Earlier this year, we posted a blog breaking down some of the most important SEO trends that will shape the industry in 2024. Now that the end of the year is approaching, join us as we reflect on some of the key SEO trends we encountered throughout the year.
1. Featured snippets
Featured snippets are the short boxes of information displayed at the top of Google search results and are a great way to get your website in front of more people. The function of featured snippets is to provide succinct answers to user’s search queries. Therefore, it’s not surprising that understanding the user’s search intent is key when optimising your content for featured snippets.
By understanding what users are searching for, you can create helpful content that addresses their queries. Along with your content itself, how you structure it is also important. Rather than long paragraphs of text that can be difficult to skim, break your content up with bullet points, lists, images, and videos.
2. Zero-click searches are on the rise
Zero-click searches are when a user doesn’t click on any of the displayed results. For example, users who are looking for public or celebrity information will often find what they’re looking for in a knowledge panel. Similarly, users looking for quick answers to calculations or conversions will often find what they’re looking for without clicking on a result. This is why it’s important to focus your efforts on securing a featured snippet position on the SERP to minimise the effects of zero-click searches.
3. Local search
With the majority of people finding local businesses online, optimising for local search is more important than ever. To make a good impression on customers searching for local businesses, optimising your Google Business Profile (GBP) is key. You can do this by choosing the right business category, adding a description, uploading high-quality photos, and including your opening hours. Encourage customers to leave reviews and always take the time to respond to them – both positive and negative.
4. Balancing AI usage
There’s no doubt that AI is useful for creating generic content by pulling in information from existing content. The risk of too much reliance on AI is that everyone’s content will start looking the same. This means that instead of standing out, you’ll blend in with your competitors. While AI can be a helpful tool for getting ideas for content pieces to write, relying on it entirely for your content strategy can do more harm than good.
Instead of relying on AI to create your content, it’s better to use it as a tool to help you write better content. For example, if you enter your blog title and keywords into ChatGPT, it’ll generate an outline, which you can then use as a basis for your writing. Once you’ve written your blog, you can ask ChatGPT to proofread it and fix any grammatical mistakes. ChatGPT can also handle some of the more boring tasks, like creating title tags and meta descriptions.
5. Technical SEO
Throughout 2024, technical SEO has been steadily growing in importance. Technical SEO involves optimising a website’s infrastructure for search engines, often including site speed optimisation, a mobile-friendly design, and secure HTTPS encryption. Utilising technical SEO is key to building organic traffic, boosting your results on the SERP, and standing out in the competitive search environment.
In addition to staying on top of the latest trends, partnering with an expert SEO team will help you achieve SEO success. Get in contact with us at hello@omdigigroup.com to find out how our SEO experts can help!
