In today’s digital world, SEO (search engine optimization) is the most important part of any online marketing campaign. As a search engine, Google is the main driver of traffic to websites.
Google’s algorithm updates and changes make it difficult to remain on top of the search rankings, which can be a frustrating task for any business.
SEO has been a consistent trend for years. This year, it looks like the marketing industry is trying to keep up with the latest advancements in search engine algorithms.
In this article, we’ll be looking at SEO trends that are likely to dominate the industry in 2020.
- Voice search will become more important
One of the biggest SEO trends of 2020 is the rise of voice search. With the release of smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home, more and more people are using voice search to find information online.
According to a study by ComScore, 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020.
This trend is being driven by the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the natural language processing (NLP) that powers voice search.
- Mobile-first indexing will become the norm
Google has been using mobile-first indexing for over a year now. This means that the search engine crawls and indexes the mobile version of a website before the desktop version.
Mobile-first indexing is important because the majority of internet users now access the internet from a mobile device.
According to Statista, over 52% of all website traffic worldwide is generated from mobile phones.
- The focus will be on quality content
One of the most important SEO trends of 2020 is the focus on quality content.
In the past, SEO was all about keyword stuffing and creating thin, low-quality content. However, Google’s algorithm updates have made it clear that this is no longer an effective way to rank in the search results.
Google now values quality over quantity. This means that businesses need to focus on creating high-quality, informative, and user-friendly content if they want to rank in the search results.
- Visual search will become more important
Another trend that is likely to gain traction in 2020 is visual search.
Visual search is a type of search that allows users to search for information using images instead of keywords.
One of the most popular visual search tools is Google Images. According to Google, over a billion searches are performed on Google Images every day.
- Schema markup will become more important
Schema markup is a type of code that is used to structure data on a website. It is a way of tagging different elements on a webpage so that search engines can understand them better.
Schema markup is becoming increasingly important because it can help your website to appear in rich snippets in the search results.
Rich snippets are special search results that include additional information such as reviews, ratings, and prices.
- Accelerated Mobile Pages will become more important
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a Google project that was launched in 2015. AMP is a way of optimizing web pages for mobile devices so that they load faster.
AMP pages are typically four times faster than regular mobile pages.
Google has been working hard to promote the use of AMP pages. In February 2018, the search engine announced that it would start displaying AMP pages in the mobile search results by default.
- The focus will be on user experience
One of the main goals of Google’s algorithm updates is to improve the user experience. Google wants to make sure that users are getting the best possible results for their searches.
To this end, the focus in 2020 will be on improving the user experience. This means that businesses need to focus on creating websites that are easy to use and navigate.
- Secure websites will get a ranking boost
Google has announced that it will be giving a ranking boost to secure websites. Websites that are secured with HTTPS will now get a slight edge over those that are not.
This is a small but significant change that could have a big impact on the search rankings.
- Local SEO will become more important
Local SEO is the process of optimizing a website for local search results.
If you have a business that serves a specific geographic area, then you need to make sure that your website is optimized for local search.
Local SEO is becoming more important because of the rise of mobile devices. More and more people are using their smartphones to search for local businesses.
- Social media will become more important
Social media is another important factor in SEO. Social signals such as likes, shares, and comments can have a positive impact on your website’s search engine ranking.
In addition, social media is a great way to build links to your website. Google gives a ranking boost to websites that have a lot of high-quality inbound links.
By following these SEO trends, you can ensure that your website is well-positioned to rank in the search results in 2020.