A big year for SEO

Very few things in this world stay the same for long – and SEO is no exception. As a top SEO company in Leeds, the more we come to understand this powerful marketing tool, the more it evolves and grows.  2018 has seen a number of developments in the world of search engine optimisation and, here we list some of the most important ones.

Hold the phone

With more users than ever before accessing the internet via their mobiles rather than desktop computers or laptops, it’s never been more important to make sure that your SEO is mobile friendly.  This year, Google introduced a testing tool for businesses to ensure that their SEO is working for mobile as well as providing recommendations and tips.

Say What?

In the past 10 years, there has been a 3400% increase in internet voice searches.  Tools such as Siri and Cortana mean that more and more people are choosing the convenience of using voice search rather than typing.  For a business, this means taking a look at your keywords and phrases to make sure that conversational phrases are added to your content.  This year, it’s been estimated that, in the next two years, 50% of all searches will be voice ones so this should be a priority for any SEO focussed business.

Snippets

Big news for 2018 was Featured Snippets which are used in a voice search when somebody reads aloud the short contents.  This is done by adding an intriguing question to the snippet which is then answered in the main content.  Those who master this important skill are known to have achieved ‘Position Zero’ and businesses will do well to get their marketing departments on the case with this one.

Secure links

With the advent of GDPR in the UK, data security has never been so important and businesses are now under pressure to ensure that customer data is protected.  In 2016, the almighty Google told us that secured website certificates (SSL) were beginning to have an impact on website ranks and, at the same time, it was noted that many browsers now flag websites which don’t begin HTTPS.  In 2018, many businesses have taken advantage of GDPR in order to not only upgrade their security but, to also overhaul their SEO on their sites.

The need for speed

As the internet continues to dominate our daily lives, speed has become everything in 2018.  Google expects a web page to load in under three seconds and businesses whose sites don’t comply could be missing out.  Businesses should be regularly checking the speed of their site with search and load testing to ensure that they’re ahead of the game.

With 2019 almost upon us, there’s no doubt that we can look forward to even more (and even faster) changes within SEO which has become a case of the survival of the fittest – and fastest.

ExciteBrand is a top 10 SEO company in Leeds specialising in web development, social media, content marketing and, of course, search engine optimisation for businesses looking to get to the top of their game.