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Google is a well-oiled machine, and continually updates its algorithms to ensure it offers the most relevant search results to its users. This is great news for browsers, who can easily find what they’re looking for. It’s a little more stressful for businesses, who must continually stay on top of their SEO to make sure their company enjoys good visibility online!

The best option is to work with a reputable online marketing strategist, who can help your business to stay on top of the SERPs. However, it’s also important to keep tabs on the current SEO trends yourself, and take steps to ensure your company is right where customers can see it.

Key SEO Trends for This Year

• Quality content, not quantity. In the past, companies have tried to ‘dupe’ the system by producing lots of very wordy articles on one topic, and reshuffling the content to ensure it’s not seen as duplicate copy. Google are now getting wise to this, and are focusing on ‘per word value’ – content that offers actual value to the reader, rather than quantity for the sake of it. When posting any form of content online, focus on quality, and don’t keep writing about the same topics for the sake of squeezing keywords in as much as possible.
• User experience. Google is focusing heavily on user experience, and rightly so. Your website should offer users a smooth, seamless experience. It should be easy to navigate, simple to search through, and easy to read. In simple terms, a well-designed site will make customers stay browsing for longer, which improves your SEO.
• There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that Google will be placing increased importance on AMP (accelerated mobile performance). By opting to AMP your site, you’ll find that your business is given preference in the search results, which is well worth having. Some web designers are still anti-AMP, as it’s had a few issues in the past, but as loading speed is a major factor in SEO, it may be a worthwhile addition to your site.
• Video content. Last year already saw a marked preference towards visual content, particularly video. This is largely because video content receives substantially more click-throughs than text-only content – which Google has responded to by placing more importance on video-based web pages. Video production services are costly – so you might find it more advantageous investing in a cheaper animation video.

Web Designers in County Durham

As you can see, the world of SEO continues to develop at an astonishing pace, and keeping up with the latest trends can be tricky. A good online marketing strategist will work with you to devise a solid plan for gaining better online visibility – leaving you free to focus on other aspects of your business.

Alternatively, you may feel it’s time to invest in a new website – one that’s optimised to perform well under current SEO guidelines. Regardless of what assistance you need, our team can help! Shark Bait Studios offer a range of services; from comprehensive web design and development, to marketing, copywriting and graphic design. To find out more, simply call us on 01748 900321.