If you are an entrepreneur operating in the online spectrum of the Cyprus market, then you should already be aware of the massive importance that an efficient and effective SEO strategy has towards the success of your business.
Ranking high in search engine results pages can do wonders in terms of the visibility and credibility of your offering in the eyes of existing and prospective clients and can lead to converting interested individuals into loyal repeat customers, thus increasing sales and profits.
With this in mind every entrepreneur should strive to always have in place the right SEO strategy, to be able to reap the many benefits it has to offer. Departing from this axiom, you should also keep in mind however, that since the internet and the world wide web are always changing along with the ways people use them, remaining up to speed with developments and not being left behind the times requires you to be adjusting and updating your SEO strategy as well in order to remain competitive and effective.
Following the new trends and being aware of them is the first step towards recognizing in what way your SEO strategy should be adapted. Such new developments nowadays include an increase in the use of mobile devices, artificial intelligence and voice search.
Prior to discussing the practical ways in which your SEO strategy can be adjusted to better serve these trends, let us remind you of the fact that the two most important SEO factors are good and appropriate content and numerous, credible links. Irrespective of newer trends, these two elements form the foundation of effective SEO and are thus here to stay.
We have discussed these two aspects in other blog posts, but for the purposes of this current article which pertains mostly to more current trends in the online industry, let us simply highlight as far as content is concerned that the length of the content required has grown since the past years. What will help improve your SEO ranking is not short blog pieces concentrating on one topic, but rather longer articles which cover several topics and contain several keywords. Relevant research has revealed that the top five places in search engine searches are usually occupied by topics which feature more than 1,500 words. In short and as a practical guide when writing content aim for 2,000 words or even more, pick the targeted keywords to mention carefully and purposefully and try to break it down to sub-topics, which make it more reader-friendly.
So, with the two basic factors covered, let us now discuss some major newer trends and the practical steps you can take to better adjust to them.
First off is the increase in reliance on artificial intelligence systems, such as Google’s machine learning system RankBrain, which has been claimed to be the third most important ranking factor after links and content. Taking into account and measuring user experience signals, such as click through rate, bounce rate and time on site, such systems aim to improve user experience and enhance the understanding of search engines about search queries and the needs of the people performing them. To optimize your SEO for AI systems, what you need to do is ensure your bounce rate is low, your click-through rate is high and the time people actually spend on your website is increased.
The second new trend to take into account is the increased significance given to a website’s load speed by search engines, which regard this as an important ranking factor for some time now for the desktop versions of websites. The newer trend in this has to do with Google’s intention, as of July 2018, to be using load speed as a ranking factor for mobile searches as well. Considering that the average page speed of pages is currently 3.2 seconds, while Google’s benchmark is a mere 2 seconds, it becomes apparent that you need to strive to improve your page speed as much as possible. This can be done through reducing the file sizes of media files, compiling and minifying your page code, upgrading your hosting and improving server response and browser caching.
Yet another new trend that you seriously need to adjust to, is the severe upsurge in searches that are performed on a mobile device. According to Google already more than half its searches are done via a mobile and since this trend is set to continue, it has decided to begin switching to a mobile-first index as of 2018, meaning that website rankings will also be based on how they cater for and appear on mobile devices. Therefore, it becomes clear that you also need to adjust your digital strategy and SEO efforts towards the mobile crowd as well, by making sure that your website is properly designed to be mobile friendly and mobile responsive. In case you have a different version of your site for mobiles, you need to ensure that it contains content of equal quality and importance as your desktop version.
Hand in hand with the increase in mobile searches is also the increased prominence of voice searches through Siri, Cortana, Google Assistant and other similar tools. With predictions being that by the year 2020, 50% of searches will be conducted via voice-technologies, preparing for this becomes a dire need. To achieve this you need to firstly optimize your website for mobile and then focus on properly structuring pages so that questions are answered directly and easily, while also targeting the right keyword phrases.
Last but not least, a trend that should not go unnoticed is the issue of security, though the use of SSL certificate and other means. The use of https is already a ranking factor in search engine results and its significance is said to increase as people take web security seriously in face of the threats are appear daily on the web. Therefore, you need to ensure that an SSL certificate is installed on your server and that your site is redirected from an http url to an https url.
Don’t despair if all the practical measures listed above sound too complicated or technical for you. Help is at hand and the team here at start-business-online can make it all happen fast and at minimal cost. Contact us for advice and assistance today and let our experts work their magic to make sure your SEO practices are up to date and future-proof, paving your way towards online success!
