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Predictions for 2020 SEO
With Google’s focus on the user, speed will continue to be an increasing factor in the way they rank websites. In 2018 Google rolled out its speed update that shifted the priority of website speed on mobile, and the speed of desktop versions have been a factor for Google for years prior. Anytime we see Google spend some time and money researching a specific area of interest you can be sure that an update in their algorithm is soon to follow.
From a user standpoint, a lightning-fast website is the first key to success. If your site won’t load fast enough then visitors start to leave an increasing rate. Google has published the following chart that shows the comparison with site speed and bounce rate.
As people’s attention spans decrease in this world flooded by instant gratification, you can bet that as time goes on speed will be an increasing factor in how you will need to implement your SEO strategies for websites. This factor means that it will be important to prioritize speed optimization for websites when you go through the web development process.
Photo of Google Chart Source: Google/SOASTA Research, 2017
Reviews have long been a key factor in search engine optimization. In Google’s article “Improve Your Local Ranking on Google” they explain “high-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location.” This reveals that Google Reviews hold quite a bit of weight in local SEO. In 2018 Darren Shaw of Whitespark released his findings from his annual Google local rankings survey. The survey revealed that reviews account for 15.44% of how Google ranks a local business.
Photo of Chatmeter Graph Source: Chatmeter, The 2018 Local Ranking Factors
With Google continuing to focus more on local, Google reviews will continue to be an increasing factor in the future. Strategizing methods to increase customer reviews should be a part of everyone’s SEO plan of attack.
According to Casie Gillette of Ko Marketing, 50% of search queries are 4 words or longer. As the number of websites increases, we predict that search queries will have to become longer to target exactly what the consumer wants. In an article by Millforbusiness.com, they discovered that every minute the number of websites grew approximately by 380. With such a large increase in websites, we believe that the number of words in each search query will only increase as times goes on. In this case, we recommend that targeting more longtail keywords in your SEO will likely be a factor in the success of websites in the future.
This has been a popular topic in SEO for the past few years. Many remember when Siri was released in 2011. To most, it was a technology that was fun to simply ask Siri funny questions and hear her response. Now since its introduction with Siri, voice integration has scaled across many companies and platforms from Google Assistance to Amazon’s Alexa. Most use voice integration today to get information and search for things. This means a change in the dynamics of SEO.
The main factor that will play a part in optimizing for voice search queries is that people type and speak very differently. Most queries via voice integration are longer than typed and most people are asking questions rather than just one or two terms. Another factor that plays a part is that voice queries are 3x more likely to be locally driven than typed. Yet another reason that local SEO will continue to gain more traction in the future. Moving into 2020 you will likely need to implement more voice integration strategies into your SEO.
Since its inception into Google testing in 2015 Google’s people also ask SERPs has continued to become more popular. This is partly due to the rise in voice integration. Most people using services like Alexa and Google Assistant are asking questions. This helps Google to more accurately target there People Also Ask “PAA” SERPs. If PAA isn’t a strategy for you now this will absolutely need to be in 2020.
In 2018 Mozcast said that PAA’s showed up in around 30% of the queries they monitor. I predict this number will continue to increase in 2020. In order to target PAA for your SEO strategies, a great tip is making sure that your site features a FAQ. Continue to be on the lookout for PAA into 2020 and on.
“Search algorithms also aim to prioritize the most reliable sources available. To do this, our systems are designed to identify signals that can help determine which pages demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on a given topic.”
Source: Google
As time goes on the AI that Google uses for its algorithms will learn to pinpoint quality content more precisely. The Google algorithm is always evolving and because of this, it will take more precision and more strategy to make it to the top. You will not be able to push unwanted content with targeted keywords anymore. You will need to have quality content that shows that you are an expert in your field. For some agencies, this may mean partnering more with clients to have them write their own content instead of trying to stumble through something like Business Law that they know nothing about. This will take more time and strategy, but in the end, it should be a better payoff for both user experience and SEO results. “Better content is outweighing more content.”
– Rand Fishkin
44 W Broadway #205
Eugene, OR 97401
info@bemacreative.com
541-357-7541
44 W Broadway #205 Eugene, OR 97401
info@bemacreative.com
541-357-7541
44 W Broadway #205 Eugene, OR 97401
info@bemacreative.com
541-357-7541