Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO, is a term that every second person in the digital world knows, and even those who aren't involved in the digital world. Love it or hate it, SEO is here to stay. So what's going on? The truth is, SEO is evolving at a pace that's never been greater. So, to stay ranked in 2024, you need to be prepared to reinvent your SEO strategy to keep up with the constant algorithm updates. For businesses that want to succeed, responsiveness is more important than ever. This year, staying in your comfort zone and sticking to what once worked won't do you any favors.
SEO has been and will continue to be valuable for businesses looking to increase traffic, leads, brand awareness, and ultimately revenue. As long as people use search engines to find the information they need, SEO will remain important. According to Leedfeeder, if a business or its content ranks #1 in Google's organic search results, it will get 27% of all clicks. That's no small thing. Then, if you rank #2, you'll get 15.8% of all clicks. So how do you win the SEO game? Let's find out…
Fast forward to 2023 and AI seems to have a major impact on content creation and has started to change search algorithms. Google has made it clear that their main objective is to provide engaging and trustworthy content that effectively addresses user search intent. As the web becomes more saturated with AI-generated content, there is now a greater emphasis on quality content, which is becoming rarer. A good example of this is the number of updates Google is continuously implementing. Search algorithms are becoming stricter in their definition of rank-worthy content. Since AI, there is now more emphasis on user intent and answering actual target audience questions. But it seems that Google is not the only one that is tired of low-quality content. More than half of B2B sellers, or 57%, ignore marketing.
AI can help scale content production, but it can't come at the expense of quality. User experience should still be at the core of your content strategy. The latest Google algorithm changes suggest that human-created content will be favored over AI-created content.
A personal touch
Google prioritizes websites that exhibit high levels of experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT). Websites that exhibit these qualities are more likely to rank higher in search engine results. That's why publishers need to find ways to use AI to improve and expand their content marketing efforts without losing the personal touch and expertise that only humans can provide.
Additionally, Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) is believed to be gradually changing user behavior by displaying AI-generated results at the top of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). This is the page that readers see after they type their search. Typically, the goal of SGE is to improve the user experience by providing easy-to-understand answers to the search query. They also provide suggested visuals and prompts to guide the user to continue their search. SGE is not a chatbot, but it works more like a conversational AI assistant than a simple search engine. We expect this to be the approach adopted by SERPs in the future. However, SGE is not yet fully adopted. It will be some time before SGE becomes dominant and completely disrupts search.
How to prepare for SGE?
SGEs are considered to be focused on providing quick and efficient answers to the point. Using lists and breaking down the text into different sections makes SGEs easier to understand. Covering the entire topic is also important in this case, as SGEs are thought to direct users to other search results that cover the same or similar topics. Hence, content clusters play a key role. Images and infographics are expected to play a role. However, experts feel that it is too early to comment on the role of SGEs and until then it is important to stick to creating high-quality, user-centric SEO content.
Why are keywords important?
Keyword research is crucial as it directly relates to finding out the terms, search queries, and phrases that potential customers are using in search engines. Moreover, keyword research also helps marketing and SEO teams to discover the various ways in which users can utilize search engines to find their products and services. It is important to note that there are some highly competitive keywords and just because one publisher has successfully implemented them does not mean that other publishers will be successful as well. Therefore, it is important for websites and publishers to choose target keywords that are realistically achievable. This is also important considering that most online searchers do not scroll past the first page of SERPs.
Moreover, if your website has low domain authority and you haven't built off-site signals through backlinks and link building, your webpage is less likely to rank on page 1 for highly competitive keywords. When choosing keywords, it's important to consider factors like realistic Keyword Difficulty Score, high monthly search volume, and high cost per click (CPC). Tools that publishers can use include Keyword Gap Analyzer and Content Planner, which check if your site is missing a particular topic or if a theme used by your competitors is working well. In this case, the software automates keyword clustering and topic ideation. This free Content Planner tool allows you to create a content plan with just one click.
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