A new year means new SEO trends to watch and implement into your strategies! We are already more than half-way through 2024, and some of the SEO trends from the beginning of the year may have already evolved. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. We have compiled key SEO trends to watch in 2024, ensuring your strategies remain effective and up-to-date.
SEO Trends To Watch In 2024
1. Voice Search Optimization
This SEO trend was actually on our SEO Trends for 2023 and it seems to be staying on our list for 2024. Voice search tools are found on your phones, smart TV’s, and even smart speakers! It’s important to understand that voice search optimizations are a great tool to help you rank higher on search engines.
In 2024, there are 8.4 billion digital voice assistants in use and that number has only been increasing. So to answer the question, “How do I optimize my business for search search?”, you should focus on target question keywords and long tail keywords. Voice searches will sound a lot more conversational so make sure that your content is catering to that.
2. AI and Machine Learning in SEO
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies have completely changed the trajectory of SEO, making it one of the most growing SEO trends to watch. A project like keyword research that used to take hours and hours of time is now done with artificial intelligence in a fraction of the time! Although there are pros and cons to AI tools, If you are not already using it in some way, you are going to fall behind very quickly.
3. User Experience (UX) and SEO
Have you ever tried to go onto a website and the website took minutes to load? Or maybe they had an excessive amount of ads. All of these aspects go into a term known as the user experience. It is a term that focuses on the needs and wants of the user.
One way you can quantify user experience is through Google’s web vitals. These include Google’s page speed insights, Search Console, and Lighthouse. You can use these tools to help you get an idea of where your website stands in terms of user experience and what you can do that will get you higher on search results.
4. Local SEO Trends
Next on our list of SEO trends to watch in 2024 is local SEO. Your local visibility can play a huge role in where you end up on search engines. So what are some strategies to improving local SEO visibility? One of the first things you should do is make sure that you claim your Google business page. Research shows that 86% of people are searching on Google for a business’s location. Also, it can help to add your business to local directories. This will not only help your local SEO but it will also help add more links to your name thus, making you more credible.
5. Content Strategy and SEO
Your content and SEO should go hand in hand. Create content that will better your site’s SEO. To do this, you can use the power of keyword planning. Find keywords that are in your industry that are low in competition and with a generous amount of volume for your content. Although that is the general idea of creating a good content-centric SEO strategy, there are other small things you can do that will help you rank higher on search engines.
6. Technical SEO Updates
There is content SEO and then there’s technical SEO. Technical SEO is going into the backend of a website and making sure that your site is running smoothly, easily crawlable, and gaining traffic. Without a crawlable website, Google will have a hard time trying to understand what is on your website and page and how to get this information to the audience who is looking for it.
So go back to what we have said before, make sure that the core vitals of your website are happy and healthy. Although this can be easier said than done, there are companies out there that can help with SEO support.
7. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and SEO
A big SEO trend in 2024 is what is known as E-A-T. These three pillars can give the user more ease knowing that the content they are consuming is credible and informative.
It is important that you work on building E-A-T on your business website. Start by creating content like blogs that cover lots of different topics and subtopics in your industry. Also, provide answers to questions that the audience is most likely going to ask. Make sure to add internal and external links to other website pages that are useful and relevant to that content.
8. Mobile SEO Enhancements
Lastly on our list of SEO trends to watch in 2024 are mobile SEO performance. This SEO strategy was also on that radar for SEO trends in 2023. Google has recently in the past decade started to make more strides into a mobile-first indexing which means your website NEEDS to be mobile friendly.
Make sure that the pages for mobile and desktop are the same URLs. Another things to stat looking into is meta descriptions. Did you know that meta descriptions are limited to 120 characters on mobile as opposed to the 160 on desktop? If you have not already added meta descriptions, make sure to do so in under 120 characters. Use Google Search Console to explore your pages further so they meet Google’s standards.
End Note:
In the ever-changing SEO world, It is imperative that you stay on top of SEO trends to make sure that you are getting the most out of your content strategies. By focusing on optimizing for voice search, leveraging AI tools, enhancing user experience, and staying attuned to local and technical SEO updates, businesses can position themselves for success in organic search rankings.
Embracing these trends not only enhances visibility but also fosters a user-centric approach that aligns with evolving search engine algorithms. As we move forward, embracing these trends will be crucial to maintaining competitiveness and achieving sustained growth in the digital marketplace.
Corkboard Concepts has a team dedicated to learning, growing, and building SEO strategies. If you need to implement and create a strategy, reach out to us today!