As online competition continues to increase and new websites are being launched, it’s time to rethink your content marketing strategy and invest in SEO. Websites must meet specific requirements set by search engines like Google, and this is where SEO strategy becomes very important.
You must know what SEO trends are on the horizon so that you can update your website accordingly and ensure that more prospects and customers find you in the search engine results.
So, let’s dive into the 12 SEO trends for 2020.
1. Snippets Dominate More Search Clicks
Google has evolved in recent years to deliver a better search experience for the user, like through Featured Snippets.
Featured Snippets usually appear above the number #1 organic result, commonly referred to as “Position 0.”
To take advantage of this feature and drive more clicks to your website, you need to provide clear answers to commonly asked questions on your website. Featured Snippets are evaluated and boosted to the top depending on their quality, which Google has a way of determining. Don’t take this trend lightly, as 54.68% of clicks from Google originate from Featured Snippets—proving that they drive more than half of search engine clicks.
Featured Snippets represent a great opportunity for content creators since it gives you the ability to generate more organic traffic even if you’re not ranking at the top number #1 position.
2. Backlinks are still important
Backlink building may not be as important as it once were – when search engine rankings depended only on the number of backlinks you got.Today, ranking depends on a series of factors and we’ve already discussed an important part of this aspect in the previous aspect.
However, the backlink factor that should not be forgotten either. It is essential in brand building and website reputation and still, the number one factor in search engine ranking.
Before engaging into backlinking strategies, it is important to conduct research and organize your findings into several categories. You’ll want to base them on the industry they come from, and by the reputation of the website linking back to you or the traffic generated by that website. Reputable and quality backlinks can get you more exposure, more traffic and a significant boost in trust.
The emphasis, however, should be on brand building and not on ranking high on Google. Combine this strategy with the above, keyword-based strategy and you will get there faster than ever.
According to Google’s Guidelines, “the best way to get other sites to create high-quality, relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can naturally gain popularity in the Internet community.
Creating good content pays off: Links are usually editorial votes given by choice, and the more useful content you have, the greater the chances someone else will find that content valuable to their readers and link to it”.
TIP: You can also check the internet for brand mentions that do not link back to you, then try to contact the webmasters or site owners to ask them to give you backlinks. You can find them easily with brand monitoring tools like Mention and, if you want to be successful, you can give something of value in return..
3. Secure Websites Are a Must
User safety is another trend that doesn’t seem to have much to do with SEO, but it is very important to the website user experience. If a user doesn’t feel safe visiting a web page then they’re very likely to leave quickly. Or if they see a “Not Secure” warning appear, they may decide to not proceed to your page. As a result, high bounce rates could affect the position of that page in the organic search listing.It’s important to enable HTTPS protocol for your site. HTTPS gives website users a secure connection that is both encrypted and authenticated. According to Google, HTTPS “helps prevent intruders from tampering with the communications between your websites and your users’ browsers.”
Google wants to provide its users with a secure browsing experience, so those that implement HTTPS may experience a minor SEO boost.
If you’re trying to collect personal information from your users on your website via a web form, then you have a responsibility to protect their privacy.
It’s extremely important to assure your users that their data will be protected for as long as they stay on the page.
There are still many vulnerabilities on the web, but every day there are new security measures that can be implemented into your own website.
4. Mobile UX Will Determine Your Rankings
A website that does not have a mobile version may lose most of its users in the coming years as mobile web pages are a growing trend that will get even more popular in 2020. Especially since more people around the world are obtaining smartphones as more cell phone towers are being built with better connectivity.However, technology and how people find information through their mobile devices is getting so advanced that it’s not enough to just have a mobile website- the interface has to be easy to read, grab people’s attention and then have the ability to answer their questions or at least keep them entertained.
Studies show that 4 in 5 consumers conduct local searches on search engines using their mobile devices. And as you can see below, searches on smartphones are 88% while searches on computers and tablets combined make up 84%:
Since more people are searching from their smartphones than from a computer, it’s important to have a mobile version for your website to reach the most amount of people interested in your product.
Your pages must be optimized for mobile devices if you want to keep up with your competitors. And keep in mind that the higher you are in the Google mobile page index, the more prominent your page will be.
5. High-quality Content is More Important Than Ever
Online ads still work for driving business, but we’ll see that they’ll get even more expensive in the coming years. And unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that customers will respond to your ads. Ninety-one percent of total ad spend is viewed for less than a second; this led to a $38 billion in digital ad spend wasted in 2017.That’s why creating high-quality content is an essential element of effective SEO strategies. Users want content that is relevant, helpful, and timely—and that is what Google tends to reward with higher search engine rankings. People head to search engines with questions, and your web page needs to deliver answers.
Content must be well researched and follow a logical structure that makes it easy to navigate and read.
Informative and quality articles are the only type of content that will grow a website’s popularity in 2020 and beyond. Online consumers are quick to detect and ignore web pages or blog articles that are too salesy. According to the Economist Group’s “Missing the Mark” Report, “71% of readers say they were turned off by content that seems like a sales pitch.”
What people want is educational content delivered to them in easy to digest forms, such as blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, etc.