Hundreds have not yet taken down their Christmas lights, and much more have not put away their party hats, but the digital marketing experts are already back knocking at the doors of the SEO oracles to find out the trends that will dominate most of 2018. Last year was a brilliant year for accelerating Google Answer Box parameters, new SEO reforms, new WordPress security patches, new HTML updates and so much more for every website owner. The most trustworthy and accurate oracles predict that this year is going to be about optimization of videos, the relaunch of image optimization and a lot of VR codes!
Here are the top most predictions for SEO in 2018. For more news on the same, you can check out Titanium Clicks.
Voice searches will still lead the search domain
With a sharp increase in the number of smartphone users and smart speakers in common households, searches are going to reorient themselves as questions rather than abstract phrases. The tone is going to become a lot more conversational. Amazon Echo and Google Home are still on the top seller lists among home smart devices. They provide spoken search results, and this will reshape the way we think about SEO, keyword usage, and SERPs.
Individual customization will affect direct rankings
Google searches have taken a new turn with individual customization of search results. The user’s history, online activities, browser cookies and link preferences will play a critical role in determining the search result order. This will bring out newer updates that take care of customization of SERPs for all individual users. are going to be the biggest catalyst for this change. Personalization will earn a new impetus in the search results sphere in 2018.
Search algorithm change will fade thanks to machine learning
Machine learning is already facilitating better prediction of search results. RankBrain is Google’s magnum opus that is leading the machine learning drive. Now, in 2018, with the rise of the acceptance of machine learning and AI across the different fields of technology, there is going to be a revolution! The rise of machine learning will make the traditional aspects of search engine algorithm, and the impacts of Google updates irrelevant to SERPs. Experts even predict that after a couple of years, the dominance of AI and machine learning will render search engine algorithm, the kind Google, Yahoo and Bing use, obsolete.
There’ll be more to SEO than Google and Bing
Today, when any random person says,”SEO” another one yells, “Google.” It is a rather predictable game of Marco-Polo that tech experts and engineers have been playing for almost a decade. Right now, Google dominates the sphere of search results, yes! However, third-party applications like Amazon and Yelp have become search engines on their own. In fact, smart assistants like Siri and Cortana have their own search engine game going. In 2018, you will have to think about a lot of contenders beyond the usual Google, Bing, and Yahoo to rank higher.
The year of hyperlocal results is here
This is again going to be that year when people start chiming in about hyperlocal results, but then again, this is also going to be the year when it will finally take off. The influence of local SEO and search results have increased in the last couple of months, and this points us directly towards the direction of hyper-local personalizations of search result lists. This is because Google now has the capability of understanding your immediate locality and suggesting search results within your physical location. This is super helpful when people are searching for local restaurants, local salons, medical clinics, and marketplaces.
The awakening of Virtual Reality
The rise of VR in the wake of hyperlocal results only makes the possibilities of innovation infinite. Imagine, using VR and AR to find the restaurants in your locality from your vantage point. It will be like living in a real-life game where each block, turn, corner, shop, bistro, and mart comes with references, reviews, testimonials, and tags! This gives more reason for the video and image search optimization to pick up impetus. Online searches are becoming more visual by the day. Even with the advent of 3D technology, the profile of the locations will need decent photos for user access.
2018 is going to be the time for all users to say “Hello” to highly specific, relevant and hyper-local search results on any platform they are using. Globalization of searches and inclusion of third-party apps in the search engine league has opened the possibilities for a complete SEO overhaul this year.
