Like fashion, digital marketing trends vary from one year to the next; North American apparel mimics Europe’s, while marketers follow Google’s latest findings and developments.

So, you’ve written compelling meta titles and descriptions, you’ve done the backlinking, transcribed video, integrated primary, secondary, and related keywords, and even investigated SERP—now what?

If you’re wondering what’s next, here is your 2018 SEO to-do list put together by the digital marketing experts at BlueHat Marketing:

 

Mobile-First Indexing

Three years ago, the world was flummoxed when it discovered that mobile searches had surpassed desktop searches on Google, and it’s only been increasing since. This year, in response to this major shift, Google will be launching something called mobile-first indexing.

What does this mean? Google rankings will be based on mobile versions of websites (i.e. content on mobile sites). What used to affect searches on mobile devices only will now affect all searches.

What should you do?: If you don’t have a mobile site, then it might cease to exists before you know it. It’s time to get on that—this is isn’t where you want to cut corners on your marketing budget. Make sure your mobile site is as responsive and content-driven as your desktop one.

 

Structured Data

2018 is the year to use every method possible to stand out in Google search engines. One of our personal favourites? Rich Snippets. This is often the “click” or “skip” deciding factor on search listings. They can actually increase your listing’s click-through rate (CTR) by a whopping 30 percent.

What should you do?: If your goal is to boost rankings, create rich snippets using appealing images, an impressive star rating, and attention-grabbing meta titles and descriptions. This is your listing’s time to shine.

 

Page Speed

We’ve known this for years—people simply don’t have the time nor the patience to wait around for a page to load, especially in today’s time-sensitive, deadline-driven world. In fact, Google expects your page to load within just three seconds; and 40% of internet surfers will leave a page if it takes any longer to load. It doesn’t end there: 47% of internet browsers expect websites to load in two seconds or less.

But more importantly, it’s a ranking signal, and a big one. It affects your UX factor, which consequently impacts your website rankings, and of course, your conversation rates.

What should you do?: The first step is to find out how long it takes your page to load. You can discover this through a professional website analysis.

 

Voice Search is on the Rise

That’s right. The future has arrived—and the stats prove it. One in five mobile search queries (which now dominate search methods) derive from voice search, and we can only expect this number to grow, with the invention of Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. This also means a rise in featured snippets, results from which Google often reads aloud in answer to our search queries.

Last year, Stone Temple Consulting released a study confirming that there is an upsurge in featured snippets, as they “appear for roughly 30 percent of the 1.4 million queries they tested”. With said snippets gradually on the rise, digital marketers must ask themselves: will it take over organic listings?

To ensure your business stays on top of Google’s search engine optimization trends, get in touch with the team at BlueHat Marketing, or fill out a free analysis form to hear from one of our specialists.