SEO Trends 2024
What was Google up to in 2023? Well, don’t you worry if you do not know the answer as we have been very comprehensive about it in this blog. Moreover, we have a video too. Here is the real question, what are the expected SEO trends of 2024?
Welcome to another blog by LinkBulding HQ. Today, we are all up and ready to talk about what is expected in 2024. We have done our due diligence and found out from industry experts the predictions and speculations. By figuring out Google’s patterns, there were some things we found that we will share today.
Here are the top five SEO trends speculated and predicted that you should look out for in 2024.
- Search Generative Experience
In May 2023, Google first announced Search Generative Experience (SGE).
SGE is a very cool feature that uses Generative AI to help your search results.
When you look up something on Google, you will see the regular results. However, SGE pulls information from web results and socials to compile a single piece. These results are not only from the top 10 results but from a lot of other websites as well.
Search Engine Land held a study that showed that 94% of SGE results are different from organic results. Moreover, SGE was also found to extract results from videos and social platforms.
So, why are AI results better? We think that the best person to answer this is Google.
Source: Google about SGE
With SGE on the rise, it is very normal to think that SEO might die. However, let us put your worries to rest.
SEO is not dying.
But that does not mean you can go about doing the same old things. As a webmaster, it is time for you to adapt to SGE and optimize your content for it.
One of the best and most effective strategies is to have an omnichannel presence. Omnichannel presence is when your business is in every nook and cranny of the digital space – including all social media platforms.
Simple, right? However, you need to remember that omnichannel marketing requires you to tailor your content for the type of audience on their respective channel. For example, you are not going to be as laid back on LinkedIn as you can be on X (Twitter).
Another thing to do is to leverage Structured Data. Use proper Schema Markups on the range of content including text and visuals. Structured data helps Google understand your content, and it increases the chances for it to appear in AI results
Therefore, add Schema Markups to your content so Google understands it better. Here is a video on Schema Markups to help you understand them better.
Rand Fishkin summarizes SGE optimization pretty well,
“It’s my belief that practices like PR, practices like content creation, practices like finding the sources that are feeding into the generative AI training data, those are going to be important parts of what web marketers have to do in future regardless of their diffs as blend if they wanna be in SEO results.”
- AI-powered content generation & customer support
Ever since AI made its mark, it has kept rising. If you think that 2023 was the peak, then you are in for a ride.
SEO trends of 2024 suggest that AI tools and plugins are ready to rise even further to cater to every step of creating content of various sorts. So whether it is images, videos, GIFs, or even blog posts, AI will be out and about to help you create and curate.
For those concerned, don’t worry! Google is not against AI-generated content. However, it does specify that AI content should have the E-E-A-T checks marked. This means that writers will need to add a human touch to meet these guidelines.
As artificial intelligence continues to advance, businesses are increasingly turning to AI-powered chatbots to alleviate the workload of human customer support representatives. However, certain challenges and complexities still require the unique problem-solving abilities of human agents.
Chris Savage, the CEO and founder of Wistia, speculates, “In 2024, companies that incorporate AI into the customer experience – in the right ways, will set themselves apart.”
- Content Strategies that surpass AI
E-A-T was a great quality rater guideline to ensure user intent was satisfied. However, there is a reason why Google added E, standing for Experience. In 2023, we saw how content that included personal experience was unaffected on the SERPs and was least vulnerable to the updates. Hence, missing out on the ‘Experience’ factor in your content is a big miss. In fact, ensure the presence going forward.
To incorporate ‘experience’ flawlessly, Mordy Oberstein, the head of Wix, came up with Situational Content.
Situational content allows users to have multiple solutions to a single problem in the same content piece. So, if the reader does not think solution X will work, they can go to solution Y henceforth.
For multiple solutions, experience is important. Hence, situational content brings a way to incorporate experience and satisfy user intent to create a wholesome piece.
Storytelling is also a great way to ensure fine content. Ross Simmonds has encouraged people to use it in 2024 more than ever.
“Brands need to stand out from AI-driven content by committing to content excellence. This means creating assets rich in insight, storytelling, and incorporating multimedia elements where possible. The future of the SERP will rest on our ability as an industry to step up and deliver content that shapes culture instead of content that shapes the SERP.”
- Focus on Search Intent more than ever.
Zero Click Searches are on the rise. Zero Click Searches are Direct Answers, Featured Snippets, Top Stories, and now, SGE. These searches are what they say, they are answered without having to click on them.
These searches allow low-hanging fruit queries to pop up and satisfy user queries. However, they will not lead to click-through.
Ben Steele from Search Engine Journal, emphasizes on user-journey. Here are the three main points to leverage with that.
Chime Mmeje, Senior Marketing Manager at Moz, further states in the SEJ SEO Trends of 2024 that satisfying search intent should be done on a granular level.
“For example, I helped Guru, a knowledge management platform and former client, to rank for highly competitive keywords like “intranet” (2.4 million searches) and “employee onboarding” (5,400 searches).
Our strategy involved creating content briefs where each subheading was treated like a mini-article, focusing on the audience’s current understanding, filling content gaps, and providing practical examples. This approach ensured our content was more in-depth and comprehensive than any existing material.”
- Technical SEO/ Page Experience
“Google Search always seeks to show the most relevant content, even if the page experience is sub-par. But for many queries, there is lots of helpful content available. Having a great page experience can contribute to success in Search, in such cases.”
Google has always been a cheerleader for technical SEO and a smooth page experience.
The logic is simple, a slow load page will increase your bounce rate. Sooner or later, you’ll see it on the SERPs. In 2023, Google officially updated its documentation to emphasize the importance of page experience.
Keep yourself updated and optimized in 2024. Boost your page speed, security, mobile-friendliness, user experience, and overall site structure.
Google is replacing FID with INP (Interaction to Next Paint) in March 2024. This metric allows a better page experience by making it quicker for users to interact with your content once it’s painted on the screen.
Conclusion
As we advance in the calendar years, the world of SEO and Google is advancing too. However, digital platforms and SEO are not going anywhere. It is no news that Google and all other search engines are becoming increasingly user-centric. This means that websites need to be on their toes to provide the best experience to users and they are likely to stay in the game.
What are some other trends or patterns that you anticipate? Comment and let us know.
