SEO trends for 2024 according to Ketchup Marketing.
If building your digital presence and search engine authority are on your 2024 marketing checklist, SEO has an important role to play. If you ask us, it’s all about optimising the user experience and strategically supporting the user journey. But what are the key softwares, developments and behaviours that are going to support this?
From generative search to headless CMS, our SEO specialists spill the [search] beans below.
The end of third-party cookies on Google Chrome [R.I.P]
Third-party cookies track user activity as they navigate across various websites, providing marketers with [strategic] insights into their browsing behaviours and patterns. However, Google’s new tracking protection feature deprecates third-party cookies by default, limiting the use of cross-site tracking.
It’s still too early to say for certain how this recent update will affect how marketing campaigns target the correct user. However, we believe companies like Google and Facebook will evolve to track user behaviour, patterns and trends using AI instead of third-party cookies.
At Ketchup, we’ve adapted our practices to focus on first-party data instead. If you’re looking for support with navigating this change and activating your first-party data, our SEO specialists are here to help.
Improving search ranking using artificial intelligence
ChatGPT was one of the digital trends that dominated 2023. This is set to continue as more businesses leverage it as a virtual assistant for performing advanced keyword research and improving search intent understanding.
Now that generative artificial intelligence (AI) has [firmly] established its presence in the digital sphere, businesses will use it to perform more descriptive keyword research and uncover trackable keywords to incorporate into their content. By simply requesting keywords for their URL, users can request increasingly specific and targeted keywords depending on the products and services they offer.
However, whilst generative AI can provide the keywords, it’s important to know where to place them to optimise your content. This is where SEO services and optimised copywriting come in handy, ensuring you’re on track to success from the body copy to the page meta.
Using videos to improve search ranking
As humans, we love to observe and absorb information through visual media, which is why we prefer to view images and videos over reading lengthy text. By enhancing the user experience, video marketing is having a growing impact on SEO and its influence on search engine rankings reflects this. There are several ways this works, including encouraging users to spend more time on your pages.
If you’re trying to increase the number of inbound leads on your website, it’s important to consider the other social media platforms your target audience prefers and rank on those. To leverage the power of video, use keywords in video titles and file names and optimise your video descriptions, particularly on YouTube and TikTok. Bear in mind that YouTube is the second biggest search engine, so you should tailor your video content in line with your wider SEO strategy accordingly.
Mastering user intent and search generative experience
With generative AI making waves, it was only a matter of time before it became integrated into search engines like Google. Search generative experience (SGE) is a new Google search feature that lists AI-generated answers above results listings. Google showcases the websites it uses to help generate the answer in clickable boxes with images.
For search engine users, it means that they can take advantage of conversational language for a more interactive search experience. Using various large language models (LLMs), the Google search generative experience utilises a conversational mode for carrying context over from previous questions to reformulate the query to better reflect intent in follow-up questions. For websites looking to increase inbound traffic, this is a hugely advantageous prospect for better [and bolder] search visibility.
“Crafting a robust SEO strategy is the gateway to enhancing online visibility, attracting a targeted audience, and ultimately propelling your business to digital success.”
Luke, SEO Specialist
Dominating SEO with mobile-first indexing strategies
Satisfying user intent is an important quality of mobile-first indexing, and with mobile searches, speed is key. Often, users can be deterred when a website isn’t loading quickly enough.
It’s important to reflect the style of searches users are making using conversational search. Conversational search uses natural, more conversational language and long-form queries, so the users making them often expect a similar response from the search results. It’s crucial to think about the search being made before writing the web content. According to Think with Google, mobile searches starting with “Do I need…” and “Should I…” have grown over 65%, whilst “Can I…” searches have increased by over 85%.
Repurposing existing content to accommodate the trend of this more conversational style is a simple yet effective SEO strategy. So, if you’re wondering “Should I start using this mobile-first indexing strategy?”, the answer is definitely yes.
Expanding headless CMS in the era of AI
Headless CMS can optimise the user experience by offering omnichannel flexibility to customise content and user journeys. With this in mind, it’s possible that eventually, Google might aim to keep users on the SERP rather than encouraging them to click through.
If this development progresses, an increasing number of websites will adapt their designs to reflect this. For example, an e-commerce website might display Google shopping results for a search query, without needing to click through to the website to view the products.
Increasing zero-click searches
A zero-click search occurs when a user doesn’t click on any of the displayed results after making a search. The Semrush Zero-Clicks Study observed that approximately 57% of mobile desktop searches leave the SERP without clicking on an organic or paid result. However, as we progress through 2024, the number of zero-click searches being made will continue to rise.
There are many reasons for this growing trend. Google’s enhanced SERP features satisfy user intent, providing knowledge panels on public figures, quick conversions and local business information instantly. These are common zero-click searches because they provide the user with the exact information they’re seeking [minus the need to click through]. With Google’s SERP features growing more sophisticated, this trend is firmly set to stay.
SEO expertise you can rely on
At Ketchup, we employ a data-driven approach to search engine optimisation that fuels marketing success. This means that our SEO strategies are always tactical and informed by the latest emerging trends and technologies.