First off, let’s chat about those pesky JavaScript SEO issues. Oh boy, they can be a headache, can’t they? But fear not; we’ve got some tricks to tackle them head-on. And then, there’s EEAT – not to be confused with eating, though it’s just as essential for your website’s health. We’re talking about Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. It’s the new hotness in SEO town, and we’ll show you how to strut it like a pro.

Now, have you heard about optimizing for Generative AI? It’s like teaching an old dog new tricks, but way cooler and more digital. And don’t get me started on video and image SEO – it’s a whole new ball game, and we’re here to coach you through it.

Voice search optimization, localized SEO, semantic search – these aren’t just buzzwords; they’re your ticket to soaring high in search rankings. And Core Web Vitals? They’re like the pulse of your website; let’s make sure yours is beating strong.

Multilingual SEO – because why limit yourself to one language when you can charm audiences worldwide? And last but not least, understanding branded and non-branded traffic. It’s like knowing the difference between your loyal fans and those just passing by.

Let’s make your SEO strategy in 2024 not just good, but downright awesome!

FIXING JAVASCRIPT SEO ISSUES

JavaScript SEO empowers JavaScript-loaded sites to be easily digestible by search engines. It’s like giving your website a superpower to glide smoothly through crawling, rendering, and indexing complexities.

Think of JavaScript SEO as your digital wand, transforming modern websites into user-friendly realms that gracefully climb the Google ranks. It’s all about fine-tuning those JavaScript elements to ensure search engines spot them from a mile away, untangling any web of confusion that might hinder their understanding.

Reducing JavaScript’s footprint to keep your website zipping along, offering an impeccable user experience. Ready, set, optimize!

IDENTIFYING COMMON JAVASCRIPT SEO PROBLEMS

CRAWLING AND INDEXING CHALLENGES

JavaScript-heavy sites may face difficulties in being crawled and indexed efficiently by Google, leading to issues in search visibility. It’s crucial to ensure that Googlebot can access and process JavaScript content without delays​​.

PERFORMANCE AND LOAD TIME ISSUES

Unoptimized JavaScript can significantly slow down a website, negatively impacting user experience and SEO rankings. Pages with excessive JavaScript may take longer to load, especially on mobile devices​​.

OPTIMIZING JAVASCRIPT FOR BETTER CRAWLING

ENSURING CRAWLABILITY OF JAVASCRIPT CONTENT

Implement server-side rendering or dynamic rendering to make JavaScript content more accessible to Googlebot​​.

STRATEGIES FOR SERVER-SIDE RENDERING

Using server-side rendering ensures that content is present in the HTML source, making it easier for Googlebot to crawl and index the site​​.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERVER SIDE RENDERING AND CLIENT SIDE RENDERING

IMPROVING JAVASCRIPT RENDERING

DIAGNOSING RENDERING ISSUES WITH TOOLS

Use tools like Google’s Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to diagnose and understand how Google renders JavaScript content on your site​​.

IMPLEMENTING DYNAMIC RENDERING SOLUTIONS

For sites with heavy JavaScript, dynamic rendering serves a version of the page optimized for search engines, enhancing crawlability​​.

ENHANCING WEBSITE PERFORMANCE

MINIMIZING JAVASCRIPT LOAD IMPACT

Optimize JavaScript execution and minimize file sizes to improve page loading speeds​​.

EFFICIENT USE OF JAVASCRIPT FRAMEWORKS

Choose and use JavaScript frameworks wisely to avoid unnecessary bloat and maintain SEO-friendly site architecture​​.

ENSURING MOBILE-FRIENDLY JAVASCRIPT

RESPONSIVE DESIGN AND MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

Ensure that JavaScript does not hinder the mobile-friendliness of your site, considering that a significant portion of web traffic is mobile​​.

TESTING JAVASCRIPT ON VARIOUS DEVICES

Regularly test your JavaScript-heavy pages across different devices and screen sizes for optimal performance​​.

Distribution of Web Traffic by Device Type

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES FOR JAVASCRIPT SEO

ASYNCHRONOUS LOADING

Implement asynchronous loading of JavaScript to improve page load times and user experience​​.

Progressive Enhancement: Apply progressive enhancement principles, ensuring basic content and functionality are accessible before JavaScript is loaded​​.

MONITORING AND TESTING JAVASCRIPT SEO

Regular Audits with SEO Tools: Conduct periodic audits using SEO tools to identify and address JavaScript-related issues

​​.

Analyzing Google Search Console Data: Utilize data from Google Search Console to monitor how well Google is indexing your JavaScript content​​.

GROWING IMPORTANCE OF EEAT AND CONTENT CHALLENGES

INTRODUCTION TO EEAT IN MODERN SEO

Overview of EEAT’s Role in 2024 SEO: In 2024, EEAT continues to be a pivotal aspect of SEO, aligning with Google’s focus on user-centric content. This evolution reflects the search engine’s commitment to prioritizing content that demonstrates Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness​​​​.

THE ADDITION OF ‘EXPERIENCE’ TO TRADITIONAL EAT

Adding ‘Experience’ to the EAT framework underscores the value Google places on content created by individuals with direct, first-hand experience in their respective fields​​​​.

Trust is the Central Factor

DEEP DIVE INTO EEAT COMPONENTS

ANALYZING ‘EXPERIENCE’ AS A NEW SEO TREND

‘Experience’ focuses on the authenticity of the content creator’s personal interaction with the subject matter, adding a new dimension to Google’s quality assessment​​.

RELEVANCE OF EXPERTISE, AUTHORITATIVENESS, AND TRUSTWORTHINESS: 

These long-standing pillars of EAT remain crucial, with Google assessing the author’s knowledge, the site’s reputation, and the reliability of the information presented​​​​.

EEAT’S IMPACT ON YMYL CONTENT

IMPORTANCE OF EEAT IN SENSITIVE TOPICS: 

EEAT is particularly critical for YMYL topics, where misinformation can have serious consequences. High EEAT levels are essential for sites dealing with health, finance, and wellness​​.

IMPLEMENTING EEAT FOR IMPROVED SEO

As said before, the Google QRG guidelines are for search quality raters as they rate different content on the internet and reflect how Google wants search to be.

The actual changes in strategy will depend upon the type of Website or the business. To highlight this, I would like to display a table that Google released to shed some light on its manifestation of experience.

As seen above, the manifestation of “experience” is quite different for different industries.

However, the common similarity is the type of content. So it’s important to publish content relevant to first-hand experience for a product or service.

• For a service-based website, it may be a case study on how a particular service helped a particular customer achieve their goals.
• For a product website, it can be a firsthand experience of the product. In this case, product videos, teasers and demos are perfect.
• Focusing on UGC content, including reviews and testimonials, can also add to the reputation signal which can be counted as proof of experience by the search quality raters.
• For a content creator, first-hand experience of a product or service can be greatly helpful in growing quickly in search as new content creators often lack the necessary expertise or authoritativeness to rank. Hence originality of content is crucial for being rated as a high-quality page.

Credits: keytrends.ai

OPTIMIZING FOR GENERATIVE AI

Over the past 25 years, search engines have undergone significant transformations, evolving from basic query-matching systems to sophisticated tools capable of understanding and interpreting complex user needs. The latest revolution in this space is the integration of Generative AI into search functionalities. This development marks a significant shift in how information is organized and retrieved, greatly enhancing the user’s experience and efficiency.

ENHANCED INFORMATION PROCESSING

Generative AI has redefined the capabilities of search engines, allowing them to tackle questions and requests that were previously impossible. This technology empowers the search engines to provide more nuanced and context-rich results, going beyond the traditional keyword matching approach. Users can now receive AI-generated summaries and insights, enabling quicker and deeper understanding of topics.

SOPHISTICATED QUERY HANDLING

The implementation of Generative AI means that search engines can now effectively break down complex queries into more manageable components, analyze them, and provide comprehensive, consolidated responses. This ability significantly reduces the time and effort users spend piecing together information from multiple sources.

CONVERSATIONAL SEARCH EXPERIENCE

Search engines with Generative AI capabilities can engage in a more conversational manner with users. They can understand follow-up questions, maintain the context of the conversation, and provide progressively refined responses. This approach mimics a natural conversation, making the search process more intuitive and user-friendly.

ENHANCED SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

Generative AI has also revolutionized online shopping experiences. Search engines can now provide detailed, AI-curated product descriptions, reviews, and comparisons. This feature is particularly useful for complex purchase decisions, where a variety of factors must be considered. It simplifies the decision-making process for users by presenting a comprehensive overview of products, including their features, prices, and user ratings.

DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND CONTENT

With the advent of Generative AI, search engines are better equipped to highlight a wide range of voices and content sources. This capability ensures that users are exposed to diverse viewpoints, enriching their understanding of the topics they explore. It also helps in driving traffic to various content creators, maintaining a healthy ecosystem of information sharing.

BEST PRACTICES FOR AI-ORIENTED SEO

As the integration of AI into SEO strategies deepens, understanding how to effectively use AI-generated content is crucial. Here are some best practices:

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: 

AI tools like ChatGPT can generate vast amounts of content, but the key is in the quality. The content must be SEO-optimized, requiring human intervention to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with brand style and tone​​.

ORIGINALITY AND UNIQUENESS: 

AI-generated content can sometimes lack originality, given its predictive text nature. To stand out, it’s essential to add unique perspectives or thought leadership elements beyond what AI can generate​​.

ATTRIBUTION AND TRANSPARENCY: 

OpenAI suggests disclosing AI involvement in content creation. This is particularly important for areas like finance, healthcare, or policy, where expertise and human judgment are critical​​.

FOCUSING ON PEOPLE-FIRST CONTENT: 

Google’s “Helpful Content Update” emphasizes the need for original, helpful content written by people for people. This aligns with Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines, including the E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) principles​​.

BALANCING AI WITH HUMAN CREATIVITY

The key to balancing AI with human creativity in SEO lies in understanding the strengths and limitations of both:

AI AS A STARTING POINT

 AI can generate initial ideas, optimize content for specific keywords, and assist in content brainstorming. However, the final output should be crafted and refined by human experts to ensure factual accuracy and originality​​.

HUMAN EXPERTISE AND EDITING

High-quality content usually requires human input, especially in fact-checking and aligning with the audience’s needs. The human element is crucial in developing trustworthy and engaging content​​.

FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR SEO FOR AI DEVELOPMENTS

With the advent of AI in SEO, businesses need to adapt their strategies to stay relevant:

EMBRACING AI IN SEO TACTICS

Companies like Grammarly are already using AI to align their content with search engine objectives and user queries. This involves creating user-focused, evidence-backed content​​.

INVESTING IN AI-INTEGRATED SEO TOOLS

To keep up with AI advancements in search algorithms, businesses should invest in SEO tools that integrate AI, focusing on quality content and strong backlink profiles​​.

ADAPTING TO AI-DRIVEN CHANGES

As AI continues to reshape the SEO landscape, staying informed and adapting strategies to align with these changes is essential for future success.

VIDEO AND IMAGE SEO

ENHANCING YOUR STRATEGY WITH VISUAL CONTENT

Video and image content have become integral parts of effective SEO strategies. In today’s digital marketing landscape, prioritizing video content is crucial. According to Wyzowl’s 2023 video marketing trends report, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, which is a significant increase from previous years. This trend is driven by the fact that people engage more with video content than ever before, with three billion internet users watching or downloading videos monthly in 2022. The rise of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram has further emphasized the importance of video content, with an estimated $78.5 billion to be spent on video ads in 2023​​.

SEO TECHNIQUES FOR VIDEO AND IMAGE OPTIMIZATION

VIDEO CONTENT SEO

Short-form Video: The popularity of short, vertical videos, especially on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts, has surged. These videos, usually under a minute and often less than 15 seconds, are designed to be engaging and attention-grabbing, with an immediate hook and a quick punchline. Short-form videos have been identified as having the highest ROI among video formats​​.

SEO Practices on Social Media: The principles of video SEO previously applied mainly to YouTube are now increasingly relevant on social media platforms. Google’s search engine results pages show TikToks and Instagram videos, highlighting the importance of writing descriptions and using tags with SEO in mind. For younger generations, platforms like TikTok have become primary search resources, as 51% of Gen Z start their searches there, preferring video format answers​​.

IMAGE OPTIMIZATION BEST PRACTICES

Optimize Image Size: Reducing the size of images without compromising quality is essential for faster page loading and better SEO​​.

Descriptive Image Names: Use clear, descriptive names for your images, as Google’s image SEO takes this into account for better search engine detection​​.

Right Image Formats: Choose the appropriate image format (JPEG, PNG, WebP) based on the image’s purpose and the desired balance between quality and file size​​.

Advantage of Lossless Webp format vs Popular PNG Encoders

Create Unique Images: Unique and personalized images are more likely to rank higher on search engines and engage users​​.

Define Image Dimensions: Setting the correct dimensions for your images can prevent issues with page layout and speed​​.

High Image Quality: High-quality images are crucial for user engagement and conversion rates, especially for online stores​​.

Mobile-Friendly Images: Ensure your images are responsive and adapt to different screen sizes, as over 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices​​.

Image ALT Texts: Adding appropriate ALT texts to images helps search engines understand the image content and improves accessibility​​.

Descriptive Captions: While not directly impacting SEO, captions enhance user experience and can lower bounce rates​​.

Structured Data: Adding structured data to images can lead to them being displayed as rich results in search engines​​.

Image Sitemap: Provide additional details about your images to search engines using an image sitemap​​.

Optimize for Social Media: Ensure images are optimized for seamless sharing on social media platforms using Open Graph tags​​.

Lazy Load Images: Implementing lazy loading for images improves page load times, especially for long pages with many images​​.

Leverage Browser Caching: Browser caching speeds up page load times for repeat visitors by storing images in the visitor’s browser​​.

VOICE SEARCH OPTIMIZATION

ADAPTING TO THE ERA OF VOICE-ASSISTED SEARCHES

Voice search optimization is adapting your web content to cater to the increasing trend of voice-activated searches. This trend is on the rise with over 50% of internet searches being voice-activated. The convenience and ease of voice search have made it an integral part of daily routines, especially for finding local businesses and obtaining quick information. With the growing ownership of smart speakers and mobile devices featuring voice assistants, optimizing for voice search is becoming a crucial aspect of SEO strategies​​​​.

STRATEGIES FOR OPTIMIZING FOR VOICE SEARCH

INCORPORATING CONVERSATIONAL KEYWORDS

Voice search queries are more conversational and specific compared to traditional typed searches. For instance, a user might voice search “How do I make pumpkin pie?” instead of typing “pumpkin pie recipe”. This trend calls for a focus on conversational, long-tail keywords that mirror natural speech patterns. 

Such optimization should reflect the intent behind the search terms, leveraging the capabilities of Google’s Hummingbird update, which emphasizes semantic search and understanding the context of queries. This means tailoring your content to include conversational phrases and questions that potential customers are likely to use in their voice searches​​.

STRUCTURING CONTENT FOR VOICE QUERIES

SHORT AND PRECISE ANSWERS

When structuring answers for voice queries, it’s recommended to keep them concise, ideally around 30 words or less. This is based on studies showing that Google often provides short answers to voice searches. Crafting content that directly answers potential questions succinctly increases the likelihood of your content being picked up by voice search algorithms​​.

OPTIMIZING FOR VOICE SEARCH USING PASSAGE INDEXING

Sometimes people are looking for specific answers to a very specific search query. For example, for those of you wondering, “What is passage indexing?”.

This is a new kind of search feature that allows Google to answer oneliner queries such as above. 

Google Martin Splitt was excited when he announced the breakthrough of Google, where they can now index web pages and individual passages in content.

This allows Google to answer very specific search queries by simply showing the most relevant passage above all serp results. Thus satisfying the searcher’s intent to gain a quick answer.

HOW TO OPTIMISE FOR PASSAGE RANKING

We at Thatware have tried with several contents and tried to optimise our pages for passage ranking.

After several experiments, our passages rank for several search terms as above.

Here are our observations regarding how to optimise passage indexing.

1. PASSAGE LENGTH

Let us assume that a particular page has 3000 words worth of content. We organize passages intended for passage ranking not more than 1% or 2% of the total word count. This means each passage should have 30-60 words at most. In other words, passage segregation should be around 1-2% of the intended word count. Such a passage is ideal to serve as an answer to specific queries.

2. PASSAGE <H2> TAG

If a passage consists of a <H2> tag then it should have an LSI keyword in the tag. In other words, if a passage is followed by any h-tag then it’s recommended to use an LSI keyword within the H-tag whether it be <h1> or H2> or etc.  

3. USE IMAGE

It is recommended that you use at least one image for the particular page that you are optimizing for passage indexing. And it should be placed below a passage. For reference, please see the attached layout by end of this article!

4. USE VALID SCHEMA MARK-UP

It is recommended that you use the specific passage into the schema code for which you are optimizing the page. It’s advised to use JSON-LD for the markup!

5. NO ANCHOR TEXT IN BETWEEN

The passage should not contain anchors but there should be internal and external hyperlinks above or below. Well, there is no such rule still it’s our practical experience that having no anchors within the passage helps with the optimization. Moreover, having an internal link / external link above or beyond also helps with the process. 

Wrapping up this section, you can learn more about Passage Indexing and its benefits here.

LOCALIZED SEO

TARGETING YOUR LOCAL AUDIENCE EFFECTIVELY

Localized SEO is crucial for businesses to reach their local customers online. Customers expect to find local companies in search results as more businesses go online. A significant focus is now on the customer’s experience, including voice searches and mobile site optimization. In fact, a significant portion of web traffic, over 50%, occurs on mobile devices, highlighting the importance of mobile-friendly websites. 

Google’s emphasis on user experience (UX) signals in its rankings further underscores this. Websites that load quickly and are easy to navigate on mobile and desktop have a higher chance of ranking well​​.

TECHNIQUES FOR ENHANCING LOCAL SEO

OPTIMIZING FOR ‘NEAR ME’ SEARCHES

Credit: contentamigo.com

‘Near me’ searches are location-based queries often performed to find nearby services or products. These searches have substantially increased in recent years, with a 34X increase since 2011. Optimizing for ‘near me’ searches is similar to general local SEO but includes a few additional considerations:

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

More than half of web traffic is from mobile devices. Ensuring your business is optimized for mobile is crucial as Google now uses mobile-first indexing. This means new websites are evaluated based on their mobile version before the desktop version​​.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LISTING

Accurate and up-to-date Google My Business listings are vital for ranking in ‘near me’ search results. Ensure that your business name, address, phone number, business hours, and other relevant details are correctly listed and regularly updated​​.

REVIEWS AND RATINGS

Encourage customers to write reviews and rate your business. Google factors in review count and score into local search ranking, so positive reviews and higher ratings can improve your local ranking. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, is also essential for engagement and showing Google that your business values customer feedback​​.

LEVERAGING LOCAL REVIEWS AND LISTINGS

Google My Business Optimization: Google My Business plays a crucial role in local SEO. Businesses should ensure their GMB listings are complete and regularly updated with fresh posts and accurate business information. Engaging with and managing your GMB listing can significantly increase your visibility in local searches​​.

MANAGING ONLINE REPUTATION:

Online reviews are critical, with 87% of consumers reading them. Online mentions and reviews of your business impact your search rankings. Engaging with reviews and linking out to them from your website can help establish a connection with Google, thereby enhancing your local SEO​​.

CONTENT AND SEARCH INTENT:

Creating content that meets the search intent of your local audience is key. This includes developing FAQ pages with content written in a natural style that targets local searches and providing detailed, informative content that addresses the specific needs and interests of your local customers​​.

VIDEO CONTENT

Video content is increasingly important for local SEO. It builds trust and can significantly improve your chances of landing on the search results page. Incorporating video content into your local SEO strategy can be a game-changer for engaging with local customers​.

SEMANTIC SEARCH AND ENTITY RECOGNITION

UNDERSTANDING SEMANTIC SEARCH IN SEO

Semantic search represents a fundamental shift in how search engines interpret queries. It goes beyond keyword matching to understand user queries’ intent and contextual meaning. This shift has led to the rise of entity-based SEO, where entities—real-world objects like people, places, things, and concepts—are the focus. 

Entities are now the building blocks of SEO, helping search engines understand the meaning behind content. 

An entity is an object either real or abstract for which Google generates separate search engine features which can define the entity fully. It can be a product, a person or a company.

For example, Google understands Thatware by its entity id =  “/g/11f653w0qd”.

This move towards entities reflects transitioning from traditional keyword-focused strategies to developing websites around real-world objects and concepts​​​​.

IMPLEMENTING ENTITY RECOGNITION IN YOUR CONTENT

BEYOND KEYWORDS: CONTEXT AND RELEVANCE

In entity-based SEO, content should focus on one primary topic (entity), allowing search engines to determine its subject matter without relying on matching queries against title tags or meta descriptions. 

This approach prioritizes the context and relevance of content. Creating content focusing on a specific entity and its related topics is essential, optimizing for related entities to provide more context and relevance to search engines. Building authoritative content establishes your website as an authority on specific entities and topics, enhancing your SEO strategy’s effectiveness​​​​.

UTILIZING SCHEMA MARKUP FOR BETTER ENTITY RECOGNITION

Structured data markup is a key tool for enhancing entity recognition in semantic search optimization. It provides context and additional information about your web page content, helping search engines better understand your site. 

Utilizing Schema.org, a standardized vocabulary for structured data markup, you can add identifying tags and attributes to various content types on your website. These tags enable richer results aligned with user intent, often resulting in higher click-through rates (CTRs). This structured data markup acts like a secret code, giving your website a competitive edge and improving its visibility in search results​.

CORE WEB VITALS AND USER EXPERIENCE

PRIORITIZING PAGE EXPERIENCE IN SEO

Core Web Vitals, introduced by Google, play a crucial role in SEO strategy by assessing user experience based on page loading performance, interaction responsiveness, and visual stability. These factors include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). They influence website rankings, with Google aiming for a more user-centric approach. These metrics are not just fleeting trends; they contribute significantly to search engine rankings, accounting for about 45% of a website’s ranking on search engines​​.

IMPROVING CORE WEB VITALS FOR BETTER RANKINGS

To enhance Core Web Vitals and thereby improve SEO rankings, focus on:

LCP: This measures the time it takes for the main content of a page to load. Strategies for improvement include reducing third-party scripts, implementing lazy loading, optimizing web hosting for faster load times, checking for slow-loading elements via Google Page Speed Insights, and minimizing bulky CSS​​.

FID: This tracks the time from when a user first interacts with a page to the time when the browser can respond to that interaction. Improving FID involves minimizing JavaScript, removing unnecessary third-party scripts, and utilizing browser caching​​.

CLS: This metric gauges the amount of unexpected layout shift during the lifespan of a page. To improve CLS, set appropriate dimensions for videos, media, and images to prevent shifts when the page loads, reserve space for page elements to avoid content scattering, and maintain stability of UI elements​​.

THE EVOLUTION OF INP AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

As per Google’s Definition 

“Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is an experimental field metric that assesses responsiveness. INP logs the latency of all interactions throughout the entire page lifecycle. The highest value of those interactions—or close to the highest for pages with many interactions—is recorded as the page’s INP. A low INP ensures that the page will be reliably responsive at all times.”

Google chrome is used by about 52% of all internet users. Hence as per Chrome’s user data, 90% of the user’s session time is spent after the page loads, hence scrutiny of website responsiveness is important as more website’s rely on Javascript for responsiveness.

Responsiveness is measured by Visual Feedback. Visual feedback is what tells us that “when a user clicks on a product” then that product is being added to the cart. The following example can help you differentiate between Good and Bad responsiveness.

HOW IS INP DIFFERENT THAN FIRST INPUT DELAY?

HOW TO OPTIMIZE FOR POOR INP SCORE?

• Avoiding or breaking up long tasks on the browser, as tasks longer than 50 milliseconds can block the main thread and affect responsiveness.
• Reducing JavaScript usage, as excessive JavaScript can create a competitive environment for the main thread, affecting the website’s responsiveness​​.
• Assessing and Enhancing Website Performance
• Regularly assess your website’s performance using tools like Google Page Speed Insights and Lighthouse. Implementing their recommendations can significantly enhance your site’s Core Web Vitals scores.

INTERACTIVITY AND VISUAL STABILITY

Focus on creating a stable, interactive user experience:

• Avoid animations or transitions using layout-inducing CSS properties, as these can cause layout shifts and negatively impact CLS.
• Prefer animating CSS properties that don’t require the browser to update page layout, like transform: translateX() or transform: translateY(), to improve visual stability and performance​​.

MULTILINGUAL SEO

REACHING A GLOBAL AUDIENCE WITH SEO

Multilingual SEO optimizes website content in multiple languages to improve its visibility in search engines across diverse target markets. This strategy extends beyond mere translation, requiring a deep understanding of the target audience’s search behavior and cultural nuances. It’s crucial given that many global consumers ignore products not presented in their native language. Multilingual SEO is an essential tool for global marketing, helping to attract users from different language backgrounds and driving more organic traffic​​.

WHY DO WE NEED A MULTILINGUAL STRATEGY?

EXPANDING YOUR TARGET MARKET

Only 25% of Internet users are native English speakers. 75% aren’t. Hindi is the dominant language in India, and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US.

REDUCE BOUNCE RATES

72.1% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their own language. – CSA

SLASHING THE COMPETITION

English is obviously the most competitive language. However, things may not be so rough in other languages.

CUSTOMER CENTRIC MARKETING

Being available in other languages is a modest gesture of personalization. What better way to improve a Brand’s image

STEPS TO CREATE A MULTILINGUAL SITE

Choose the right domain and URL Structure

Credit: foreigntongues

Whatever you do. Just do not go for URL Parameters. That’s the worst!

CREATE MULTIPLE LANGUAGE VARIATIONS OF THE CONTENT

THIS IS THE HARDEST PART… BUT WHY SHOULD YOU DO IT?

A dedicated URL for your translated page can tell search engines that the page corresponds to a specific language so that it knows which one should be shown to speakers of different languages.

COMMON MISTAKES

#Do not Set Up Automatic Redirects to language-specific pages. Instead, Google recommends giving internal links to different versions to let the user decide.

#Flag icons represent nations but not languages.

It is best to use links instead.

TRANSLATE AND CREATE NEW CONTENT TO MAKE IT UNIQUE

It is unacceptable to use AI Content Writers or Google Translate. Why??

• Google can detect automatically translated content and decrease its position and visibility in the search results.
• Inaccurate grammar and language nuances can lead to irrelevant content leading to poor user experience and a higher bounce rate.

Recommendation:

Google can detect automatically translated content and decrease its position and visibility in the search results.

• Take the help of professional copyrighting services.
• It cheap Costs and gets the job done.

USE HREFLANG TAGS

Adding hreflang tags to your website is the best way to tell search engines how to distinguish which URLs are appropriate for each language on the website.

HOW TO DO IT?

• Implement them in your language sitemap.
• Place them in the head section of the HTML Page.
• Place it in the HTTP header of non-HTML pages.

USING A MULTILINGUAL SITEMAP?

If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, you can use a plugin like Yoast SEO to generate a sitemap automatically.

A multilingual sitemap doesn’t differ much from a traditional one. However, it should include additional information about each <loc> entry.

USE LOCAL LINK BUILDING TACTICS

WHY SHOULD YOU DO IT?

• Helps in Gaining Local Authority for
• Ranking in Local Indexes.
• Backlinks are more relevant.
• Reduces Spam

HOW TO DO IT?

• Participate in Local Events.
• Get Listed in local citations.
• Influencer Marketing
• Guest Posting.

UNDERSTANDING BRANDED AND NON-BRANDED TRAFFIC

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BRANDED VS. NON-BRANDED TRAFFIC

Branded Traffic refers to the organic traffic coming from keyword phrases containing a brand’s name or specific trademarks. This type of traffic generally indicates the brand’s existing recognition and customer loyalty. For instance, searches for “QuietKat bike” or “QK electric bike” signify branded searches for the QuietKat company​​.

Non-Branded Traffic, on the other hand, comes from searches that do not explicitly mention a brand name. This traffic is crucial as it represents new visitors finding a website through related products and services, indicating the site’s reach beyond its established customer base. Non-branded traffic is vital for growth, bringing in potential customers who are not yet familiar with the brand​​.

Tracking both types of traffic is essential for understanding a website’s overall SEO performance and determining the impact of external factors like PR efforts or changes in brand reputation​​.

STRATEGIES FOR BALANCING AND OPTIMIZING BOTH TRAFFIC TYPES

Keyword Research and Targeting: Undertake keyword research to understand the volume and nature of your branded terms. This helps in strategizing the level of effort to put into branded versus non-branded terms. For non-branded terms, it’s crucial to identify and target keywords that align with the services and products offered, which can help attract new visitors​​.

Brand Cannibalization and Conflicts: Monitor the balance between paid and organic search for branded traffic. Increasing branded paid traffic shouldn’t come at the cost of organic traffic. It’s important to ensure that paid campaigns are complementing rather than cannibalizing organic efforts​​.

Distributor and Partner Strategies: If operating in a multi-step channel industry, consider the impact of branded traffic on relationships with partners and distributors. It’s crucial to maintain a balance where brand authority is asserted without overshadowing partners, especially in advertising and organic search presence​​.

Attribution and Reporting: Separate brand and non-brand efforts in reporting to accurately reflect the impact of SEO strategies. This distinction is important for accountability and understanding the true drivers of search performance​​.

MEASURING AND ANALYZING BRANDED TRAFFIC

Tools for Tracking: Utilize tools like SEMrush and Google Analytics & Search Console for tracking and analyzing branded and non-branded traffic. These tools can help segment traffic based on branded and non-branded keywords, allowing for a clearer understanding of traffic sources and patterns​​.

Data Analysis: Analyze the data to identify trends and shifts in traffic sources. This can indicate the effectiveness of branding campaigns or content strategies and guide future SEO efforts​​.

ENHANCING VISIBILITY FOR NON-BRANDED QUERIES

SEO Content Strategy: Focus primarily on increasing organic traffic from non-branded keywords to attract new customers. This involves identifying relevant non-branded keywords and topics, and creating content that ranks well for these terms​​.

Building a Content Strategy: Develop a content strategy around selected non-branded keywords. This includes researching keyword difficulty, search intent, and creating content clusters that revolve around these keywords to enhance visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs)​​.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As we delve into the evolving landscape of SEO in 2024, it’s clear that staying ahead of the curve is more crucial than ever. Each trend offers unique challenges and opportunities. A tailored approach is essential to harness the potential of these trends.