Let’s talk about SEO trends for 2020.

Organic positioning is essential to attract qualified leads to our website and consolidate a successful inbound strategy. But It’s easier to say it than do it. 

Google considers at least 200 factors for ranking search results. And on top of that, it applies modifications to its algorithm at least twice a day.

Conclution? If we are not attentive to these changes, all our effort can fall from one moment to another.

The good news is that when you work with SEO for a long time, you start to sense the improvements of Google. In fact, some optimizations are already on the table that we must consider, according to experts, to better classify in the ranking. 

At Contenttu, we have compiled the 9 SEO trends for 2020 that are gaining ground in countries such as Spain and the United States, where search engine optimization has been in the limelight for the longest time. 

1) Outstanding results: More CTR and more penalties

The way Google displays search results (SERP) is changing. This year promises to give more prominence to knowledge panels, featured snippets and rich snippets.

These three terms refer to basically the same thing: snippets of featured information , which help grab users’ attention and generally get the most clicks. They are the results that appear in the zero position of Google.

There are two ways to highlight our snippet (information box that appears in the SERPs). The first is natural, Google chooses us if we specifically answer a question with a high search volume.

However, reaching zero position requires a more advanced level of SEO.

The second way requires you to master the HTML language to add structured data markup of Schema.org .

Schema.org is a kind of universal markup language, which allows search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing) to better interpret information on websites.

In 2019, the featured snippets that drove the traffic of many web pages were the “ frequently asked questions” and “step-by-step instructions”. 

This year we expect new featured snippet formats and greater consistency between the SERP and the landing page.

But does this method really increase CTR? It depends: 

If the result offers the desired information to the user, but is not complete and generates curiosity, the CTR will probably be doubled. 

But if the result is complete enough to satisfy the reader, we may register a drop in visits to that page.

However, there are other important benefits of featured snippets. For example, voice searches (another SEO trend for 2020) take these snippets into account. And also, when using mobile devices, the chances of the user scrolling are reduced.

And why could they penalize me if I use structured data? 

Because as is common in the history of SEO, many professionals abuse trends for business purposes. 

Consequently, Google has started to go after and penalize websites that direct directly to transactional landings, using structured data markup.

2) BERT: Better understanding of language and search intent

BERT is the latest update to Google’s algorithm, designed to process natural language and better interpret search intentions. 

To be more precise, BERT performs sentence parsing, rather than word-for-word conceptualizing. In this way, you can figure out the relationship between all the terms, in the context of the sentence. 

The result of this reading is the user’s search intention. Understanding it will allow Google to: 

• ✔ Identify the need that underlies the user’s search
• ✔ Associate that need with multiple search formulations
• ✔ Rate the content by more precise factors 

How can we take advantage of BERT?

The first step in taking advantage of BERT is to play with keyword semantics. In this way we create more natural blog posts with a better reach. 

We understand that with each update, Google downplays the density of keywords and gives more value to the use of synonyms and related terms. 

Enriching our texts at a semantic level and maintaining a clean syntax in the sentences, tells Google that the article is made for humans and not for bots. In other words: If you read better, you will rank better.

The important thing is to optimize your content for search intent. 

Tools such as Answer the public , Keywords Tool, and Google’s keyword planner, help us explore all the queries related to a keyword, to expand our list of ideas.

3) The EAT criteria and the Domain Authority are more important than ever

There is a formula that pretty much sums up what Google values ​​on a web page. Some SEOs know it as EAT criteria: Expertise, Authority and Trust. In Spanish: expertise, authority and transparency.

Expertise refers to how deep we go into a specific area of ​​knowledge. And not just for a particular blog post, but for all the content we’ve generated (and interconnected with links) on that topic. 

The authority is given by the quality backlinks that our website receives. This is one of the most important ranking factors for Google.

Finally we have the transparency or reliability, which depends on the originality and reputation of the content that we publish regularly. User experience and access security also have a lot to do with it.

How to improve our EAT?

These three factors are not new at all. But its relevance this year will be essential to position itself in the first places of Google. 

The good news is that there are new ways to improve our EAT. For example, the use of video blogging is key to improving the bounce rate and the time spent on the website. 

Also podcasts, a format that has gained popularity since 2019.

The SEO optimization of the videos that we upload to YouTube is another positive contribution to our strategy.

Do you want to improve your Domain Authority? We tell you all the details that you must take into account.

4) Search by voice: Improve semantics and work on long-tail keywords

We know, voice searches have been a trend for several years. However, the predictions suggest that in 2020 50% of the consultations will be this way.

Not surprising when you consider the demand for smart speakers. And also, that the use of virtual assistants is more and more frequent. 

This evolution of search habits requires improving our strategy, especially with the incorporation of more long-tail keywords and improvements in semantics in the texts.

What does this mean?

When users search by voice, they are looking to save time. This action does not contemplate linguistic economics. So there is a significant increase in long-tail searches and questions (what, who, how, when or where).

This brings us back to one of the SEO trends for 2020 we’ve already mentioned: discovering search intent for more accurate results ranking.

We must design campaigns that work in simple question and answer formats. Use short phrases, take advantage of long-tail keywords, and work with synonyms and related terms.

Voice searches favor content in position zero. That is, the featured snippets. Using tables, charts, or enumerations makes Google’s job easier. Let’s consider including these elements in our texts.

To do a Keyword Research that finds the best keywords for your business, read our guide . We explain step by step which tools to use and how to correctly filter the results.

5) More importance to local SEO on mobile devices 

The National Institute of Statistics (INEI) revealed in 2019 that 82% of Peruvians who access the internet do so from their cell phones.  And there are more and more searches with purchase intention, through Google mobile.

Everything indicates that another of the SEO trends for 2020, in Peru, will be local marketing. 

Two important things about this information: 

First, we must develop a Local SEO strategy that positions our business as an industry leader. 

Currently, transactional searches (food stores, hotels, goods and services) are highly competitive in almost all districts of Lima. Especially for the use of Google My Business and social networks as a showcase.

Second , the user experience for mobile phones needs to be improved. Especially in Peru, which is going from being a Mobile First country to a Mobile Only.

Optimizing Google My Business will increase the visibility of our website. And that can be the difference between a business that thrives and one that stagnates.

6) Vertical search engines: SEO trend again in 2020

In addition to concentrating efforts on Google, we must also work on SEO positioning in vertical search engines: video platforms or marketplaces.

For example, creating a channel on YouTube and positioning ourselves in the first search results is an excellent strategy to make our brand visible.

According to Google statistics, 90% of users have discovered new products through YouTube. Meanwhile, 80% alternate Google search with reference videos. 

Other platforms that we can consider in our SEO strategy are marketplaces like Amazon or networks like Pinterest. 

To do SEO on Pinterest, in addition to considering the keywords, you also have to work on the authority of each pin and optimize the content of the most important boards. 

7) SEO trends: Beware of artificial intelligence 

This year we must focus on Google’s increasingly perfect artificial intelligence. One of the most important algorithms of this search engine is RankBrain, whose function is to provide the user with the simplest and most punctual answer to their query. In the following image we see an example of this with one of the articles that attracts the most organic traffic to one of our websites: rimacestarbien.com 

Updates to this algorithm are constant, so one of the most important SEO trends for 2020 is to experiment with the changes, to perfect our web positioning strategy.

For example, we have already mentioned the importance of voice searches. Knowing how the artificial intelligence of virtual assistants works will help us to identify the classification factors that Alexa or Siri take into account when responding to the user. 

Images are also an important element on this path. The search for information through referential images ( visual search) is becoming more and more common .

Everything indicates that artificial intelligence will recognize the visual content to relate it to the text. The greater the match, the better the positioning. 

Although optimizing the title and ALT tag of images is currently the SEO strategy par excellence, if Google perfects the interpretation of images, this method could go down in history.

It is better to be prepared for all these changes.

8) Improve the user experience for people with disabilities

Most of the reasons that explain why a web page does not have traffic or generates conversions, are related to a bad user experience (UX). We dedicate an entire article to explain in detail what factors are necessary to improve the performance of our website. We recommend reading it to understand what mistakes you are making.

But in general terms, these are the factors that we must take into account:

• ✔ Loading speed less than 3 seconds
• ✔ Responsive design (optimized for mobile devices)
• ✔ Usability and easy navigation
• ✔ Attractive and intuitive style

User experience has always been and will be a determining factor for Google. That is why web accessibility will play a leading role in 2020. 

With web accessibility we refer to the facilities that we provide to users with physical or intellectual limitations. For example: reading software for the visually impaired and subtitles on the videos for the hearing impaired. 

9) Quality Backlinks: Develop Scalable Linkbuilding Strategies

Link building is a strategy that consists of generating links to a domain (backlinks), to increase the authority of the website. 

Google measures the transparency, veracity and quality of a domain considering all the links from other pages that link to it. The logic is that the more sites mention and refer to ours, the better our content.

In that sense, many SEO professionals focused their strategies on getting as many backlinks as possible. To the point of falling into bad Linkbuilding practices (such as buying links) . 

To combat this vice, Google modified its algorithm and now the quality of the backlink becomes more relevant. So that the natural references and those mentions made by pages with the highest authority, have much more relevance.

Summing up: These are the SEO trends for 2020

Some of the SEO trends for 2020 are nothing new, Google has been perfecting these details for several years to improve customer service. North America and Europe have a long way to go in SEO optimizations to respond to these updates. 

Latin America is beginning to take its first steps. And more specifically in Peru, it is necessary to nurture our strategies. In general, we must consider: 

✔ Incorporate the marking of structured data to appear in the zero position of Google (featured snippets), but taking the necessary considerations to avoid penalties.

✔ Nurture our study of keywords, considering synonyms and related terms. Remember that semantics are important to the new BERT algorithm.

✔ Include video blogs, podcasts and SEO optimizations on YouTube to improve our domain authority.

✔ Use more longtail keywords and improve semantics for voice searches.

✔ More importance to local SEO through mobile devices.

✔ Consider the use of vertical search engines to increase our visibility.

✔ Explore the changes in Google’s artificial intelligence.

✔ Improve the user experience for people with disabilities.

✔ Get more quality links