SEO in 2024: What You Need to Know
The ultimate goal is to appear at the very top of the search engine results page (SERP). The way to do this, is to optimize. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process used to optimize a website’s content relevance, link popularity, and tech for optimal ranking on search engines.
SEO isn’t something that you can just set and forget. It’s important to stay up to date on SEO trends in order to ensure a website ranks optimally on search engines such as Google. Although no one knows for sure how the algorithm works (one of life’s big mysteries!), we’ve done extensive research to curate our thoughts. Read on to discover three key trends you should be aware of, as well as the SEO basics that are still incredibly important.
Key SEO Trends for 2024
Consider Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)
SGE is Google’s new AI-powered search engine that provides AI-generated results for many search queries. This search query appears at the top of the search engine results page. Although, at this time, this feature is only available to select users in the United States, it is expected to be available more widely later this year.
The AI-generated result will appear at the top of the SERP. The goal of SGE is to enhance user interactions by delivering clear and concise answers to the search query. In addition to the written result, it will also provide visuals and some relevant links. This highlights the shift towards a more interactive and user-friendly search experience. For example, if you were to type into Google “Why is hot sauce good for you?”, the result would be a bit of text that Google generated from various sources (for example, it might say “hot sauce is good for you because it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties”), as well as some links and photos of some of the top articles it pulled the information from. This is different from the top search result we get today, which is just the top answer from a single source.
Although, as mentioned, SGE isn’t widely available yet, it’s important that brands prepare. Here are the best ways to get ready for SGE:
Providing an expert opinion - according to SEO experts, SGE appears to take information from multiple sources in order to put together its response. Meaning, that an “expert” opinion will be more likely to appear than a non-expert opinion. So for the hot sauce example, if you’re some kind of expert who researches the health benefits of hot sauce, you’ll definitely want to make sure your credentials are very clear on your webpage.
Using direct language - SEO experts have noted that SGE’s output seems to be smaller snippets of larger sections of text. Organizing text in sections, bullets, or lists, may make the text easier for SGE to understand, and therefore make it more likely it will pull from your text to craft its output.
Providing novel information - SGE appears to prefer primary sources of data. SEO experts have stated that publishing original data or analysis (rather than simply reiterating information from other sources) could also increase chances of being cited by SGE. So again, going back to our hot sauce example, be sure the original research is on the page and that it’s clear this research was conducted and analyzed by the brand.
Another trend to keep in mind in 2024, is that Google will be focusing more on “helpful” content. So, what exactly do they mean by this? For one, it means that they will be looking for clear website copy and layout. Have you ever looked for a recipe online and clicked on a page that you thought would be helpful? Then, once you get to the page, there are a bunch of unrelated paragraphs before you get to the recipe. Once you finally get to the recipe, it’s written in a paragraph instead of point form, there are spelling errors, and it’s just hard to follow. What are you going to do? Well, chances are, you’ll probably leave the page and click on another!
In addition to keeping the layout and copy clear, Google is prioritizing original insights and data. There are a few ways brands can adjust their copy to win at this. First, by adding words like “helpful” and “expert” to copy. This will make it easier for Google and other search engines to pick up the content. Second, Google is placing even more value on recognizing authors behind content, so be sure to add author’s names to copy if applicable. Third, Google is prioritizing content that demonstrates authority, therefore, brands should ensure helpful information is presented in an authoritative manner. For example, instead of writing “You could use these insights to make your SEO even better”, something along the lines of “Brands must implement these tactics into their SEO strategy to ensure desired results” will be seen as more authoritative and therefore better for Google’s algorithm.
Matching Search Intent
Although search intent has mattered for a long time, it’s becoming increasingly important. In 2024, search intent will be the focus of Google’s quality rating guidelines. What exactly do we mean by “search intent”? The best way to illustrate this is with an example. Let’s say you just got engaged and you’re starting to browse wedding dresses. So you type into Google “ best wedding dress stores”. You’re probably hoping to see a list of stores, but instead, you might get an ad selling a specific wedding dress. Although technically the keyword matched (you were indeed shown a wedding dress), the intent is missing. Most likely you’ll leave the page that’s selling the specific wedding dress for one that better satisfies what you’re looking for (in this case, a list of wedding dress stores).
This is an important lesson for brands when considering their SEO strategy. Once brands understand what the search intent of your target keyword is, it’s important to create content that will answer the search query and resonate with their target audience.
Back to Basics
Although there are lots of interesting trends that brands need to stay on top of in order to win at SEO, it’s important to remember the SEO basics. The reality is that these basics are still extremely important, perhaps even more important than the trends mentioned above. Here are a few that brands should always be thinking about.
Human-Written Content is Best
We know the generative AI craze is exciting, but search engines like Google actively penalize web pages that rely heavily on AI content. This doesn’t mean you can’t use generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) at all, it simply means that if you choose to use these tools, you should never copy and paste the output. Instead, have a member of your team verify and edit the output prior to adding it to your website.
Load Speed is Vital
Having a quick load speed is absolutely essential. Not only do pages that load quickly get an SEO boost, but pages that load slowly risk having users leave the page altogether. How long would you wait for a webpage to load? Research shows that most people will leave a webpage if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. 4 SECONDS! That’s it. Needless to say, if you have a photo, video, or some kind of animation on your website that you think is cool but it makes your page load a little slower, we’re here to tell you, it’s not worth it.
Once the user is on the page, load speed also contributes to the overall website experience. Imagine you’re on a realtor website page and the homepage loads well enough, but then while you’re trying to look at the houses they have for sale, each house takes tens of seconds to load. Well, that’s not a great experience if you’re trying to quickly flip through the housing options.
Links, Links, Links!
Link building is the process of getting other websites to link back to your website. This is a great way to build website credibility since links act almost like “votes”. When someone links to your website from theirs, it’s as if they are saying, “Hey, this is a good site, check it out”.
It’s also important that the brand’s website has quality links. This includes linking out to other websites and linking internally to other pages on the website. These types of links also help build credibility. Think about it. Imagine you’re back exploring the realtor website, and they have a blog section. In their blog, they write about all kinds of up-and-coming real estate trends. How do you know they’re not just making these things up? Well, they could link back to where they got this information from. Not only will this make for a better experience for users, search engines like Google will give an SEO boost for doing this.
Ready to Optimize?
So there you have it! Some of the top SEO trends to consider this year, as well as some important basics to always keep in mind. Remember, before you can move on optimizing for trends like SGE, helpful content, and matching search intent, ensure all the basics (human-written content, load speed, and link building) are in order!
Need help building content optimized for search engines in 2024? Book a call with a member of our team.
Sources:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/2024-seo-trends-ebook/502323/
https://backlinko.com/seo-this-year
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ranking-factors/page-speed/