The digital landscape has undergone a massive transformation recently, with new technologies and trends emerging daily. As we look ahead to 2024, businesses and content creators need to stay ahead in the industry. In this article, we'll explore six significant trends to watch out for in 2024 and provide insights on optimizing your content to take advantage of these trends.
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI has reshaped the online landscape. With Google's new Search Generative Experience (SGE), search engines use sophisticated algorithms to understand user intent, content, and relevance.
Additionally, AI blasted through 2023 as one of the most significant content marketing tools. With these two new factors playing an integral role in SEO, learning how they work and how to use them to your advantage is essential.
Search Generative Experience (SGE)
SGE is Google's experiment for AI-powered search results. It provides a concise and interactive way for users to discover answers to queries by drawing from various online sources, showing a mixture of pictures, videos, links, and prompts for further exploration.
SGE uses a complex algorithm to retrieve information from websites that Google deems relevant, ensuring that the answers are accurate and up-to-date. Unlike traditional search engines that display a list of links on the SERPs, SGE aims to converse with the user, anticipating their needs and providing relevant information in real time as the conversation progresses.
With SGE, users can now have a more natural and efficient way to search for information without the need to sift through multiple pages of search results. This new trend in search technology is changing how we interact with search engines, making finding the information we need more straightforward and faster.
So, how do you optimize for it?
It is currently not recommended to optimize content for SGE since it is still a new technology. However, it is worth mentioning that SGE operates using Google's search quality systems based on core search ranking and quality systems. By analyzing these systems, we can get insights on how to rank content.
Fortunately, Google still focuses on leading users to web content, prioritizing high-quality content as always. If you want your content featured in SGE, ensure it aligns with E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
AI-Generated Content
AI-generated content is both loved and hated. When AI first emerged, Google took a strong stance against it, marking such content as spam. However, as more people began to use AI for time efficiency, Google shifted its focus towards rewarding high-quality content, regardless of how it was created. They clarified that using automation to manipulate search rankings violates their spam policies.
Looking ahead to 2024, we expect more AI-generated content in the SERPs. However, that doesn't mean we should stop there.
Google has advised content creators to ensure high-quality content by using their Creating Helpful Content help page. To make sure your content meets Google's standards, ask yourself these questions:
- Does your content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does it offer a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does it provide insightful analysis or interesting information that goes beyond the obvious?
- If your content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources? Does it provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the main heading or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
- Does it avoid exaggerating or being shocking in nature?
- Is it the kind of page you'd want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does it have any spelling or stylistic issues?
- Is the content produced well or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don't get as much attention or care?
It's important to note that Google can distinguish bad content from good. Merely using AI to create content can lower your website's rankings.
2. Voice Search Optimization
As voice-activated devices continue to rise, optimizing your content for voice search is more important than ever. It is predicted that by 2026, there will be roughly half a billion voice assistant users worldwide. Given this growth, it is essential to understand how to tailor your content to match the conversational nature of voice queries.
It is essential to note that voice searches are typically more conversational than typed searches. As such, you should focus on using long-tail keywords, question-based queries, and natural language optimization to make your content more voice-search-friendly. This can help improve voice search optimization and ensure that your content is easily discoverable.
Other tactics you can use to optimize for voice search include:
- Aim to secure featured snippets for relevant queries. Voice assistants often pull information from featured snippets to provide concise and direct answers.
- Optimize for local searches, as many voice searches are location-based. Ensure your business information is accurate and up-to-date in online directories and Google My Business.
- Improve your website's loading speed. Voice search users often seek quick answers, and search engines may prioritize faster-loading pages.
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Voice searches are frequently conducted on mobile devices, and a mobile-friendly design contributes to a better user experience.
- Use structured data markup to provide context to search engines about your content. This can help search engines gain context behind your content and provide more accurate results for voice queries.
- Develop FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages. Voice searches often take the form of questions, and having a dedicated FAQ section can increase the chances of your content being used as a voice search result.
By implementing these tips, you can enhance your website's visibility and voice search performance, catering to users' evolving search habits.
3. Video SEO
Searchers love videos.
Video content is easy to digest, creates compelling stories, and offers more accessibility. And the number of digital viewers will keep growing, reaching almost 3.5 billion by the end of 2023. Additionally, in a 2023 Video Marketing Statistics Report, it was stated that:
- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
- 89% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service.
- 79% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a software or app.
- 91% of people say they want to see more online videos from brands in 2023.
Google has noticed this increase in video content consumption and has started featuring videos in search results. Additionally, video-rich pages are given preference by Google.
How can you capitalize on video SEO?
Start with researching keywords using YouTube's research tools and finding relevant topics. Implement these keywords into your video titles, descriptions, transcripts, and tags to boost visibility. Then, implement schema markup for videos to provide search engines with additional context, enhancing the visibility of your video content in search results.
4. Zero-Click Searches
Zero-click searches are searchers where users don't click on a search result. This could happen for several reasons, including:
- People are searching for local business information, which is provided in the SERPs by Google.
- People are searching for quick conversions or calculations — tools that are provided in the SERPs.
- People are searching for public information, which can be displayed in the SERPs' knowledge panel on the right side.
With Google's enhanced SERP features, searchers no longer need to click on websites to receive answers to definitional and informational queries.
One way to work around zero-click searches is to aim for featured snippets. While this tactic won't necessarily get you more site traffic, it will help boost brand recognition with your target audience.
To optimize for featured snippets, be sure to:
- Create unique, informational content that directly answers the search query.
- Use lists in your content to make it more readable.
- Implement structured data markups to provide search engines with structured information.
There is no guaranteed method to optimize for featured snippets. However, following the tips mentioned earlier can increase your chances of being featured.
5. Topical Authority
A topical authority is a source of information that comprehensively covers a subject and meets the needs of the person searching for it. According to Google, authority is a combination of experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). A website must have all four of these characteristics to become a topical authority.
Establishing authority on a specific topic can be challenging, but with the help of the pillar page strategy, it can be done effectively. This strategy involves choosing a broad topic and creating content that supports it, allowing your readers to understand the subject comprehensively.
To illustrate, let's take the example of content marketing. Creating a detailed guide about content marketing can serve as your pillar page. From there, you can craft supplementary content that links back to your pillar page, covering different supporting topics such as social media, content creation, and graphic design.
Each supporting topic can also be treated as its own pillar page, which can be further divided into more granular subtopics, making it easier for users to find the information they need. But it's not enough just to create content; it is essential to write each piece of content to meet the searcher's intent, providing value to the reader and establishing your authority on the topic.
Utilizing the pillar page strategy effectively establishes authority on a particular topic. By creating comprehensive and authoritative content, you can provide value to your readers and position yourself as a thought leader in your field.
6. Contextual Search Features
In 2023, Google conducted an experiment to enhance its search engine results page (SERP) by adding context. The search giant introduced new features such as Perspectives, Notes, and structured data for forums and profiles. These SERP features display the viewpoints of searchers on specific web pages and topics, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the content.
The recent updates have given content creators and searchers greater control over how web pages are displayed in the SERPs. Previously, it was believed that the website that appeared first in the SERPs was the most reliable, but now searchers can view firsthand accounts of the web page experience before clicking on it.
Website owners must pay close attention to the user experience to ensure a positive online presence. This involves focusing on website speed optimization, creating an intuitive site structure that facilitates easy navigation, and producing comprehensive, high-quality content that caters to the searcher's intent. In addition, website owners should regularly monitor user feedback and analytics data to make improvements and adjustments to enhance the overall user experience. By prioritizing these key elements, website owners can establish a strong online reputation and improve their brand image in the digital world.
As we move forward into 2024, user experience, artificial intelligence, and strategic content creation are the keys to success. By keeping yourself well-informed and adapting your strategies to align with these trends, you will enhance your website's visibility in search results and lay a solid foundation for long-term digital success. SEO is a continuous journey, and staying ahead of trends requires a commitment to ongoing learning and adaptation.
