Search engine optimization trends keep changing and to ensure your business website is on the top search engine results, it is imperative that you keep up with the trends. This is what has seen many companies do everything within their power to learn and abide by the new rules that almost all search engines are using. As the end of the year approaches, you want to make sure that you start 2018 on the right path. You want your business to be easily accessible to the right searches. If this is your goal, here are some of the things you should consider doing if you haven’t already done them.
- Embrace HTTP/2
One of the primary focuses of Google is page speed. As a result, priority is being given to websites that load fast. This is what makes an upgrade to HTTP/2 a great idea. HTTP/1.1 has been around since 1999. HTTP/2 is a huge leap from HTTP/1.1. The first thing you need to do is to ensure that you are using the HTTP/2.
Simply upgrading will not do much. For better results, it is important that you also work on your website. You need to test the overall speed of your website. Start by making sure that only relevant elements are present. Reducing the clutter will do wonders in boosting the overall speed of your pages. Second, you have to switch to a better hosting company. The services offered by your web hosting company will have a significant impact on your overall ranking. That is why you need a service provider that gives you a bandwidth that is virtually unlimited.
- Target fewer keyword derivations
Keyword research and targeting is something that keeps changing. This is mostly because of the effort of search engines to give more accurate searches and to eliminate spam. Search engine algorithms are smarter today. They can understand acronyms, abbreviations, plurals, answers and synonyms. You have to account for all these when it comes to keyword research and targeting.
As 2018 approaches, you should focus more on fewer derivations of keywords that you target. This is the key to giving you a competitive edge on the competitive internet platform. In addition to that, you have to use long-tail keywords. These are more specific to the searches made and will give better returns in search engine optimization.
- Don’t deviate too far from the basics
Search engine optimization is important but you cannot focus on it without thinking about your target audience. What this will do is only cause your content to be less relevant. When it comes to SEO, you should also focus on the basics. You need to forget about the algorithms and follow the consumer behavior.
When taking a look at the prevailing trends, one thing you will notice is that consumers are more drawn to images and short images than to the bulky text. This is something you have to account for in search engine optimization. You want to give the consumer what they really want and let the search engines do the rest. The main objective of Google is to give users the information they are looking for. This means if your content is poor, it will negatively impact your ranking. The good news is that if you don’t know what needs to be done to boost ranking, you can always work with a Vancouver SEO consultant. They have more experience in page optimization and they will definitely help you boost your ranking.
- Use Google as the bellwether
It is not possible to focus on all search engines when keeping up with the trends in search engine optimization. This is why you need to pick the most influential search engine and focus on its guidelines. Today, Google is the most widely used search engine. This means keeping up with the latest guidelines and following them will definitely help you keep up with other search engines too.
The first thing you need to understand is that Google has a mobile-first rule. This means that if your website is optimized for mobile, you will have better chances of ranking high than websites that are not mobile friendly. Searches today have moved to being primarily mobile focused. The first thing you need to do when getting ready for 2018 is to ensure that your web elements are all mobile ready. This is because content that shows on mobile will take first position in search engine crawling and ranking.
- Focus more on UX
With the RankBrain and other machine learning, search engines are smarter today and they will only get smarter with time. The search engines are able to understand what makes a good search result. Although keywords are still being used in ranking, they are not the only things that are considered when it comes to ranking. Search engines are now rewarding websites that offer great customer experience and that load fast. This will not change come 2018. The search engines will only get smarter. Over-optimizing your pages based on keywords alone will not cut it.
- Clarify intent
A decade or so ago, all you needed to do was write content and post it on your website. But today, you need to do so much more than this. SEO is all about clarifying intent. As a brand, you have to make sure that your online content is based on intent and what the users want to find when they search for your brand. This is what makes cross-channel marketing very important. You have to embrace this strategy in 2018.
- Quality backlinks
Last but not least, you have to have quality backlinks. Backlinks have a significant impact on page ranking. Google is now able to qualify backlinks and determine whether they are of good quality or not. Don’t just link to any random website.
These are the main things you have to do when getting ready for 2018. The key is not to cut corners when promoting your website. Focus on quality over quantity.
Author Bio
Jack Brian is a Vancouver SEO consultant rendering services to small and medium-sized companies. He loves sharing his knowledge on SEO and educating webmasters on what to expect in the near future. Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn.
