If you are a web entrepreneur who is quite unaware of the changes in SEO trends which took place very recently, the following list will come handy and helpful as you go through it.
1. HTTPS has become mandatory
Google Is Requiring HTTPS for Secure Data in Chrome
Previously, it was optional to keep your website URL either secure or ordinary, but now you will not be able to use only ‘HTTP’. It has become mandatory to make your website ‘HTTPS’. It is just hypertext transfer protocol with secure web transaction.
Google’s ranking and listing of websites have a direct link with this issue. If you have not upgraded your site to ‘HTTPS’, Google may lower down your website’s search engine rank. The good aspect is that, you need not worry about this upgradation at all since it would cost very low to change ‘HTTP’ to ‘HTTPS’. Most hosting service provider will do it for you for a minimal charge as you purchase https. You can consult a good search marketing partner to ensure that you are taking full advantage of this simple but essential needs of the day.
2. Long Form Content and Infographic will do better in search results
Great Content ≠ Long-Form Content
Long form content usually refers to those content which exceed two thousand words in one single content of a particular webpage. Statistically, it is proved that if long form content is coupled with Infographic, it would result in better online visibility, higher number of social shares, increased website authority and more number of inbound links.
For framing long form content, you need to outline your goals, decide whether to use gated (visitors have to submit their email addresses) or non-gated (visitors can access it freely) format, select topic to write, decide whether to write it by own or outsource it, outline your content promotional strategy. If you are looking for someone who can take away all your content related worries, you can count on Contentmart, an online content marketplace. Hosting thousands of talented freelance content writers, Contentmart assures delivery of 100% unique, engaging, SEO-friendly and quality content. You can register online for free and pick a suitable writer for your niche. Only pay when you are satisfied with the content received.
3. Social media integration will bring more incoming web traffic
How Social Media Helps SEO [Final Answer]
Previously, it was a hype that social media has anything to do with increasing your website’s search engine ranking, but now it is a truth because social media is a major source of referral traffic.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter do not have any direct relationship with your website’s pages’ SEO ranking, but promoting your website’s link at Facebook and Twitter can earn you more brownie points like increased website visitors. So, social media integration indirectly brings success to fulfil your requirement of SEO campaign.
4. Voice search will be following an increasing trend
5 ways voice search will affect SEO in 2017
People are now all tech savvy and they are too lazy to lift their fingers to type anything even. Now they only utter the words to search with the help of voice, and their desired results get displayed. Google Home and Amazon Echo have made this feature easier for people now a days. These two are voice activated speakers powered by Google Assistant and Amazon Paraphernalia respectively. Ask them any question or tell them to do anything, they will just take your order and perform the task without delay. From booking a ride with Ola to watching a movie at Inox, voice search will do everything. Hence you need to incorporate this SEO trend to your site to make it compatible with voice search results.
5. AMP integration will increase page-ranking in Google search
Mobile SEO: The 3 areas that really matter for SEO performance
AMP stands for accelerated mobile pages. Webpages and advertisements in the AMP open source format load almost instantly, giving user a smooth and more engaging experience on mobiles, desktops and laptops irrespective of the speed of their data card. Web publishers and advertisers can decide how to present their content and what technology vendors to use all while maintaining and improving key performance indicators. AMP executes all JavaScript asynchronously, sizes all resources statically, does not let extension mechanisms block rendering, keeps all third party JavaScript out of the critical path and in-lines all CSS.
6. UX will benefit your site
Why UX is pivotal to the future of SEO
UX stands for user experience. If you take care for your website so that users have smooth experience, then it will have a direct positive impact on your SEO. Visitors of your web will not hesitate to stay longer at your website and to browse all the pages’ contents including HD images, videos and flashes. This will also increase average site visit time reducing the subsequent bounce rate.
7. Mobile traffic percentage will continue to grow
SEO and Digital Trends in 2017
Since people are becoming smartphone savvy now a days, mobile-first strategies will become a necessity for your website. If you have a congested website that takes much time to load in mobile, take a different strategy to set up a separate lightweight mobile website altogether.
This way, you would ensure the fact that you will not be losing the incoming mobile traffic at your web entirely.
8. Links will be dependent on the quality of your site’s content
6 Linking Techniques That Will Help Your Content Get Ranked, Found, and Read
The issue with increasing links to your website will always remain there as an important criteria to increase your site’s page-ranking. Rather than worrying about it much, the simple tactic is to improve your site’s content. This way, you will automatically be able to pull a huge number of visitors towards your site. Visual content is very powerful to attract people. Media share is also a very powerful tool to draw a larger number of people’s attention. Also, you need to identify potential content promoters in order to create sustainable promotional strategies. All these will help you to improve your overall site content, and links will be dependent on it only.
You’ve really hit the nail on the head with each trend. Yes, security, voice searches, mobile, these are going to be the gamechangers for SEO in 2018. And yes, user experience is also a key aspect, if not THE key aspect. And part of this is the speed of the website. This could even impact SERP rankings. So, make sure to take a speed test, such as the one Google offers, for your website.