Tag Archive for: SEO news

Exploring Voice Search: The Future of SEO Unravelled

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The human voice is replacing the keyboard, which profoundly affects SEO. Here’s how to stay ahead of the AI curve. 

As we step further into the era of digital personal assistants and smart home devices, the way consumers search for information online is changing. Today, we want to discuss one of the fastest-growing search engine optimization (SEO) areas: Voice Search.

The Rise of Voice Search

In recent years, voice search has surged in popularity. Consumers appreciate the convenience of speaking their queries aloud, especially when multitasking or on the go. With the proliferation of devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri, it’s easier than ever to perform a voice search, and this trend is only set to grow.

By 2023, experts predict that more than half of all households worldwide will own a smart speaker. Meanwhile, many mobile internet users also use voice search, reinforcing that voice is becoming a dominant search mode.

The Impact on SEO

As voice search becomes more prevalent, it will undoubtedly alter the face of SEO as we know it. This evolution will challenge marketers to adjust their strategies to accommodate this new search form.

Firstly, voice searches are typically longer and more conversational than typed queries. People speak differently than they type, and voice search is more likely to include full questions and natural language. This means keyword strategies must be revised to focus on long-tail and conversational phrases.

Secondly, voice searches are often local. People frequently use voice search to find nearby businesses or attractions. Thus, companies must ensure that their local SEO is robust and that they’re appearing in local search results.

Thirdly, speed matters in voice search. Google has clarified that fast loading times are a critical ranking factor for voice searches. This means that website performance optimization is more important than ever.

Preparing for the Voice Search Revolution

So, how can businesses adapt and prepare for the continued rise of voice search?

  • Optimize for Conversational Queries: As mentioned, voice searches are often more conversational and question-based. This means focusing on long-tail keywords and phrases that mimic natural speech patterns. It’s also good to anticipate your audience’s questions and provide clear, concise answers.
  • Improve Local SEO: Ensure your business appears in local search results by maintaining an up-to-date Google My Business listing and incorporating local keywords into your website’s content.
  • Speed Up Your Website: Faster loading times benefit voice search and improve user experience. Prioritize website performance optimization and regularly monitor your site’s speed.
  • Design for Mobile: Many voice searches are conducted on mobile devices, so having a mobile-friendly website is crucial. This means responsive design, easy navigation, and quick loading times on mobile.
  • Structured Data Implementation: Structured data helps search engines understand your content and provide more accurate results. This could be especially important for voice search, as digital assistants must quickly offer precise information.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, leveraging voice search in a digital marketing strategy is crucial for businesses aiming to stay competitive and reach their target audience effectively – and adapt to their evolving behaviors and expectations. 

At Onimod Global, our team of digital experts are here to help your business thrive in this ever-evolving digital landscape, from voice search optimization to other cutting-edge digital marketing strategies. Voice search represents an exciting new frontier in SEO, and we’re excited to explore it with you.

Get in touch today to learn how we can help your business embrace the voice search revolution.

Continuous Scrolling Added To Google Mobile Search

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Back again with another Google SEO update, this time regarding continuous scrolling. Google announced they will be updating mobile search in the US with the ability to continuously scroll as more results automatically load.

Continuous scrolling to Google Mobile Search

In an announcement, Google says:

“At Google, we’re always exploring new ways to help people find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Earlier this year, we launched a redesign of the Search results page on mobile for a more modern experience that’s easier to scan and navigate.

Today, we’re making browsing search results more seamless and intuitive with the introduction of continuous scrolling on mobile devices.”

For Google users this is a big time upgrade as it’s now possible to scroll through an almost endless list of results to find right content.

 

Previously on mobile devices, Google’s search engine results page for mobile mainly adhered closely to the ‘ten blue links’ format that was implemented in the beginning on desktop search. Rather than seeing a numbered page list at the bottom of results, users in general would only see a displayed ‘see more’ button. Clicking that button on a mobile device is equivalent to clicking on page two of desktop search results.

The ‘see more’ button isn’t completely disappearing, however Google says that searchers will be able to continuously scroll through “many more” results before finally triggering the ‘see more’ button.

What this means for business

As we all know, CTR rates are extremely low after first page results. This is particularly revealed in a 2020 study that finds the CTR of page two results is less than 1%. The reason behind users not clicking on the page two results is uncertain, but it could have something to do with the perceived quality of content that didn’t make it to page one. With continuous scrolling on mobile, there may be the potential that the bias behind page 1 results is removed.

Think of apps like TikTok, when you’re allowed to infinitely scroll and encouraged to do so. Maybe you’re scrolling for a few minutes, or maybe for several hours. With the same logic being applied to Google Search (okay maybe they won’t scroll through Google for hours), this has the ability to increase content discovery significantly.

Final thoughts

We’ll see as the months go on if this change helps increase traffic for low ranking pages, and provide updates along the way. We will continue to share case studies and the latest SEO updates to help you drive your business. Our goal is to ensure we help improve your marketing and drive success.

At Onimod Global, we have endless experience and expertise when it comes to all things SEO, general social media advertising, and digital marketing. Got questions about Facebook advertising or want to learn more about us? Contact us here today.

Top 5 Most Important Google Algorithm Updates

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Almost every day, Google introduces changes to its ranking algorithm. They even claim to update their search algorithm several thousand times per year. Some are tiny tweaks, usually too small to notice. But, every once in a while, Google introduces a change so fundamental, that it completely alters the way we do SEO forever.

#1. Panda

Hazards: Duplicate, plagiarized or thin content; user-generated spam; keyword stuffing.

How does it work? Panda assigns a “quality score” to webpages; this score is then used as a ranking factor. Initially, Panda was a filter rather than part of Google’s ranking algorithm. In January 2016, it was officially incorporated into the core algorithm. Panda rollouts have become more frequent, so both penalties and recoveries now happen faster.

#2. Penguin

Hazards: Spammy or irrelevant links; links with over-optimized anchor text

How it works: Google Penguin’s objective is to down-rank sites whose backlinks look unnatural. This update put an end to low-effort link building, like buying links from link farms and PBNs.

#3. Hummingbird

Hazards: Keyword stuffing; low quality content

How it works: The Hummingbird algorithm helps Google to better interpret search queries and provide results that actually what the search was intended for (as opposed to the individual terms within the query). While keywords still remain very important, the Hummingbird algorithm makes it possible for a page to rank for a query even if it doesn’t contain the exact words the searcher entered. According to Search Engine Land, his is achieved through the natural language processing that relies on latent semantic indexing, co-occurring terms and synonyms.

#4. Pigeon

Hazards: Poor on- and off-page SEO

How it works: Pigeon affects those searches in which the user’s location plays an important part. The update created closer ties between the local algorithm and the core algorithm: traditional SEO factors are now used to rank local results.

#5 Mobile

Hazards: Lack of a mobile version of the page; poor mobile usability.

How it works: This, and subsequent mobile search updates (2018, 2020) have shifted the focus from a desktop to a mobile version of your website. Today, Google ranks all websites based on how fast and user-friendly their mobile versions are. This automatically puts you at a huge advantage compared to competitors. The faster the content is mobile optimized, the higher Google will prioritize your ad.

Contact Onimod Global

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Yahoo Sues Mozilla for Replacement of Firefox’s Default Search to Google

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It was announced earlier this week that Yahoo’s parent company (Oath) has decided to sue Mozilla for “breach of contract.” Oath claims that Mozilla “terminated a long term strategic agreement with Yahoo” in November. Mozilla recently launched their upgraded Firefox Quantum browser and has implemented Google as their new default search tool. It was approximately 3 years ago when Yahoo and Mozilla signed an agreement that Yahoo would be the default search engine on Firefox.

According to Greg Sterling in an article from Search Engine Land, the lawsuit “seeks unspecified money damages and interest from Mozilla, but Mozilla claims they have the right to terminate the relationship under the contract.” Mozilla’s Firefox browser lost market share to Chrome during the 3 year period with Yahoo. Mozilla blames this lose in market share largely on Yahoo search. Yahoo/Oath argue that “issues with the browser experience (speed and performance)” were to blame instead. Sterling points out that “the truth probably lies somewhere in between.”

Implications Moving Forward
Mozilla switching from Yahoo to Google as their new default search tool is huge. As if Google’s market share in search engine providers wasn’t large enough, this move will expand their share even more. The article states that “Firefox’s market share is about 13 percent to Chrome’s nearly 59 percent. Yahoo search market share is roughly 12 percent to Google’s 63 percent.” Ultimately, it will be interesting to see where Firefox’s market share goes from here, as the reactions to the upgraded “Firefox Quantum” browser appear to be positive thus far.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing expertise and news, visit the Onimod Global Website. We look forward to hearing from you!