How Your SEO Strategy Needs To Adapt For Developments In 2020
Going into 2010, Rand Fishkin at MOZ predicted that over the course of the decade, Google queries would drive less and less traffic. Sure enough, Google introduced featured snippets around the middle of the decade. Featured snippets have ushered the rise of “zero click” searches, which is what happens when Google answers your question and you never click through to any other website. Google followed that up with more of the same, like answer boxes and predictive answers in the drop down bar (if you Google the weather, you don’t even have to push enter to get your answer). As of June 2019, the majority of Google searches are now zero clicks.
“We’re moving into a new decade of SEO, and one of the things we’re going to see is Google’s understanding of language skyrocket,” says Guy Sheetrit, CEO of consultancy Over the Top SEO. “From an e-commerce point of view, this is a critical time to regroup and make sure your SEO strategy is lined up for the coming era.” Here’s what you can do to make sure you’re prepared for the new decade of SEO.
Understand SEO’s Place In Your Overall Goals
“SEO isn’t an end unto itself,” Sheetrit emphasizes. “Neither is marketing of any kind. Your company has goals that should be attainable, measurable, and time-bound. Marketing goals should support these overall goals. SEO should support these marketing goals.”
This takes some careful planning. Haphazardly loading up your blog with keywords isn’t going to produce results. It will, however, take up your time to publish content that may or may not produce traffic and results. So play the long game for the new decade. Incorporate your SEO work coherently into your greater marketing goals and your company goals overall. This will result in the work being harmonious and strategic across departments.
Structure Your Site For Easy Navigation With Breadcrumbs
If you’re using an e-commerce platform like Shopify, your site architecture is already built in, and even optimized to give you the highest possible visibility. Of course, the same is true for all your competitors using that platform as well.
If by contrast you’ve built out your website on a different platform, there’s another element you can include: breadcrumbs. This is the trail that lets users find their way back through your site, one click at a time. It immediately outlines the cascading hierarchy of your website structure for Google as well. If you make it easy for Google to understand your site structure, they will favor your site and it’ll appear higher in customer’s Google searches.
“Like all good SEO elements, breadcrumbs have the dual function of making your site easier for customers and for search engines alike,” says Sheetrit. “Are you doing it for the customer? Are you doing it for Google? The reality is both, because they support each other.”
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