{"id":4121,"date":"2020-07-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owlsem.com\/?p=4121"},"modified":"2023-11-14T07:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:52:34","slug":"top-seo-trends-for-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/owlsem.com\/top-seo-trends-for-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"SEO Trends for 2020 to Use in Your Marketing Company \ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the year 2020 inches away, you may already have a blueprint on the direction you need your business to go in 2020 and the rest of the decade. You probably already have goals to be achieved before the year ends.\u00a0When it comes to marketing goals<\/a>, having a solid SEO strategy is absolutely key<\/em>. But as the internet is always changing and improving, the SEO strategies change. With things constantly changing, how can you know the best SEO trends for 2020 and into the new decade?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, to achieve your business goals, you need to understand SEO trends for 2020 and beyond. To facilitate your business growth, you need to keep up with emerging trends. Some aspects of SEO will never change, such as title tags, garnering quality links, and writing quality content. There are, however, some significant changes in SEO<\/a> that might take grow your business or see it stall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google (obviously being the largest search engine) and all its algorithm fluctuations should be your priority when you are optimizing your online business. As such, any step you take towards making your business more visible should consider what Google wants for companies to rank high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let’s discuss some of the top trends to pay attention to when optimizing your SEO game!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-Click Searches Continue in 2020<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, “zero-click” searches were a big thing. These are searches where a user gets an answer to their search queries even without opening any link on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-click searches, also known as “featured snippets”, did not start recently. However, Google realized that there are so many user queries and decided to make zero-click searches the norm. You probably are familiar with zero-click searches whenever you type a question into the search bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"flatlay<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If, for instance, you searched \u201cwhat is SEO\u201d on Google, you will see the definition of SEO on the knowledge graph on the right side hand of your SERP without opening any page. Sometimes, a snippet appears as the first result on SERP to answer your question in full. You will also see additional questions you might have on the \u201cPeople also ask\u201d box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, users looking for a quick answer will never click any page as the answer is offered at the top of SERP. While this means you get fewer clicks, there is no need to worry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the number of page clicks has reduced even as the number of actual searches has increased, this does not mean that you will have fewer visitors on your site. To increase the number of visitors to your website, you will need to optimize pages that give you clicks. Here, you will need to do thorough keyword research to find keywords that bring you actual clicks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords that bring more clicks have less \u201cquestion\u201d terms such as when, how many, what year, what is a, and so many more. While these keywords are still vital, they should not be the focus of your SEO. To focus more on bringing visitors to your business and possible conversions,<\/a> purely informational queries should be moved to the bottom of your to-do list.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SERP Features to Work Wonders in 2020<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While you should focus more on organic traffic from search terms that end up in clicks, some of the keywords that could end up in conversions suffer from zero-click searches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, users read less than they used to. A few years ago, users would skim through articles and through the SERP. Today, users move their eyes so fast, looking for specific content. This, and the fact that businesses get fewer clicks, means that getting featured will be more important from now onwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you show up as #1 on SERP under featured snippets, you will still get fewer clicks. So, instead of working on getting into #1, work to get your business into the knowledge graph away from all other results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A knowledge graph appears on the right-hand side of Google’s SERP. That box is not for Wikipedia alone \u2013 any business can get into that box. The knowledge box featured snippets, and “people also ask” box are opportunities. The fact that these features appear out the normal SERP makes them stand out \u2013 you should, therefore, see them as opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you appear on any of the SERP features occasionally, your business will look more authoritative. This way, you are likely to rank high for the keywords that bring clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Some Keyword and Competition Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using a keyword research tool such as Rank Tracker, SEMrush<\/a>, or AHREFS, check which of your targeted keywords are SERP features. You also need to check out your competition and see which keywords they are ranking for and which among those keywords are SERP features.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, to see what works and what doesn\u2019t, you will need to see what your competitors are ranking for and whether it works. If your competitors get a SERP feature for a given keyword, head to their website and see how they have structured their page and their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, you will note that the page feature is structured in a specific way according to what Google feels is readable and valuable.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"close<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For featured snippets and knowledge graphs, you will need to use structured data markup. You will need to use a tool such as WebSite Auditor to see if your website has structured data markup. When you use structured data, you not only rank higher but also enhance readability and user-friendliness. By so doing, you increase your chances of getting a SERP feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get into the “People also ask” box, you will need to consider structured markup data. However, you will also need to organize your optimized content in a simple Question and Answer format or as FAQ. For that, state the question in h2 or h3 and then outline the answer as clear as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no guarantee that you will get into a SERP feature. However, your efforts will pay one way or another. While working on getting a feature, do not forget to include a meta description that tells users what your page is all about. You should not overlook a SERP feature seeing that the potential gains are enormous.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-Quality Content Still Reigns (Write for Humans, Not Robots)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No SEO strategy beats high quality, optimized web content<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Google algorithms insist that you have to write for humans if you intend to win. Unlike other SEO trends that come and go, quality content has been the lifeblood of SEO for as long as it’s been around!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To succeed in 2020, therefore, Google and other search engines expect you to write relevant and valuable content. GOOD content wins. Granted, businesses need to have a team of SEO writers and creatives who can write or outsource articles to people who can write valuable content. Even though Google’s editorial discretion might rank some content high that doesn’t deserve to rank high, at the end of the day, quality content will always win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day, you need to focus on creating the best content on the web for your niche. This way, you will likely get more conversions from the visitors who come to your site. Google is focusing more on E.A.T content (Expertise, Authoritative, and Trustworthy).\u00a0People want to read things that will add value to their lives and teach them about their burning questions. If you only write about keywords and statistics, a small number of readers will retain interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch of the BERT update<\/a> means that Google is getting better at understanding the context of your blog post. BERT update, which is short for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, allows the search algorithm to understand exactly what a searcher needs. This means content that focuses more on Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, will rank higher.\u00a0It also means A.I. on the web now better understands how humans naturally process language, whether through reading or conversation. Therefore, search engines will be smarter in noticing content that talks directly to readers. Instead of simply keyword stuffing or “cheating the system”, the content that really helps<\/em> people will start to come first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The E-A-T Principle is Simple:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n