SEO is never out of fashion.
It doesn’t matter how hackneyed and beaten to death it sounds – the fact that SEO is still talked widely about also attests to its importance as a strategy.
One of the biggest reasons why it is discussed all the time is because of the constant changes it undergoes. The Google algorithm that determines the ranking of pages on search results is always updated to cater to the needs of users. By providing the most relevant and useful pages for search queries, Google gives the right information to users.
As bloggers, to leverage SEO efficiently, you need to stay on top of the algorithm changes. Doing so allows your pages to rank higher for your target keyword. Higher position means better CTR and increased traffic. If you’re running ads or affiliate links on your blog, you can generate more profit by merely attracting more traffic.
If you want to leverage the power of SEO moving forward, then you need to adapt to the times. Below are the latest SEO trends that are making headway in today’s search landscape.
[bctt tweet=”Learn the SEO trends in 2018 that may take the blogging world by storm so you can sustain your blog’s performance!” username=”blogherald”]
1. Voice search
There will soon come a time when the search will be done through voice. Instead of typing the search phrase, people will speak out their question instead. A voice search operation will then process the command and deliver the best results that answer their question.
This process requires site owners to approach their on-page optimization differently. In particular, they need to optimize for questions instead of keywords. People won’t be asking keywords from their mobile devices. They will be looking for answers online by way of a question. At the same time, data such as monthly search volumes and keyword difficulty may not play a role in voice search optimization.
Right now, voice search is still in its infancy. However, you should best prepare for its eventual arrival. You can do this by researching for questions that your target audience asks most of the time. From there, create content about so voice search operators will soon pick it up and return it to users.
2. Link Building
This tactic is easily the most crucial SEO factor and the trickiest. Much of your search ranking will depend on the links you’ve built to your site. However, you need to find a natural way to acquire links from different high-quality sites. Tactics that were once working may lose their efficacy due to the algorithm changes.
Therefore, you need to diversify your link building strategy. Don’t put all your eggs in a single basket, as the saying goes. If you’re building links using guest blogging, for example, then you need to complement it with another tactic such as blogger outreach or the creation of linkbait content. Doing so allows you to create a sustainable link building process. If one of your link building tactics fail for some reason, you at least have over tactics at play, which will help keep your site afloat on search rankings.
3. User experience
“Google can send you thousands of highly targeted leads and customers. Remember, 70% of searchers never go past the first page of Google,” says Paul Granger of Website Promoter’s SEO Services division.
As much as important generating traffic is to your blog, what’s probably more important is to keep your visitors from leaving your site. One of the main culprits of high bounce rate is a slow loading blog, which hampers user experience.
You need to make sure that your site loads as fast as possible. Ideally, you need to make it load less than four seconds. If not, then you can expect 25% of visitors to leave your site right away!
If you are running a WordPress blog, you can install plugins that can help with your blog’s caching, compress image file size, and many more.
4. Featured Snippets
As important as ranking at the top spot of search results for your keywords, you need to boost your link building strategy and create better content, plain and simple.
However, if you don’t have the resources to do these right now, you can take the alternate route and rank for “position 0” or also known as featured snippets.
It starts with creating structured content on your blog. Approach writing your posts as if you’re answering a specific question that your audience asks. From here, you can format your post with lists, graphs, and others, all of which will help search spiders determine what the content is trying to convey.
Conclusion
Creating an optimized blog that takes into consideration the latest SEO trends is not difficult at all. In fact, the process of optimizing your blog’s performance for the future coincide with creating the best blog and content possible. Keeping this simple fact in mind, you can create a blog that caters specifically to your target audience so you can attract more visits and increase your engagement with organic search alone.
To get you started, take a cue from the tips above to start your optimization plans for next year with a bang.
Related posts:
Most Common SEO Mistakes Bloggers Make
5 SEO Tips Every New Blogger Should Keep in Mind
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