State of SEO in 2024: Trends and Predictions

While AI tools like ChatGPT have contributed to the web getting flooded with generic AI content, making search engines prioritize more conversational language to avoid spam. 

There's a lot happening in search engine optimization this year. With search algorithms constantly changing, generative AI advancing, and Google raising the bar for rank-worthy content.

What we all want to know now is: What does SEO look like in 2024? What will be the biggest challenges, how will they affect business, and how can we prepare? 

We did some digging. 

But before we get into the latest SEO trends and ranking factors, we need to start by answering that nagging question… 

Is SEO dead in 2024?

No, SEO is still alive and kicking in 2024. However, it's not the same as it used to be.

The predictions of whether SEO is dead or alive are as old as the method itself. In the past years, Google has made numerous changes affecting SEO, and they're not likely to stop, ever. 

With the rise of AI, change is the only constant. But SEO is not dying, it's evolving, just as it always has and always will. 

To save your rankings in 2024, you must be ready to reshape your SEO strategy to keep up with the constant algorithm updates. For companies that want to succeed, responsiveness is more important than ever. Staying in your comfort zone and clinging to what once worked won't get you anywhere this year. 

SEO is and continues to be valuable for companies who want to drive traffic, leads, brand awareness, and, ultimately, revenue. As long as people are using search engines to find the information they need, SEO is still very much a thing. 

The fact is that your company will receive 27% of all clicks if you rank first in Google's organic search – and that's not nothing.

Source: www.backlinko.com

With that said, we can expect to see companies continuously investing in SEO strategies to grow their business.

Will companies invest more or less in SEO in 2024?

SEO is getting more attention in 2024, with a never-ending stride of companies looking to take their business online. Even though the changing algorithms presents challenges, businesses doesn't seem to be backing down. Instead, they're ramping up their SEO efforts to outrank competitors, by maintaining and improving their rankings.

Thanks to AI, new tools are emerging almost daily, giving businesses endless opportunities to perfect their strategies. We can expect to see companies invest more in SEO tools in the upcoming year to scale up their efforts and secure that competitive advantage. 

Top benefits of keeping investing in SEO in 2024:

• Brand awareness: Topping the search engine results pages (SERPs) helps establish your brand as an authority in your industry. As prospects repeatedly see your website listed for relevant keywords, they become more familiar with your brand.

• Qualified leads: SEO allows you to target keywords that are relevant to your business, attracting users searching for products or services like yours. As a result, the traffic generated through SEO tends to be highly targeted, leading to higher-quality leads and conversions.

• Cost-effective: Compared to traditional advertising methods, SEO often provides a higher return on investment (ROI). While there may be upfront costs associated with SEO efforts, like hiring an SEO professional or investing in tools, the long-term benefits of increased organic traffic and lead generation often outweigh the initial investment.

• Long-term results: Unlike paid advertising, which stops generating traffic once you stop spending money, the benefits of SEO can be long-lasting. By consistently investing in SEO and maintaining your website's optimization, you can continue to reap the rewards of higher search engine rankings and organic traffic over time.

So yes, companies will most likely keep investing in SEO in 2024. But in order to succeed, they need to do it differently. 

Let's break down how to do SEO in 2024.

5 key SEO trends for 2024 [+ how to prepare for challenges]

A lot has happened since AI entered the world of SEO, and we can't cover it all in this article. However, here are five SEO trends that all companies should be aware of in 2024 and tips on how to prepare for them. 

1. Google is raising the bar on high-quality content

In 2023, AI made its mark on content creation and started causing changes to search algorithms. Google's goal is to give the users what they want, in other words, content that's engaging, trustworthy and answers the search intent. 

With the web becoming saturated with AI-generated content, high-quality content is becoming rare, and Google's search algorithm is becoming stricter in its definition of rank-worthy content. Post AI, we can see a bigger emphasis on user intent and answering actual target audience questions. 

But it's not only Google who's tired of low-quality content. Over half (57%) of B2B sellers disregard marketing team's content as generic and unresponsive.

What does this mean for the B2B marketing and sales content in 2024? Among other things, it means that we need to be extra mindful when using AI to generate content. 

AI is great for scaling content production, but not if quality is sacrificed. User experience still needs to be the core of the content strategy. 

The latest Google algorithm changes are also hinting that human-like content will be favored over AI-generated pieces. 

So, even though AI for content creation is still somewhat booming, we are starting to see a rising demand for human SEO writers as well. 

If your goal is to create quality content (for users and search engines), simply use AI as an editor rather than a writer. 

Use AI to:

• Create outlines for SEO blog posts.

• Incorporate the right keywords into your content.

• Convert information into bullet points.

• Come up with interesting synonyms.

• Shortening sentences.

• Find grammar and spelling mistakes.

• Transcribe interviews.

Don't use AI to: 

• Create entire pieces of content with minimal human interaction. 

Companies need to find ways to use AI to improve and scale up their content marketing efforts without losing the personal touch and expertise that only humans can bring.

Remember, Google prioritizes websites that demonstrate a high level of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). If your website can showcase these qualities, it's more likely that it will rank higher in the search engine results.

Source: www.digitalguider.com

2. Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) is on the rise

Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) is becoming a thing, slowly but steadily changing user behavior by providing AI-generated results at the top of the SERPs. 

The goal with SGE is to increase user experience by delivering easily-understood answers to search queries. It also gives you visuals, and suggestions for prompts, guiding you in your continued search.

Even though SGE is not a chatbot, it's more like a conversational AI assistant than a search engine. This is most likely the way we will approach SERPs in the future. But, SGE hasn't fully arrived yet. It will take some time before it dominates and totally disrupts the search. 

What we can do to prepare for SGI is create content that's easy for it to understand, meaning content that: 

• Answers user queries directly: SGE is all about getting to the point fast, just like the users. 

• Contains bullet lists: Using lists and dividing your text into sections can make it easier for SGE to grasp. 

• Covers an entire topic: SGE will refer users to other search results that cover the same or a similar topic, so don't underestimate content clusters.

• Has nice images: SGE will present images that are relevant to the search query; infographics can, for example, be valuable. 

However, we don't know what affect SGE will have on user behavior, at this point, we can only guess. Maybe it will disrupt search as we know it, maybe it won't. 

Until we know more, it's best to stick to creating high-quality, user-centric SEO content.

Additional tip: Don't forget the technical SEO aspect, optimizing your website for Core Web Vitals – the metrics Google finds most important for user experience. 

3. Topical authority is becoming increasingly important

Creating topical authority means becoming the go-to information source for a specific topic – something most B2B companies strive to do. But building topical authority is not only good for thought leadership purposes, it's also becoming an increasingly important ranking factor. 

Content clusters with well-structured internal linking make it easy for users (and Google) to find relevant information related to the search query. Establishing topical authority also aligns with Google's E-E-A-T principles.

When creating content for topical authority, you need to consider:

• Your target audience: Research your target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points. This information will help you address topics that resonate with your audience.

• Publishing regularly: Consistency is key when building topical authority. Regularly publish fresh, relevant content to keep your audience engaged and show your commitment to your chosen topic.

• Optimizing for search engines: Implement SEO best practices to ensure that your content is easily found by search engines. This includes optimizing your website structure, using relevant keywords, and earning high-quality backlinks.

If you consistently provide valuable and reliable content, users (and Google) will start to think of you as an expert in your field. 

4. Regularly updating content is more important than creating new

To keep your rankings in 2024, it's becoming more important than ever to update your content regularly. Google wants relevant, fresh content to top the SERPs, keeping content creators on their toes. 

If you want to keep your audience engaged, it's important to stay on top of your content game. That means regularly updating and refreshing your content to make sure it stays interesting and relevant for users and search engines. 

With the amount of content being published everyday, the competition is growing. You can't risk your content getting out of date and loosing rankings. Facts and insights are constantly evolving and changing – and if you want to be the go-to source for information, you need to stay updated. 

Tips for keeping your content fresh and relevant:

• Regular content audits: Perform regular audits of your content to identify outdated or irrelevant material. This includes reviewing blog posts, articles, landing pages, and other content assets on your website.

• Monitor industry trends: Stay informed about developments and trends in your industry. Follow relevant news sources, subscribe to industry newsletters, and monitor social media channels to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.

• Engage with target audience: Encourage feedback from your audience and respond to comments, questions, and suggestions. Use feedback to identify areas where your content may need updating or improvement.

• Keyword research: Regularly conduct keyword research to identify new opportunities and trends in search behavior. Use this information to optimize existing content and create new pieces around trending topics.

• Repurpose content: Repurpose existing content into new formats or platforms to keep it fresh and relevant. For example, you can turn blog posts into videos, podcasts, infographics, or social media posts.

Remember, keeping content fresh is more than just updating information. You also need to make sure that the content is still aligned with your evolving brand and target audience. 

5. There's a rise in zero-click searches

Lately there's been an increase in zero click searches, with users not clicking on any of the search results. 

This is undoubtedly an effect of Google starting to provide more and more important information within the SERPs, available for users without having to click further. 

When users are able to get the information they're searching for directly from the SERP, there's no point in clicking. In other words, it's becoming harder for businesses to drive traffic to their website. 

The zero-click searches are likely to increase even more this year, but you can prepare by:

• Building thought leadership: Positioning your business as an authority in your industry will make users more likely to click when your website appears in the SERPs. 

• Optimize for featured snippets: Aim to rank as a featured snippet for the search queries that get zero clicks. Optimizing for featured snippets involves structuring content in concise, informative formats to directly answer commonly asked questions.

• Diversify your marketing channels: SEO is not the only way to drive traffic, make sure to include several channels in your digital marketing strategy. Like social media platforms, forums, email marketing and industry related news sites. 

Last but not least, you should aim to create a dedicated following that recognizes your brand as the go-to source for information. 

If you manage to do that, you make sure that people think of you first when they need to find something or solve a problem instead of always depending on Google. This way, you can reduce your dependence on Google as the primary source of traffic and increase.

Conclusion

With that said, SEO is not dead, but it's evolving at a rapid pace, and businesses need to keep up with the changes in order to keep and improve their rankings. 

As we've covered, several key trends are shaping the SEO landscape, including the rise of AI-driven search experiences and the increasing importance of user-centricity and human touch in content creation.

To prepare for these trends, businesses must adopt an agile approach, keeping up to date with advancements in AI technology and leveraging it to scale without sacrificing quality and user experience.

The answer to the question 'How to master SEO in 2024?' is adaptability, along with a steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional value to users. 

On the note of SEO…

What if you could turn that anonymous traffic into real company names to help you identify highly qualified leads? With Leadfeeder it's possible, the tools allows you to see which companies are visiting your website, when they're visiting, and what pages they're interacting with.