Predicting SEO trends for 2024

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Google user behaviour is changing  

User behaviour is changing, as is the way we use search engines. This has led Google to test some drastic changes to the search engine results page layout. The way Google presents users with information is set to be completely revolutionised by the end of 2024.  

Google is testing the replacement of Ads featuring at the top of SERPs with the inclusion of AI-generated content, from cited and trusted sources. This could look like an enlarged featured snippet with website sources adjacent and is likely to incorporate some functionality and style from Bard – Google’s AI tool.  

It’s widely predicted that this will be rolled out in late 2024 or early 2025 and will be known as Search Generative Experience (SGE).  

Focus content strategies on E-E-A-T 

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines are nothing new. The dependency of how your content ranks has historically been based on expertise, authoritativeness and trust, at the start of 2023 Google added another E (experience) to the mix. 

Writing any kind of web copy which you want to rank for will have a larger focus on E-E-A-T will, for the most part, be more important than all types of writing for keywords. It’s predicted by many industry leaders that E-E-A-T guidelines shape the new features of the SGE.   

Moulding our SEO content, E-E-A-T provides a relatively straightforward set of advisors to follow to maximise SEO output. It helps you to put yourself into the driving seat of your industry. Following the guidelines will, naturally, cement you at the forefront of innovation in your sphere’s digital presence.  

Building internal authors as brands

Like E-E-A-T, building authors as brands will be an efficient way to create a position in the marketplace through trust and knowledge. The analogy we use here is that: “if you have a money query, you go to Martin Lewis because you know you trust him. Now put that same method into your business sphere. If you become the Martin Lewis of metal fabrication or aerosol paint, you become unquestionable in your knowledge.” 

You ensure that this is done through a variety of means. Creating a bank of well-written, E-E-A-T-friendly content and thought leadership pieces on your website gives the foundation of knowledge. A variety of PR articles distributed to industry news websites, with backlinks generated, will, of course, help your website rank higher as we move into 2024.   

Video your way up the SERP

As well as shifting to an SGE approach on the results page, Google has also started to show TikTok and YouTube Short content in the search results. Pair this with the fact that TikTok is slowly integrating Google Search into its search functionality.  

The complexities between this relationship need ironing out, but we are already futureproofing client TikTok and YouTube strategies by cross-referencing keyword research documents and incorporating informational and conversational terms into these social media platforms.  

The art of SEO develops consistently and changes with every algorithm update. Through optimisations, extensions and reworks, a website can be futureproofed and enhanced with in-depth strategic thinking.