SEO trends keep on evolving on a regular basis. The search engine optimization strategy working a year back may not work today and the one working today may not be work after 6 months. So, the digital marketers always need to be on their toes when it comes to analysing upcoming SEO trends and executing them before their competitors do that.

Not only search engine algorithm changes but the way people search also keeps on changing. For example – People have started using voice search to get quick results.

In that case, if you don’t upgrade your SEO strategy, you might find your business website not ranking in top 10 results or maybe getting penalized by Google for using old traditional spammed ways to gain ranking.

But, the question may be arising in your mind that what techniques should be used to make the website ready as per SEO trends for 2018.

Here we have listed out top 6 SEO trends for 2018, which if implemented correctly can help you in gaining accelerated search engine ranking in this era of cutting-edge competition –

Increased Use of Voice Search

As mentioned earlier, the way people search is changing. You can now speak out your search queries. Whether you are looking out for a food joint or want to know the current weather, all you need is to speak out what you are looking for.

It has become extremely convenient to use voice search these days as you can speak quicker than you type. Also, while driving or traveling somewhere, it becomes easy to perform a voice search.

Use below mentioned ways to answer voice search correctly –

• Include long-tail keywords in your website content.
• Use words like best, nearest, etc., as suffixes in your content
• Add FAQs to your website and include questions usually asked by people and answers to those questions in your content.
• Ensure that your website is responsive.

Getting Listed in Quick Answers

You might have noticed that Google highlights small snippets of the information above the organic search results. The users don’t have to click on the link to access the information. Google extracts a piece of information from your website displays it as a featured text.

To rank, your website in this prime section of SERPs, on-page and off-page content optimization should be done in an effective manner. Ensure that your website includes high-quality incoming links and is mobile friendly.

Local Search Gaining Importance

In past 12 months, the searches that include the phrase “near me” has almost doubled. With the accelerated use of mobile for searching places and other queries, the local search has gained ultimate importance.

The statistics show that – in the past year, the number of local based food and beverage mobile searches have increased by 40%.

Thus, you need to optimize your website for mobile search and include keywords pertaining to local search in your web content.

Search Engines Emphasizes on In-Depth and Engaging Content

The content pages which are longer and have included interactive content like images, GIFs, Videos, etc., are gaining high ranking these days. The reason behind that is – users like content which provides in-depth information and is attractive at the same time.

How would you feel, if an article comes across your way which is full of text and no images at all? Of course, you will get bored by reading that content. The content with images and videos gives a pleasant experience to the readers and increases the interest within them to read other blog posts on that same website.

So, just ensure that your blog posts are interesting with attractive elements which can keep your audience engaged to gain higher ranking in SERPs.

Branding Becomes Extremely Important

Executing a successful branding strategy has become an important tactic to be included in your SEO strategy of 2018. When a brand becomes recognized by people, they are likely to purchase their products and services.
Effective social media optimization can help you in strengthening your brand awareness, ultimately helping you to gain high ranking in SERPs as and when your brand name is searched for.

For more details on branding, you can go through these 5 Essential Steps to Create a Successful Branding Strategy and gain the advantage over your competitors.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Accelerated Mobile Pages is a framework which helps websites to load faster on mobile devices.

39% of people use their Smartphones to search every day. So, obviously, your potential customers are going to browse your website on their mobile devices and if it takes time in loading, you may, unfortunately, lose valuable customers.

Just implement AMP to your website, as that will not only help you in gaining ranking on search engines but also retain your customers on a long-term basis.

Embracing Latest SEO Trends 2018

2017 is just about to end and if you want to succeed in gaining search engine ranking in 2018 and beyond, say goodbye to traditional SEO trends which are not going to help you anymore.

Few facts revealed that 18% of web pages that rank #1 in SERPs doesn’t include keywords anywhere in the body text.

So, no more stuffing your web page with keywords is required. Just ensure that your website is mobile friendly and has in-depth content appealing to users. Just think beyond traditional SEO techniques and embrace latest SEO trends 2018.