What we know about search engine optimization (SEO) changes frequently; therefore, keeping up with new information is the key to your success for targeting shoppers during online searches.
Google and other search engines constantly tweak their methods of finding and displaying content to their users. These complex ranking systems will undoubtedly evolve and become more intuitive this year, so here are a couple of trends you should know.
Topic Clusters Instead of Keywords
For the future of SEO, Google and other search engines are looking at the intent behind consumer searches. They are shifting their focus from keywords to topic clusters. You might be wondering, “What on earth is a topic cluster?” It’s really quite simple.
According to Hubspot, topic clusters involve a pillar, which is like a major page for a website or a category page on a blog, and then multiple pieces content that all link back to the pillar (i.e. different blog posts, smaller website pages, and such). Linking clusters back to the pillar signals to search engines that this page is full of amazing, quality content related to the topic of choice. Over time, the topic cluster method allows your pillar page to rank higher, making it easier for consumers to find it during a search.
The Rise of the Featured Snippet
Featured snippets appear at the top of a search results page, and they answer consumers questions about who, what, when, where, why, and how. Google selects the featured snippet from a website that ranks on page one of the search results. This placement presents a huge opportunity for your content to sit above the highest ranking website page, and therefore, your link will be the first consumers see.
Featured snippets also play a vital role in voice search. Virtual assistants locate their answers by exploring featured snippets. With voice search becoming the rising trend among mobile searches, claiming the featured snippet with your page will drastically affect how many consumers find your content first.
What Does This Mean for You?
Now that you have more insight into the future of SEO, you’re probably wondering how this affects your dealership and your current website. This change is good if you already create great content about specific topics. However, if you’ve focused too heavily on keywords and a wide variety of topics without linking it all together, you’ll need to do some adjusting.
These search engine changes reaffirm that content is king and that internal linking matters for SEO. Moving forward, your website must focus on making your most important topics well-structured. This change doesn’t apply only to new content, but also to your old content. Clean up older blog posts or current webpages to make them more like the topic cluster model. Then you can link relevant pages to your main website pages and get those ranking higher.
At Chumney & Associates, our Digital Marketing team stays up to date on all the changes to search engine algorithms as we work to improve your websites and future content. The digital world is ever-changing, but we’re here to help you keep up. To learn more about our digital services involving SEO, contact us today for more information.
