
By keeping your content fresh, you’re ensuring that it continues to perform well in search results, driving consistent traffic over time, while your competitors covering the same topics with outdated information will end up dropping out of search results entirely. Google themselves emphasize the importance of providing the latest information to users in their Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
How to identify and update outdated content
So refreshing content is important… how do we go about choosing which content to prioritise in a blog with 10’s, 100’s or even 1000’s of posts? These are our top 3 methods:
- Analytics Review: Check your site’s analytics to identify pages with declining traffic over time. These are prime candidates for updates, as the drop in visitors often signals outdated or less relevant content.
- Content Audit: Periodically perform a content audit. Look for posts with outdated statistics, broken links, or information that no longer reflects current industry practices or standards.
- Competitor Analysis: Monitor competitors’ content. If they have newer, more comprehensive articles on topics you’ve covered, it might be time to refresh your own content to stay competitive and relevant.
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