Guide to Local SEO: Are You Doing It Right?

Search engine optimization or SEO for short plays a vital role in devising a successful marketing strategy for your business. The objective of SEO is to use smart methods that would facilitate the growth of your business. It utilizes the opportunities offered by the search engines and exploits them to bring up the ranking of your business. As a result, your business starts showing up in top searches and that diverts the traffic naturally to your page. Consequently, you get more visitors which would lead to higher profits and better business performance. A local business directory can also help out your business to grow and can become an active part of your SEO strategy. 

Also, you can read: Do You Think Your Business in Perth Is Good Without SEO? Think Again!

However, for all that to play out well, you must ask yourself that are you doing it right? If you wish to do things right for your business, then it is important to try and integrate the trends listed below into your business. Because the emerging trends listed below are going to play a key role in the upcoming years.

Artificial Intelligence is the Way of a New Era

Artificial intelligence is taking its roosts for a while now and there are many impressive forms present in the current era. A fine example of such work is Google’s AI algorithm which is commonly named as RankBrain. It is the key factor that impacts Google’s ranking.

The founder of this algorithm states that it is designed to learn from experience. This means it is going to improve with time and that’s what makes AI an important trend to keep an eye on. Here it is a notable fact that when you are aware of such powerful trends in SEO, how you are going to respond and use it for your benefit?  

Long-Form Content will Help Improve SERPs

It is often thought that the users are always looking for short reads and quick content, but that’s not always the case. The new trend is now taking shape because surveys suggest that long reads of about three thousand words get three times more traffic and four times more share. Such reads also get higher backlinks. This means it’s about time you started devising new strategies to engage the users and keep them busy with content. The best time to get in the trend is to do it in the early stages. Otherwise, you are just a follower and by that time the trend will shift or end. 

Predictive Search is Just Getting Started

You might have heard about Google Discover that was launched back in 2017. It is a different kind of search where a user doesn’t need to particularly search for anything. It is another AI-based system that learns from users’ historic data, patterns and proposes useful content. Later on, the ranking algorithm takes over and does its job. A huge number of users are currently using it. You don’t have to do anything to appear. Because if your page is indexed, then it is already included and the rest in the hands of Google’s ranking algo. 

Video is Becoming Even More Important Part of SEO Strategies

The studies suggest that video information is the best way to learn and it is appealing than other kinds of information. A good example of it is the YouTube videos, and it has about one billion active users. If you are not making videos, then it’s about time you started it. Because video content has huge consumption as compared to other content. The video and your channel have to be optimized to compete. These days even famous companies are using video content for their ad campaigns. That’s why if you are formulating a future strategy, then consider adding video content as well. 

Focus on Mobile-friendliness Because it Will Impact the Rankings

The world has taken a great leap with mobile devices and today it is difficult to find a pair of hands without a smartphone in it. That’s why a website has to be mobile-friendly if you want to keep up your rankings. Also, Google rolled out mobile-first indexing in 2019 and it is playing a powerful role in formulating local SEO trends. This means that search engines first look for the mobile version of your page before going to the desktop version. This approach is going to have a huge impact on future rankings. Because according to a survey until 2025 about 73% of users will access the internet through smart devices. So, if you want to compete in the modern tech era it’s about time you started thinking about going mobile to best your competition. 

Google EAT Principle will Maintain Its Significance

Given that Google is the biggest search engine you must keep an eye on how they rank your content. This search engine uses its famous EAT (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) principle. These three factors determine the quality of your content. There are different ways you can ensure the quality of your content. For example, you can create buyer personas that will help you understand what type of content your clients value. Second, you can research “search intent” that will help you understand consumer behavior. Third, use the gathered information to your advantage and generate high-quality content that will appeal to your clients. You should pay attention here because it is one of the top local SEO trends that will help your page stay at the top. 

The significance of SEO for the business can’t be denied and if you are still wondering if you are doing everything right, then you should consult an expert. Because, the trends listed above may offer a potential way to improve your business, but whether they are right for your business requires an analysis. You must talk to an SEO expert rather than take personal initiative. Because without professional help it is quite difficult to take your business to its rightful place. You do your business and let SEO experts handle the marketing for you. Now, that sounds like a solid plan that should follow.