Search engine optimization, or SEO, is always evolving. As the years pass, new trends and technologies emerge, and users have to adapt accordingly or risk being left behind. That’s truer than ever before with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools completely changing the SEO game all over again.
But AI isn’t the only big thing to keep on your mind when 2024 kicks off. There are several other significant SEO trends and changes that businesses and independent users need to be aware of. This guide will take a look at seven of the most notable trends to watch out for in 2024, complete with tips and tricks to fine-tune your SEO strategy.
Artificial Intelligence
Let’s kick off with the big one. AI has been rewriting the rules of SEO and content creation ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene back in late 2022. Since then, many businesses have experimented with using AI tools to create posts, pages, and other forms of content. Some even decided to completely abandon their previous content strategies, switching to an AI-only approach.
But Google responded quickly, adjusting its algorithms accordingly and warning users that excessive exploitation of AI would violate its spam policies. Google also adjusted its approach to prioritize high-quality original content. And that means that companies relying solely on AI to create their content could quickly find themselves slipping down the rankings.
If the trends continue, we can expect to see users adjust the ways in which they harness AI. It will still be used for vast amounts of content creation, simply due to its ease-of-use and convenience. But many businesses may switch to more of a hybrid approach, combining AI-generated and human-written content to get ahead in the SEO stakes.
Search Generative Experience
Another AI-related change to the SEO landscape for 2024 is Google’s introduction of the Search Generative Experience (SGE). Basically, this is Google’s new AI-powered search feature. It aims to use AI to respond to search queries, providing clear and concise answers to the kinds of questions that users are asking. It’s similar to asking ChatGPT or some other AI bot to answer a question for you.
The SGE is still in an experimental stage for now, but it surely won’t take long for Google to improve and fine-tune this new piece of tech. And, as it becomes more useful and relevant, the entire search engine process may slowly shift towards a more user-friendly experience, tailored to meet the user’s expectations and satisfy their intent.
On the flip side, it may also make it much harder to gain organic traffic. For now, there’s no clear way to take advantage of SGE. But users can prepare for a new phase of search engine usage by ensuring that their content is as useful, rich, engaging, and informative as possible. In other words, think about what users are asking and what they want to know, and tailor your content to meet their needs. That may mean less focus on keywords, and more focus on relevance.
Zero-Click Searches
If you haven’t heard of zero-click searches before, expect to need to dive into the concept more in 2024. Simply put, a zero-click search, as the name implies, is when a user does a search but doesn’t actually end up clicking on any of the links provided. That’s usually because they can find whatever info they need on the search results page itself, like a business’s phone number or the lyrics to a song.
Stats show that more than half of mobile and desktop searches are zero-click searches. And that might seem scary to businesses. After all, you want people to click on your posts and pages, not simply scan Google’s results and then close their tabs. However, there are ways to take advantage of the rising relevance of zero-click searches.
The best method is to try to target “Featured Snippets” – the little pieces of text or content that Google puts at the top of the page to quickly answer certain queries. Getting your site’s name beneath a Featured Snippet can do wonders for brand awareness and authority. And it’ll also give you more chances of converting those zero-click searches into actual clicks onto your site.
Video Content
Video has never been as popular as it is recent now. People love to consume content in video form. It’s easy, convenient, and engaging, and search engines like Google have taken notice of this, elevating video content higher up their rankings. Indeed, a lot of “How to…” searches will feature videos right at the top of the results page, generating huge traffic for the people and brands behind them.
Users can take advantage of this by making more video content to publish online. And a great way to get started is to analyze keywords and queries that are relevant to your audience. Then, create videos that can answer those queries. With the right targeting and high quality content creation, this can be a powerful strategy to position your brand at the top of Google’s rankings.
The downside? Countless other businesses are going to be doing the same strategy. Hundreds of hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every single minute of every single day. And that astonishing rate of content creation doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. In response, users may have to tailor their videos to focus on very niche and specific topics in order to stand out.
EEAT
For many years, EAT was the big acronym of note when it came to SEO strategy. EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and it denoted the three big values that Google was designed to prioritize when ranking results. But, in 2022, Google expanded the acronym to become EEAT, with the additional “E” standing for “Experience.”
In other words, Google started prioritizing content that demonstrated a degree of experience on the part of the writer or creator. A product review, for example, tends to have more value if the user has actually tested the product themselves, and financial advice is more reliable if it comes from a trusted financial institution of note.
In 2024, we can expect users to put even more focus on demonstrating their experience in an array of ways. That means greater transparency about writers and brands behind each piece of content, more detailed author bios, additional experience markers in every post, expert guest posts, stronger social media presence, and removal of content that rates low on the new EEAT scale.
Voice Search
With mobile devices becoming ever more prevalent parts of modern life, the way people use Google and other search tools has changed massively. One of the biggest changes is the rise of voice search, with statistics showing that 27% of mobile users utilized voice search in 2022, and that figure is expected to rise in the years ahead.
Accordingly, voice search is sure to be a huge part of SEO for 2024 and beyond. And one of the most interesting things about voice searches is that they tend to be much longer than written ones. That means that long-tail keywords, as well as conversational keywords and phrases, are going to be increasingly important to target.
2024 will therefore likely see lots of businesses producing content aimed at responding to those longer and chattier voice queries. At the same time, with mobile usage also being so popular and commonplace, site owners will continue to optimize their sites and pages to work flawlessly on mobile devices and small screens.
Local SEO
Local SEO isn’t exactly new. It’s been an essential cornerstone of the best SEO strategies for years, but in 2024, we can expect to see local SEO becoming even more relevant, and this ties into some of the other points touched on above. The rise in voice searches, for example, makes local SEO more important, as plenty of people use voice search to find local products, services, and businesses.
In brief, local SEO is all about reaching an audience of people in your area, and this can be particularly important for many types of business. Coffee shops in San Francisco, for example, or plumbers in Phoenix might like to develop a strong local SEO strategy to get local people aware of their business and services.
Statistics show that “Near Me” searches are massively on the rise. So, in 2024, many brands will wisely be aiming to respond to those searches, with more references and details about their local areas and more relevant content, tailored for a nearby audience.
Adapt Your SEO to Get Ahead of the Game
SEO changes every year, but 2024 could see some of the biggest shifts yet, with such game-changing new technologies like AI bots and voice search transforming the way people interact with the internet. To stay ahead of your rivals and continue to enjoy SEO success, it’s vital to adjust your strategy now, future-proofing your business for the trends and changes to come.
