Trends, in whichever industry they may be, are ever as fickle as the winds that change direction without a moment’s notice. And the people, like the scattered leaves on a windy day in fall, must learn to ride these winds. On that note, it’s easy to tell that technology is always going to be as fickle as any other industry can be, if not more so.
With innovations and disruptive technologies springing up left and right like mushrooms in a rainforest, it’s easy to get lost in the thick of it all. Your strategies may work to your benefit for the first few months and then, later on, like a group of jealous senators, stab you in the back as you move to become the ruler of your empire later on.
Okay, so that may have been a bit of an exaggeration. But the fact of the matter stands. You’ve got to stay in the loop on trends if you’re planning on being competitive. And while some people would rather go the easy route and just leave all this to a company like this Philadelphia SEO company, the fact is that it’s still important to know what exactly you’re dealing with here. So, what exactly are the mid-2018 SEO trends that you should be using to your advantage?
Mobile-First Indexing
Now, it’s long been established that more and more people are accessing the internet via their mobile devices, particularly, smartphones. So, it only makes perfect sense to be able to optimize your website for viewing on a mobile device. This is because, in a similar fashion, your website is going to be ranked according to its mobile version.
So, the objective here is to ensure that your website looks just as good on a mobile device as it does on a desktop. Failure to do so means that you could not only potentially drop in rank, but your site might not even be indexed at all.
Optimization for Voice Searches
Artificial intelligence is all the craze these days. And along with it, the very concept of the smart home where the smart speaker is the central hub for all commands, including internet searches. So, that means that as the smart home becomes more mainstream, the way that internet searches are conducted is bound to evolve from being typed out to being voiced out.
Logic demands that you optimize your SEO strategies to match this trend. So, long-tail keywords paired with accurate syntax are going to be your best bet. Just put yourself in the shoes of whoever might be giving out voice commands.
Optimization for Purpose
Now, with artificial intelligence on the rise, it’s also only natural to roll with the waves it brings. AI will soon be able to analyze search patterns and determine what type of search results to display. For example when a person says “affordable Nike shoes”, the search engine is going to be able to detect that the person intends to make a purchase and thus, prioritizes eCommerce websites over all others.
In contrast, if the search query becomes “best Nike shoe of 2018”, the search engine AI will then prioritize review websites.
So, find your niche and a definite purpose for both your site and your content and stick with it.
