SEO Trends for Late-2018
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a method of implementing specific strategies so that online search engines give your website a higher ranking. SEO is an important feature of effective Internet marketing because it can help you acquire new leads and increased conversions by sending your message to targeted audiences. With that in mind, take a look at a few of the latest SEO trends for the 4th quarter of 2018:
Personalized SERPs
To personalize user experience, search engines utilize user information like browsing history, location, and interests. Businesses must use tactics to personalize their SEO efforts to get to the top of Google, Yahoo, and Bing searches. Implementing longtail keywords, phrases used to target niche demographics that contain at least three words, is a proactive strategy for developing a strong online presence.
Importance of SERP Features
Getting displayed at the top of a search list based on relevance is quickly fading. Again, personalization is key to success. SERP features like image packs, featured snippets, knowledge cards, panels, and AdWords campaigns help users find what they are searching for quickly and easily. It’s imperative to continually track your website’s rankings and use both longtail keywords and question keywords to get your web pages displayed as SERP features.
Patience is NOT a Virtue
Online visitors to your site do not like to wait. Page speed is not only necessary to keep visitors on your site, but Google prefers pages that load in less than three seconds. Negative rankings may be the result of slow-loading pages. You can check your website’s speed with Google’s Page-Speed Insight tool and make corrections as needed.
Mobile Search Continues to Dominate
Mobile searches, to include voice search, exceeded desktop searches long ago. Google has responded to this trend by implementing mobile-first indexing. What to do? Be sure your website is mobile-friendly. Google’s Website Auditor lets you test the mobile version of your website to identify issues that could negatively affect your mobile ranking.
Secure Links (SSL)
Want an easy, inexpensive way to boost your SEO ranking? Acquire an SSL certificate and upgrade your website to HTTPS…and it only costs about $40 each year. Most links that land at the top of SERPs are websites that have an SSL. In fact, users are now presented with a security warning for websites with no SSL.