5 Most Important SEO trends for 2020

SEO trends are dynamic and keep changing every year. What worked in 2019, may not necessarily work in 2020 as the digital marketing ecosystem is ever evolving. You have to be on top of your game to keep up with new and upcoming SEO trends.

In this guide, we will check out five important SEO trends that you need to know while building your SEO strategies in 2020

1. Prepare for Voice Search

Voice search is getting huge traction as more and  more people are moving from desktop to mobile. As per ComScore, 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. Voice Search is picking up as a popular SEO trend mainly because it’s quicker and easier.

Millions of people are using voice assistants like Alexa and Siri in their everyday lives thereby increasing the volume of voice search. In 2020, expect major updates from Google, aligning its search algorithm with voice search. 

One of the ways to optimize your website’s SEO for voice search is by using schema markup. It is a database of HTML codes that you can use to provide a lot of your website’s niche specific information to search engines. 

Also, because most users engage in voice searches from their mobile devices, your website has to be mobile friendly too. Along with that, focus on conversational natural language and local keyword research to optimize your content. 

2. Page speed and mobile-first indexing

In 2019, Google made mobile-first indexing the default for all domains. This essentially means, Google uses a website’s mobile version for indexing and ranking it. Google has thus made mobile performance a ranking factor Therefore, it is crucial to focus on faster mobile page speed and make it a part of your SEO tactics.

Faster loading speeds coupled with smooth and simple navigation are some of the key factors of mobile optimization. Content Delivery Network (CDN) solutions can boost your webpage loading speed like nothing else. A machine learning powered CDN uses intelligent caching for dynamically generated web pages. Plus, with advanced network optimization technology, a CDN can render web pages very quickly, enhancing the end user’s experience. 

3. Unique content is the key

According to the latest Google SERP feature, your webpage’s first 100 words should be the main ingredient of your story.

Make sure your content is exceptional and offers new as well as insightful information to your readers. It should be comprehensive and rich enough to answer all user queries. Ideally, a high-quality content blog or article should answer to user intent and deliver user engagement. Your content should give users sufficient information that will help readers make a decision and take action.

Informative and conversational content will be instrument for a website’s popularity in 2020. Google will continue to drive more organic traffic to your website provided your content is fresh, relatable, and answers to the right user intent. 

I recommend you check out case studies of brands leveraging SEO to create content that actually answers customer queries. For instance, Unilever, a global business brand, worked with Google to analyze over 11 billion unique annual searches to understand what customers were interested in, and used the insights to create targeted video content. 

4. Artificial Intelligence

Focusing on Artificial intelligence (AI) should be an important part of your overall SEO strategies. Google has been releasing several of its algorithm updates based on its RankBrain technology. AI coupled now determines how search engines rank pages. Here are some of the steps you can follow to use effectively for SEO:

• Optimize your keywords: Generic keywords won’t help; think of long tail keywords, question based keywords, latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords, local search and voice search keywords. 
• Use predictive analytics: Create intelligent clusters (based on customer demographics, use behaviors, purchase power, device used, etc.) and optimize web content marketing and SEO accordingly 
• Optimize landing pages using A/B testing: Note that search engines don’t consider content swapping (rendering different content to different user groups) equivalent to content cloaking (which may draw penalties); this means A/B testing is a safe and intelligent approach to aligning your SEO with what actually works in the real digital environment. 
• Offer dynamic content: Search engines work seamlessly with dynamic AJAX driven websites, which means dynamic content is a very realistic and potent tool you can use to align your content with user intent, and contextualize your SEO. 

These are some of the artificial intelligence guidelines you need to implement to drive your overall SEO strategy in 2020.

5. User Experience 

User experience and user engagement are some of the key metrics for SEO rankings. According to a recent survey, 57% of internet users claim they won’t recommend a website unless it has a good mobile friendly design.  

It is essential in 2020 to build sites that are technically strong and load faster. Once you have worked on your website’s page speed, you need to focus on offering a seamless navigation experience for users. A clean navigation site structure may even get your website to showcase along with key sitelinks, This means more real estate on the SERPs for you.

Use the insights drawn from A/B testing to keep a low bounce rate for your website. Average session duration and page views are some of the other metrics that are considered while measuring the user experience for your website. A website will enjoy a top spot on SERP provided it loads faster, has unique content and is easier to navigate.

Final Thoughts

Voice search, user experience, and AI are just some of the top trends you need to keep an eye on in 2020 to keep yourself on track for  SEO success in 2020.

Of course, only time will tell what’s a trend and what merely proves to be a fad. One thing’s certain – 2020 will bring new challenges for SEO experts, motivate them to learn and experiment more, and possibly, get that first page position for their clients’ websites.