SEO in 2020: Trends to Watch & Styles to Try3 min read

Last year, the SEO world saw plenty of changes – from relevant, strongly written content playing a key role in site visibility to Google’s “mobile first” indexing structure – but now it’s a new year! We’re always on the lookout for brand-new trends and ways to improve our clients’ online visibility.

Today, we want to dig into some upcoming digital marketing trends for the new year, as well as a few trends that are here to stay and should be treated as such. Keeping up with constantly changing trends can be tough – let us help you out!

Voice Search: Here to Stay

Sure, typing a question into a search bar is pretty easy – but isn’t it more fun to shout your questions across the room to your Google assistant or Alexa? In 2017, there were roughly 33 million voice search queries recorded, and that number has only grown over the last three years.

As voice searching gains popularity, it will be important for businesses to create informative, accurate content and keywords that better match what a consumer might specifically ask for. Previously, you may have chosen to write using broad, overarching keywords, which would yield a broader spectrum of results. Now, you may have more luck with specificity, using what a person using voice-assist might say. Try finding key phrases in common voice commands like “hey Google, find the closest pizza restaurant that delivers to me” or “Alexa, find website designers near me” (hint, hint)!

Press Play: Videos are the New King

Google has made it very obvious that it loves video. A great way to up your digital marketing game is to create YouTube videos that support the content already on your site. Once Google indexes the video, you’ll enjoy higher page traffic as viewers are linked to your site from even more locations.

It’s important to embed the videos on your site pages to get even more traffic – people prefer watching videos to reading text. However, adding content describing the video is a sure way to help Google understand what the video is about and give you an even higher page ranking.

Digital-First Thinking: Now and Forever

As we walk into a new decade rife with possibilities, it’s important to note that a digital-first mindset will never die. More and more companies are migrating to a digital-first approach for improved customer experience, and the results are impressive.

Recognizing and optimizing key factors such as page load speed and message interpretation can make or break your company’s online presence. A lagging page load will frustrate potential customers (doesn’t it frustrate you?) and force them to seek other sites that load more quickly; using wordy, convoluted text will discourage the user from working through your site.

These are just a few of the digital marketing trends we’re seeing so far; want to learn more? Let Sharp Innovations unlock your site’s potential with our complete array of internet marketing techniques! Contact us today for a free consultation and see what your site can become – we look forward to hearing from you!