5 SEO Updates Worth Testing
The increasing importance of page loading speed, changes to the meta description, and more data in Search Console - these are just three of the many changes we can observe in the SEO world. Google maintains that it rolls out minor changes to its algorithms up to 3 times a day. So what should you pay attention to in order to adapt to the latest developments?
Increased character count in meta descriptions
This is one of those elements where we can see the most work from Google. The new changes mean an increase in character count up to 320, although not all websites will be able to take advantage of this. Do we need to start going through all subpages and editing their descriptions? Not necessarily. Instead of throwing random content into the page description, let's use this space to stand out from the competition.
Custom audiences
Source: searchengineland.com
The AdWords environment doesn't frequently witness changes; however, this time users could already observe the appearance of custom audiences toward the end of the year.
What does this mean for marketers? We have the ability to add a wider range of detail when setting up the display network - using segments based on topics and keywords. Advertisers can rely on topics of their choice and URLs that users visit, or they can lean on automated options.
SERP
Google's results pages (Search Engine Results Pages) are undergoing thorough changes that are visible to all users. We can now not only see related products appearing, posts next to business listings, or job postings available in the US, but also mobile badges, direct booking of appointments or services, video previews or movie ratings, events, as well as surveys. For dessert - lower visibility of ad labels, along with maps, news, and direct answers right after typing in a search query.
How can you take advantage of this? Let's take care of structured data optimization, which means placing tags on the website that define what kind of content it is. Based on this, the SERP can display our information in a dedicated place, e.g., with a recipe or review badge.
Growth of voice search
Google takes forecasts regarding the increasing importance of voice search very seriously. If we want to adapt to this searchability option, it is worth providing answers on the website to questions such as "where, how, when, who" within the content, as well as optimizing the site for long tail phrases.
Videos in Google My Business
Source: searchenginewatch.com
This change will please those who want to break away from the competition and show customers something more. In Google My Business, we can add a video up to 30 seconds long. Videos can be uploaded by business owners and customers - the recordings will be available under the relevant tabs.
Google doesn't sleep - so we can't sleep either. We can only achieve success in search results through a continuous and well-thought-out strategy. We recommend the article about 3 ways to increase sales in an online store or an overview of trends for 2018.
We also recommend checking out foreign mentions regarding what's new in search results:
https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/01/18/10-google-updates-you-may-have-missed/
https://moz.com/blog/rank-in-2018-seo-checklist
https://www.wix.com/blog/2017/12/seo-trends-2018-rank-higher-on-google/
https://searchengineland.com/googles-new-custom-intent-audiences-287556
Enjoy the read!