SEO trends don’t tend to change overnight, but that doesn’t mean they remain the same forever, either.
So what SEO trends do you need to be aware of in 2020 that will help you dominate in the SERP and ultimately boost your revenue? Renown SEO specialist Daniel Foley says to:
1. OPTIMISE FOR USERS, NOT SEARCH ENGINES
This one should be abundantly obvious by now, but still, if you’re not optimizing your content for your audience, you’re missing a trick.
It’s all good and well optimizing your site to within an inch of its life to rank highly in the SERP, but it isn’t the SERP that’s going to open its wallet and part with cold hard cash in exchange for your products or services.
Don’t lose focus of what the real end game is – your users. Reassess how users find you – your user access points, and create content that aligns with them.
Google’s latest algorithm, BERT, really puts the emphasis on matching intent, not just keywords. Your content has to be created to match the end user’s intent. Gone are the days of the scattergun approach, the ‘throw it at a wall and see what sticks’.
If you want to do really smart SEO in 2020, go and talk to your customers and actually find out what they want from you. What are their issues, their problems, and their needs that need addressing at every stage of their journey with you?
2. CONTENT REMAINS KING
Content is in everything you do for SEO. From the words you write on your site to the links you create, everything you write has to be imbued with meaning, relevancy and provide value.
Text will always be the foundation of any search, so make sure the text you put out there about your website’s assets is as descriptive as possible. This will help you rank in the SERP.
If your content needs a refresh, make it your goal to update it sooner rather than later – aim to put out the best content on your particular topic; not only will you be providing a service to your customers, you’ll be future-proofing your business in terms of the search engines too.
If you can’t do this, learn the art of writing, or hire someone who can. The days of poor content are numbered.
3. AN EMPHASIS ON UX
User experience is a key trend in 2020 that all website owners need to be aware of. From their initial interaction with your site through to your landing pages and even after exiting your website, everything you do should be with your users in mind – making sure they have the best UX they can possibly have.
One key element here is ensuring your technical SEO is on point. We’re talking site speed and page speed specifically. How long a page takes to load has a significant impact on conversion rate – research shows conversion rates drop by roughly 4.5% with every second it takes a page to load.
No pressure, but you’re literally losing money by running a slow site.
So there you have it, 3 SEO trends for 2020 with one common theme – users. Remember who your real audience is and focus your efforts on wooing them.