Search Engine Optimization in 2024: 10 Trend Predictions From SEO Experts

In 2024, 68% of all user experiences are expected to start on a search engine. As the online world continues to expand, search engine optimization will be a top priority for business leaders going forward.

Source: Oberlo

From creating first-hand experiences to embracing AI personalization, there are a number of trends expected to dominate the SEO industry in 2024. 

In response, we've collated ten trend predictions from SEO experts in the field that aim to shape the next year of search engine optimization.

1. Thought Leadership Will Drive SEO Success

Kerry Campion, Founder & SEO Copywriter at God Save The SERP.

“With the onset of AI-generated content, users are becoming more intentional with the type of content they trust and consume. Pair that with Google’s new E-E-A-T guidelines and the Helpful Content Update (HCU); I envision a 2024 that sees the most innovative brands invest more in partnerships with known thought leaders in their industry to boost their E-E-A-T signals,” says Campion.

“Additionally, the trend of producing extensive 'skyscraper' content might see a decline in effectiveness in SERPs. The focus is now shifting towards content that offers first-hand experiences and originality.”

“Brands will likely adopt a more product-led SEO approach, incorporating case studies and unique customer stories into their content. This strategy ensures originality and makes it difficult for competitors to replicate content, as it is deeply rooted in individual product experiences and narratives.”

2. Technological Innovation Will Optimize Content Delivery 

Katie Morton, Senior Managing Growth Editor, Search Engine Journal.

“Adaptability and evolving strategy are essential in 2024 and beyond. With the release of AI, the one thing we can all predict from now until the end of time is exponentially faster technological innovation. This will result in near-constant changes in how we think about and work in an SEO industry that will be marked by—dare I say—upheaval,” says Morton.

“To stay competitive in SERPs, SEO pros and content strategists need to embrace a strategy that involves the creation and optimization of multimodal content—that is, content that includes video, audio, and images, as well as text. The ability to optimize multimedia content to stay competitive in SERPs will soon dominate the SEO landscape in a big way.”

3. More Focus on User Experience 

Krista Neher, CEO, Boot Camp Digital.

“It is called search engine optimisation, not search engine creation. Too many SEOs focus on search engines while every other aspect of user experience or strategy takes a back seat,” Neher claims.

“The idea should be to create content, website experiences, etc., for users and optimize them for search engines. We don’t create for search engines and optimize for humans. SEOs tend to be very technical and tactical based on the guidance from Google.”

“As search engines get smarter and look at more robust signals, user experience is playing a greater role. Updates and guidance from Google for years have shown a strong focus on user experience and signals. Focus more on optimizing for users and their experiences while optimizing for search engines, and you’ll have a long-term strategy.”

4. Generative Search Will Play A Pivotal Role In SEO Success

Eli Schwartz, Author of Product Led SEO

“With the launch of the generative experience, Google will now be taking the top of the funnel for itself, leaving SEO to the mid-funnel. To be fair, it isn’t really “taking” it; they are just answering what is essentially commoditized information.”

“To date, Google has only delved into short answers when it could rely on structured data that was more than likely to be accurate.”

“In this bucket would be topics such as population counts, sports scores, ticker symbols, heads of state, and all other kinds of results that we see today in knowledge graph answers.

Generative results in search mean that SEO moves from the top of the funnel to mid-funnel:

Instead of targeting keywords with the most search volume to hopefully peel off the maximum amount of clicks, SEO efforts will need to be more deliberate to target the right users with the right keywords.”

5. Author Bios Will Elevate Content Authority

Joshua George, Founder at ClickSlice.

“In response to the AI content surge, Google will likely emphasize E-E-A-T and links to authoritative content. Hence, expect more frequent updates focused on helpful content.

To adapt, incorporate author bios in blog posts, clarifying content creators for Google. However, more is needed to establish expertise. Enhance credibility and authority by linking to your author bio URL in guest posts, as it signals endorsements from other sites, boosting your expertise,” says George.

“From a context perspective, ensure you are not just regurgitating what every other website says. Focus on providing unique insights to offer as much value to the user as possible. For example, if you run an agency and you’re creating a blog post about what the latest algo update targeted, make specific references to what you see across your client sites and give users valuable insight that they won't find elsewhere.”

6. The Birth Of ‘One Click’ SERP Shopping

Jamie Indigo, Senior Technical SEO Lead, Lumar.

“Ecommerce SEOs need to look at how Google is changing their role in SERPs. The company no longer wants to be the search engine you use to find the sites with the products–they want to be where you shop for products,” Jamie Indigo claims.

“SERPs will continue to cut out category and product listing pages in favour of showing product results directly in SERPs.”

“Everything from prices, product reviews, seller reviews, multiple images, and down to the last “Buy now click” can be facilitated without leaving Google.  Google is using their new Notes feature to cultivate UGC social proof and facilitate quicker conversions. This means SEOs need to be the Merchant Center and optimize their feeds.”

7. Don’t Underestimate The Power Of AI

Kevin Indig, Growth Advisor.

“If Google’s frenzied algorithm updates in 2023 have shown us one thing, it’s that the bar for content and domain quality has risen faster than we thought. In 2024, we need to find ways to scale the production of high-quality content and groom our content portfolio,” says Indig. “The most obvious way is using AI, but we need to significantly increase the output quality and add human input. In some cases, AI might be the wrong content creator, but I think we underestimate how good it can really be.”

8. A Push For More Useful Search Experiences

Seth Epstein, Analytics Director, TopRank Marketing.

“Search engines will continue to take steps towards providing a more personalized and useful search experience with search generative experience (SGE), while navigating the pressure to balance user experience (UX) with monetization and properly giving credit to the content contributing to search results,” says Epstein.

“New specialties in paid search and SEO will develop as SGE results gain a larger share of search results. Analytics teams will be tasked with providing more context to paid and organic search channel performance, as it’s yet to be seen how SGE will impact the steady traffic that many sites currently rely on. Agencies should be prepared for flexibility in their scope of work, ensuring clients have clarity and confidence about the possibility of a strategic shift if necessary.”

9. The Importance Of Emotional Intelligence In SEO

Purna Virji, Principal Consultant, Content Solutions at LinkedIn.

“With the AI hype of 2023, the pendulum will start swinging the other way to focus on EI (Emotional Intelligence). Marketers using AI only to pump out mediocre content to game algorithms are unlikely to go far,” states Virji. “Instead, the marketers who’ll thrive are those who use AI’s powers to build higher-impact content that meets people’s evolving wants and expectations.”

“Thus, a big trend in content will be focusing on understanding customer needs, thought leadership content to build trust, and an increased focus on educational content designed to empower audiences.”

10. Shift to Digital PR and Thought Leadership

Dmytro Spilka, Director, Solvid

“SEO is already transitioning from traditional link-building, on-page and technical optimization into a more globalized brand-building approach. 

Digital PR, thought leadership, expert commentary and brand awareness will be at the core of how Google and other search engines perceive a brand, and ultimately rank a website. 

Considering how easy it becomes to produce content with the help of generative AI, long-form content is likely to take a step back in 2024 until the search engines learn to fully differentiate human-written content from AI-generated copy.”

Defining SEO Success in 2024 and Beyond

In 2023, the first five search engine results received a staggering 67% of all consumer clicks. In order to see your content engagement prevail in 2024, it’s essential that you are as far up the SERPs as possible. 

Seeing SEO success during the first quarter of 2024 will be difficult as online businesses continue to recover from the Christmas craze. However, those who prioritize their content delivery and user experience are likely to see their ranking scores rise. 

Are you looking to optimize your SEO strategy? Let TechWyse Internet Marketing take your business to the next level! We specialize in SEO and are backed by a fully trained and certified team that can bring your business to the first page of Google. To get started, call 866-208-3095 or contact us here.