Predictions: How Will SEO Change in The Next Decade?

One of the best and sometimes the worst aspect of search engine optimisation (SEO) is that it is constantly evolving. While this is undeniably a good thing for searchers, it can make the process of SEO even more daunting for businesses and digital marketers alike.

If you pride yourself on staying a step ahead of the latest SEO trends, then the below SEO predictions for the next decade are exactly what you have been looking for.

Read on to find out everything you need to know about the evolution of SEO and what to expect in the next decade so that you can remain above the competition and create the ultimate SEO strategy for your business.

The Future of Search

As mentioned briefly above, when it comes to SEO, you need to expect the unexpected. Just when you think you have got a handle on the best SEO practices, a new Google algorithm update comes along and throws a spanner into the works. That being said, the more informed you are about the future of SEO, the better you can prepare your business for the changes to come.

So, let’s dive right into our SEO predictions for the next 10 years!

Predictive SEO Analytics

As the name suggests, predictive SEO enables you to forecast what searchers will need or want to see online in the future. While this concept may seem a little farfetched, it is actually based on real data and insights from the past and the present, enabling you to create optimised content that will perform better in the future.

The beauty of predictive SEO analytics is that you don’t have to wait for a topic to trend, as you will already know what topics will be trending within your niche. This enables you to remain 1 step ahead of your main competitors and create relevant and unique content before saturation occurs.

Some of the most notable benefits of predictive SEO analysis include:

• You can target the right users at the right time
• You can implement more effective digital marketing campaigns
• You can boost your rankings on SERPs for relevant searches
• You can generate more organic trafficOrganic search traffic (sometimes called natural or unpaid search) is the traffic that's driven to a website because of unpaid placement on a search engine results page. and boost your overall conversion rateA conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that take a desired action on your site.
• You can anticipate the needs of your target audience

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to predictive SEO, there are several online tools that you can utilise, including Google TrendsGoogle Trend tool is a free service from Google that lets you see how popular a particular search term or topic is over time., Google Analytics, and Google Search Console. Investing in AI SEO software that will analyse your data for you and provide you with your very own, bespoke predictions can be hugely beneficial.

Voice Search

Although voice search is not the new kid on the block anymore, it will still play a pivotal role in the future of search. In the past 10 years, there has been huge advancements in audio search technology, which has made it possible for searchers to communicate with search engines using just their voice.

However, in the next decade, this search trend is set to get even more exciting, with voice recognition software enabling people to ask specific questions and receive tailored responses.

You can also expect to see a rise in the popularity of digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri, with an increasing number of households utilising these technologies to carry out searches online.

So, what does this mean for your SEO strategy?

In a nutshell, if you are not already optimising your content for voice search, then now is most definitely the time to do so. Make sure you create content that boasts a conversational tone and opt for more natural-sounding keywords and phrases that people are more likely to say when performing a voice search.

High-quality Content Curation

Although there is no way to predict what Google will throw at websites in the next 10 years, based on their previous algorithm updates, including the most recent Helpful Content Update, it is safe to say that their focus will continue to be on improving the searcher experience.

When it comes to creating high-quality content that gets results, it can be hard to know how to impress both searchers and search engines alike, which is why so many businesses fail at the first hurdle and abandon content creation.

In the next 10 years, we expect to see businesses shift their focus away from simply creating informative content and turning their efforts to creating meaningful experiences with their target audience through the content they create. This can be achieved by creating content that is centred around search intent which involves asking the why behind a search query.

With the online marketplace becoming increasingly competitive, if you want your business to remain relevant in the future, you need to take the time to truly understand your customers and build an emotional connection that drives long-term loyalty.

Visual Search Engines

People are naturally visual beings, and most prefer visual forms of content, which is why the visual search industry is set to take off in a big way in the next few years. For those that are new to visual search, this is a type of technology that identifies objects with an image rather than using words. The beauty of visual search is that every time a visual search engine analyses a new image, it becomes more precise, meaning searchers will get better and better results over time.

You may have already heard of several existing visual search engines, such as Google Lens, Pinterest Visual Search, and Amazon Camera Search, even if you don’t know exactly how they work.

In terms of SEO and your future content marketing strategies, the emergence of visual search means you need to approach things a little differently and place your focus on optimising your visuals.

Some of the elements that you need to optimise for visual search include:

• The image name
• The Alt text
• The image description

You also need to ensure that you choose the right formatting, as visual search engines have specific recommendations for image sizes.

Artificial Intelligence

Again, although artificial intelligence in search is nothing new, this revolutionary technology will continue to significantly impact how people search and how you optimise content in the future. As AI becomes more sophisticated, businesses will be forced to adapt their SEO strategies accordingly or fail, being left behind.

In particular, we expect artificial intelligence technology to be used to carry out more detailed website audits so that businesses can avoid being penalised after a new algorithm update. Moreover, this technology will be able to completely analyse your website and identify any red flags that could negatively impact your rankings.

Artificial intelligence will also help businesses monitor their competition’s SEO efforts quicker and with minimal effort, enabling you to eliminate the need to manually assess their content. Finally, and arguably most excitingly, new artificial intelligence technology will enable websites to have greater control over their rankings on SERPs. In fact, using AI-powered tools, you can actively identify areas that you need to improve and implement new strategies accordingly.

Check out our AI blog guide and find out more about AI-generated content and whether it is the right choice for your business.

Local SEOLocal SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank on the 1st page of Google for a search term and geographic location that is relevant to your business.

If you want to remain competitive in the next decade, then you need to make sure you are developing solid local SEO strategies. With an increase in mobile searches and location-based search results, it has never been more important for businesses to embrace local SEO tactics.

However, as local search results become more competitive, it will become even more difficult for local businesses to win that top spot on SERPs.

Some of the trends we expect to see in local SEO in the next decade include more targeted local search results, more focus on voice search, and a continued increase in local searches carried out on mobile devices.

To make sure that you fully take advantage of the power of local SEO, optimise your website and business listings with local keywords and phrases.

Video Content

Last but not least, we expect to see continued traction in the wonderful world of video content, with more and more businesses shifting their focus to creating entertaining and educational videos for their target audience.

With the ability to dramatically increase sales and drive customer engagement, video content is set to become more advanced and innovative in the next decade, with shoppable videos featuring clickable linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages. bringing together content and commerce.

Unboxing videos will continue to be popular, a marketing technique that was once limited to YouTube but can now be showcased on multiple platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.

To ensure you make the most out of any video content you create, make sure that you name your video using a target keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business., insert your keyword naturally into the video title and optimise your video description.

Again, when creating video content, and, in fact, any form of content, make sure you are always thinking about how to connect with your target audience. While video can give you an instant boost in your rankings, users will not stay on your site very long if the content is not engaging and relevant.

Google Predictions

As discussed earlier in the post, it is near impossible to predict what Google might throw at websites in the next 10 years, but it is clear that they will play a significant role in the future of SEO.

With many new algorithm updates likely to be rolled out based on new search trends and technologies, we predict the following for Google in the next decade:

• An increased focus on personalisation
• More visual search results
• Foreseeable search queries
• The ability to carry out searches on different devices, such as your refrigerator
• The eventual elimination of more than 1 results page

Is SEO Dead?

This is a question that we often get asked, and it is an important one to consider. People have been predicting the death of SEO for many years now, in fact, pretty much since it began, and the doubters are more vocal today than ever before.

So, what is the answer?

No. SEO is not dead.

Has it changed? Yes. Will it continue to change? Almost definitely.

But will it remain relevant? Absolutely.

To put it simply, as long as search engines are still about, so will SEO, as you can’t have one without the other.

That being said, just because something works for you right now, that doesn’t mean it will still work next year, next month, or even next week. The thing about SEO is that it keeps you constantly on your toes. However, if you put in the time and effort, you will be greatly rewarded.

As discussed above, with an increasing reliance on new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learningMachine Learning is the branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed., search engine algorithms are evolving faster than ever before, which means you need to know about any foreseeable SEO changes before they occur.

So, will SEO still exist in 10 years’ time?

While we don’t have a crystal ball, we can confidently say that SEO isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so get ready to plan your next SEO campaign!

If you would like help in strategising for the future, please get in touch with our Account Managers here today and let us help future-proof your business.