Emerging Trends in SEO

What the Future of SEO Looks Like

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has evolved continuously since its early days. The changes and shifts in user behaviour have played a significant role in its growth and updates.  

Today, SEO has become way more complex and user-centric. SEO, content, and marketing professionals need to have a deeper understanding of technical optimisation, content quality, and search engine algorithms. 

The Evolution of SEO: A Historical Overview

Before we delve into emerging trends for SEO, let's take a brief recap. 

The early days (1990s - early 2000s): 

• In the internet's dawning days, search engines like AltaVista, Yahoo!, and Google were developing their methods for ranking web pages. SEO was relatively unsophisticated. There was an abuse of keyword stuffing, link farms, and other manipulative tactics.  

  

Search engine algorithms were less complex, making it easier to "trick" the system and achieve high rankings through unethical practices. Those over 30 might remember the phrase "black-hat SEO."

• Your rankings depended on the number of keywords you had on your page, regardless of their location or the quality of your content. 

The Google era and algorithm updates (Early 2000s - 2010s):

• Google's arrival in 1998 and its PageRank algorithm revolutionised search. Google used PageRank to assess the quality and quantity of backlinks to a page, giving more weight to links from authoritative websites. 

  
  
  

With the beginning of the millennium, many webmasters used link-building as a primary SEO tactic. 

Unfortunately, it also led to many link schemes, often facilitated through paid agreements between companies, to boost their rankings. To counterattack these dubious schemes, Google kicked off its famous (and for many, dreaded) algorithm updates. Key updates included:

• Panda (2011): Targeted websites with thin, low-quality, or duplicate content. This update emphasized the importance of high-quality, original content.

  
  
  

• Penguin (2012): Penalized websites involved in link schemes and manipulative link-building practices. This update focused on the quality and relevance of backlinks. 

• Hummingbird (2013): Improved Google's ability to understand the semantic meaning behind search queries, focusing on user intent and conversational search.

• These updates marked a significant shift towards rewarding websites that provided value to users and away from those that used manipulative tactics.

The mobile revolution (2010s - present): 

• The increasing use of mobile devices has transformed how people access the Internet. Google prioritised mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor.

• 
  Mobilegeddon (2015): Google's update significantly boosted the ranking of mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results. 

• RankBrain (2015): Google introduced RankBrain, an AI-powered system that helps understand the context and meaning of search queries, further emphasizing user intent. 

• BERT (2019): BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) improved Google's understanding of natural language, particularly the nuances of prepositions and conjunctions in search queries.

Emerging trends in SEO: Shaping the future

As search engine algorithms continue to evolve, several key trends are shaping the future of SEO. Understanding and adapting to these trends is crucial to remaining competitive. 

1. AI and machine learning:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly significant in search engine algorithms. Google's RankBrain and BERT are examples of AI-powered systems that help understand user intent, context, and natural language.

AI analyzes vast amounts of data, personalizes search results, and improves the overall search experience.

2. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness):

Google has increasingly emphasized the importance of E-E-A-T in evaluating website quality.

• Experience: This refers to the author's first-hand experience with the topic.

• Expertise: The author's knowledge and skills in a particular subject area. 

• Authoritativeness: The website's and the author's reputation and influence in the industry.

• Trustworthiness: The website's and its content's accuracy, reliability, and security

3. User experience (UX):

• Search engines are increasingly prioritizing user experience as a ranking factor. Websites that provide a positive user experience are more likely to rank higher.

• Key UX factors include:

• Page speed: How quickly a web page loads.

• Mobile-friendliness: How well a website performs on mobile devices.

• Site navigation: It is easy for users to find what they want.

• Interactivity: How engaging and interactive the website is.

• Accessibility: How accessible the website is to users with disabilities.

4. Mobile-first indexing:

• With most internet users accessing websites on mobile devices, Google has switched to mobile-first indexing. This means that Google primarily uses the mobile version of a website to index and rank it.

5. Voice search:

• The increasing popularity of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant has led to the growth of voice search. Voice search queries tend to be longer and more conversational than text-based searches.

I recommend long tail keywords and natural language queries as well as organizing your content in snippets, which are easier to read for humans and voice assistants. Lastly, focus on local SEO to boost your options for location-based queries.

6. Video SEO:

• Video content is becoming increasingly popular, and search engines recognize its importance. Optimizing videos for search engines can drive significant traffic to websites. I recommend optimizing video titles, descriptions, and meta tags. Using schema markups can also improve visibility in search results.

7. Local SEO:

• For businesses with a physical location, local SEO is crucial for attracting nearby customers. Local SEO involves optimizing online presence to rank higher in local search results.

8. Semantic search:

• Search engines are becoming better at understanding the meaning and context behind search queries rather than just matching keywords. Semantic search aims to provide users with the most relevant results based on their intent. 

It is crucial to create content that covers topics comprehensively and answers user questions. Using structured data markup (schema) can help search engines understand the meaning of content. Focusing on topic clusters and related keywords can improve semantic relevance.

9. Personalization: 

• Search results are increasingly personalized based on user location, search history, and other factors. Personalization aims to provide users with the most relevant results based on their needs and preferences.

Since the early days of the internet, the field of SEO has undergone a dramatic transformation. From keyword stuffing and link manipulation to a focus on user experience, content quality, and technical excellence, SEO has become more sophisticated and user-centric. Emerging trends like AI, E-E-A-T, and semantic search will continue to shape the future of SEO.

By staying informed, adapting to these changes, and prioritizing user value, SEO professionals can navigate the evolving landscape and achieve sustainable success in the years to come.