In 2018, SEO strategy has continued evolving to prevent the most relevant websites from getting lost in space. Are you landing at the top of search engine results pages with SEO strategy that outshines your competition?
Keeping up with the constant changes in SEO strategy is challenging, but members of the Forbes Agency Council recently shared highlights of top predicted 2018 SEO strategy that impacts how you do business online this year.
Secure Links (SSL)
Google mentioned a couple years ago that secured website certificates (SSL) were beginning to impact website ratings. Recently, browsers such as Chrome are flagging sites that don’t begin with HTTPS as risky or unsafe. For $39/year, this is an inexpensive and easy way to secure your rankings.
Searcher Intent
Google’s priority to match search results to the searcher’s intent will create a huge impact on how we think about SEO strategy. It’ll take thinking beyond keywords and traditional ranking factors to understand the content that search engines deem relevant.
Video SEO
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. A study done by Cisco said that by 2021, video would account for 82% of all consumer Internet traffic. With video looking to surpass all other forms of content in the next few years, getting your brand in front of future prospects could depend on whether or not you are creating original video.
SEO-Rich, Long-Form Content
2018 will see the rise of long-form content. Content pages of 1,500 words or more are performing better in search engine rankings and drawing more organic traffic than shorter ones. Studies show users stay longer on these pages and that they receive more backlinks and social shares. Evergreen topics and high-quality writing is the key to SEO success.
Site Speed
It’s official. Google has announced that site speed is a ranking factor for websites as user demand for fast results is ever increasing. Site speed also drives higher rates of conversion making it an investment in your business as well as your bank account.
