SEO follows specific and complicated rules. It is a form of science that all businesses should take advantage of to grow your business. This is not an overstatement considering the fact that there are over 200 factors to take into consideration, and that is just speaking of Google’s algorithm. However, it may come as a surprise to most that the rules of the game are ever-changing.

Search engine companies are engaged in a perennial quest to improve the quality of their search results. Their changing approach inevitably translates into major shifts. Some sites are able to get ahead of the game while some simply fall out of relevance. Needless to say, the dynamic nature of SEO can make online marketing that much more challenging.

With that in mind, this article presents readers with a couple of SEO tips to help you throughout 2018. It breaks down some of the most prominent SEO trends and what you can do to make the most of it.

Maximizing SERP Features

There has been a long-standing misconception that the best way to attract as much traffic as you can would be through organic methods. However, the data speaks otherwise, as there is an increasingly obvious trend wherein the SERP features effectively redirect the user’s attention as well as their clicks. Needless to say, this can have a detrimental effect on the result’s organic listings.

While you can lament this seemingly unfair choice on the part of the search engines, it would certainly serve you well to make the most of it instead. In fact, we highly recommend that you do the latter. For instance, you should make it your priority to identify the specific keywords and features which may be potentially steering traffic away from your site. In addition to that, you can also make use of these features to keep close track of your site rankings. The insight you can glean off these data is virtually invaluable. These tools are also fairly simple to use too, so this should not be too hard to do.

Data Structuring

Website owners need to understand the benefits of structured data. Basically, it entails formatting HTML, so that search engines can better interpret content. Readers should see this as one of the means for their site to standout from the rest of the crowd.

Doing so would improve your search rankings in more ways than one. For instance, one could only expect a significant improvement in the site’s CTR (click-through rate). With search engine rules getting more stringent, surely you can never say no to that?

Improve Your Page Speed

Speed is one of the most important factors that can affect your site’s performance, rankings, and user-response. That is why it should remain one of your priorities when developing your site. To do this, you will first need to take a page speed test. Then, you can make use of a site auditing app and take care of the problematic pages right then and there. Keep in mind that Google expects your site to load in less than 3 seconds so that should always be your goal.

These are just some of the SEO trends that you must keep in mind to stay on top of the game in 2018. Make sure to give the tips a try yourself.