Staying ahead of SEO trends is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. Two key strategies are emerging as game-changers: voice search optimisation and leveraging historical content. Understanding and implementing these approaches can significantly enhance your website’s visibility and user engagement.
Voice search optimisation: the future of search
Voice search is gaining traction with the widespread use of smart speakers and virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. This shift to voice-activated search requires a fresh approach to SEO, as voice queries differ significantly from traditional text searches.
Conversational keywords and natural language
Voice searches are more conversational. Instead of typing fragmented keywords like “best Italian restaurants Sydney,” users tend to ask full questions like “What are the best Italian restaurants in Sydney?” To optimise for voice search, focus on incorporating long-tail keywords and phrases that reflect how people naturally speak.
Optimising for featured snippets
Voice assistants often read out content from featured snippets, or position zero. To improve your chances of being featured, structure your content to answer common questions succinctly. Use bullet points, numbered lists, and concise paragraphs to ensure your content is easily scannable. Also, keep your website’s schema markup up-to-date to help search engines understand the context of your content.
Mobile optimisation
Many voice searches are conducted on mobile devices, making mobile optimisation more important than ever. Ensure your site is responsive, loads quickly, and offers a seamless user experience across all devices. With Google’s mobile-first indexing, your mobile site’s performance directly impacts your overall search rankings.
Leveraging historical content: the untapped goldmine
While creating new content is vital, updating and optimising historical content can provide significant SEO benefits. Older content often has established authority and backlinks, which can be leveraged to boost its relevance and rankings.
Content audit and refresh
Perform a content audit to identify posts that could benefit from updates. Look for content that was once popular or still gets traffic but may be outdated. Update these articles with current information, new statistics, and relevant keywords. Refreshing historical content signals to search engines that your site remains current and valuable.
Internal linking
Improve your historical content by adding internal links to newer articles. This helps distribute link equity across your site and encourages visitors to explore more content. A solid internal linking strategy can enhance user experience and increase time spent on your site, both of which are positive signals to search engines.
Republishing with a fresh perspective
Sometimes, republishing historical content with a new perspective is the best approach. Rewrite the article to reflect current trends, insights, or industry developments. This allows you to tap into the existing authority of the old content while offering a fresh resource for your audience.
Final thoughts
Voice search optimisation and leveraging historical content stand out as pivotal SEO strategies. By embracing the conversational nature of voice searches and ensuring your content is mobile-friendly, you can improve your visibility in voice search results. At the same time, refreshing and repurposing historical content can unlock untapped potential, driving more traffic and engagement to your site.
Incorporating these strategies into your SEO efforts will help you stay ahead of the curve and maintain a strong online presence in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
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