Google rolls-out nearly 100 updates every month. The sole purpose of each update is to improve the search quality and provide relevant results to the searcher.

Since websites have become more focussed on creating high-quality and valuable content to dominate the top SERP positions, the competition to rank higher has increased so you must align your strategies with the latest SEO trends.

In this post, we will discuss the top 5 SEO trends for 2020 that can boost your rankings and online visibility at an astonishing rate.

So, without further ado, let’s begin.

1. SERPs will become more user-friendly

Google has made the SERPs more user-friendly to provide users with quality results instantly. The search engine studies the users’ intent behind their search to produce the most relevant results. In this process, Google featured snippets play a prominent role.

What are Google featured snippets?

Google featured snippets provide users with concise and direct answers to their queries on the result page itself. Here’s an example of how an article from RankWatch ranks for a featured snippet:

Source: Google Search

There are 4 different types of featured snippets:

1. Paragraph

The above screenshot is an example of paragraph featured snippets. They provide a brief insight into the user’s query and deliver a direct answer, while still providing them with a link to more information on the subject.

2. Lists

Sometimes lists also get ranked in the featured snippets. There are two major types of lists that appear in Google featured snippets.

• Bulleted

Here’s an example of bulleted lists:

Source: Google Search

• Numbered

Here’s an example of numbered lists.

Source: Google Search

3. Tables

Tables are not very popular when it comes to featured snippets. It is not easier to find them in the SERPs, and most of the time, Google analyzes a page and customizes the table based on the entered query.

Source: Google Search

4. Videos

Visuals help gain a practical understanding of a subject, and Google knows it; hence, its algorithm began ranking videos in the featured snippets as well.

Source: Google Search

You must’ve noticed that there’s a ‘Suggested Clip’; this appears when you optimize your YouTube videos for Google.

Power tips to optimize for Google featured snippets:

1. Create high-quality content that is original and helpful to the target audience.

2. Conduct long-tail and question-based keyword research and optimize them organically across your content. 

3. Include a frequently asked question (F.A.Q) section on your website.

4. Structure your content for better readability by using appropriate heading tags and creating step-by-step guides.

5. Ensure that your page has quality backlinks.

Recommended reading: How To Optimize for Google Featured Snippets

2. Voice Search Optimization will boom

Source

Over the years, voice searches have increased drastically. Currently, 20% of all Google searches constitute voice search. So, it must be added to our list of SEO trends of 2020.

When optimizing your site for featured snippets, you are unknowingly optimizing it for voice search as well. A study by Backlinko proved that 40.7% of voice search results come from Google featured snippets.

Power tips for voice search optimization:

1. Target more long-tail keywords and question-based keywords to ensure a higher success rate. 

2. Don’t follow/use any blackhat SEO techniques.

3. Popularity & Engagement - A priority for Local SEO

The intent behind 46% of all Google searches is local, and the authority of every local business massively influences its SERP rankings. To improve the rankings of your local business, you must focus on enhancing its popularity and engagement. 

When Google discovers that your brand receives more engagement and is well-optimized, it ranks your local listing higher. For example, when your local store is popular and gets enough engagement. If someone searches for ‘the best Pizza place’, then the listing of your local business will be positioned atop the others.

Power tips to boost the popularity and engagement of your local business

1. Interact with them regularly and compel them to review your local business.

2. Reach out to other review websites like trip advisor etc. and interact with your audience.

3. Reply to both negative and positive reviews. Remember, customer satisfaction is crucial for the success of your local business.

4. Google favours E.A.T focussed content

E-A-T stands for:

• Expertise

• Authoritativeness

• Trustworthiness

Google emphasized massively on E-A-T in their search quality evaluator guidelines. The search engine juggernaut advises websites to publish quality content that is written by experts of a given field. Also, you must build trust by providing details about your business to Google as well as to the audience. Plus, you must have backlinks driving from high-authority websites (you can use Backlink Checker to analyze your backlink quality). If you optimize for E-A-T, then Google will favour ranking your content over the ones that don’t.

Power tips to optimize for E-A-T

1. Don’t hire freelancers to write content but legit experts from a given field.

2. Provide every detail about the author, which includes a short bio and social media handles.

3. Create an about us and contact us page of your website that contains information about how your site operates and other details about its goods and services.

4. If you claim that your website is best at something, Google will not take your word for it. So, you must link it to a reputable source.

Recommended reading: E-A-T SEO: Everything you need to know

5. Visual content will help dominate SERP rankings

You must break the monotony of textual information with visuals. You should start focussing on image and video SEO to make our content more versatile and easily accessible. By 2020, users have performed a billion image searches via tools like Google Lens. When it comes to videos, 96% of the audience said they learned something from the videos they watched.

Power tips to dominating SERPs with visual content

1. Add relevant alt tags to your images with descriptive titles and explanatory featured images. Optimize them with relevant keywords.

2. Use attractive/curiosity-instilling thumbnails on your videos.

3. Optimize the title and description of your video with relevant keywords. Also, include a transcription of the video.

Conclusion

Every trend mentioned in the article ensures that quality content is produced. This allows Google to study and represent the most relevant answers to a user’s query. Apart from these trends, businesses must also focus on other SEO techniques:

• Identify and optimize for user’s search intent.

• Improve your page loading speed.

• Make your website mobile-friendly.