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How has SEO changed in the last 12 months in Qatar?

It’s no secret that the world has turned upside down this past year, and how businesses operate will have most likely been changed for good. Pivoting and diversifying has been vital for most organisations, with the majority taking themselves online to try and keep afloat. Amid these crises, demand for SEO is growing and search engines have continued to adapt and improve their intellectual abilities. So, how is the demand for SEO changing?

  • 1. VSEO
  • 2. Visual Searching
  • 3. On-SERP Information

VSEO

Standing for Voice Search Engine Optimisation, you’ll probably have used this way of searching before without even realising.

Way back in 2013, Google admitted that their aim was to essentially make the search engine into a Start Trek computer. No, no… I’m serious.

However, when VSEO first came about, consumers were unsure how to use it and sceptical about the results. Rightly so… don’t you remember feeling like a bad James Bond impersonator, struggling to enunciate into your phone in an attempt to get Siri to find you the nearest Burger King, or gym? Depending on your general lifestyle choices, of course. Mine is the former.

Well, voice search has come a long way since then, offering searchers the ability to gather information without even having to type. Click here to learn how to still keep those thumbs active, now that they’re pretty much useless for searching.

Voice search is a great excuse to go for a more conversational approach to your content and develop that informal rapport consumers are really responding to in 2023. Your aim with this, as a business with a product/service to sell, is to make sure that when people conduct a relevant search with Alexa, she spouts back information about your service, or products.

Ranking for long-tail keywords is vital here too, as people no longer feel that they have to talk differently to their search engines. Trust has developed and searchers feel comfortable asking real questions via voice-activated technologies.


Visual Searches

If you’ve ever done a Pinterest style match or used Google Lens, then you’ve conducted a visual search. Progressive, right?

Visual searching is all about trying to interpret customers’ thoughts, rather than the words they’re typing. Ever wish there was a, “yes, but not quite”, button on a search engine? Well, hopefully, visual searching can help you with that.

I know what you’re thinking, how can you teach a computer to see what I see and think what I think? But, as a marketing tool, visual search invaluable and makes image SEO more important than ever before.

Quick Image SEO Wins:

  1. Relevant file names
  2. Reduce your file size and resize it to your desired size before you upload
  3. Make them responsive
  4. Add alt text
  5. Relevant format: e.g. PNG, JPEG, etc.
  6. Use them in a relevant place on your site

On-SERP Information

The possibilities with information displayed on the actual search engine results pages are practically endless. From featured snippets to entities, the goal is to take up precious space on result one, page one of search engines, so that you can command the space.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can do this:

  1. AdWords
  2. Featured Snippets
  3. Reviews
  4. Local Pack
  5. Videos
  6. Knowledge Panels

Not only can you, potentially, get yourself to the top of the SERPs by using paid advertising, but you can use site extensions to gain space over your competitors that are paying for AdWords space, also.

For example, if a good chunk of your organic traffic is searching for knitwear, then you can add a link below your general advert for that keyword. This could be applied to any common customer journey to shorten the number of clicks your customer has to do to convert. Because, as we all know, the easier it is for a customer to complete your desired action, the more often it happens.

Featured snippets are another great way to take up real estate on the SERPs. If your target audience wants to be educated on a particular subject, then they may ask the search engine a question and you need to be able to have the content relevant enough to rank. Google will often try to take an extract of information and put it above organic search results in an attempt to give the consumer an answer, faster.

It’s worth noting that, if your website has achieved featured snippet status, you can no longer rank on page one for that same piece of content, so pick your battles wisely.


Summary

To wrap up, SEO has come a long way in the past few years and it’s potential is only going to keep increasing. While search engine algorithms get smarter, so do digital marketers. As 2023 progresses, we will see a lot more voice and visual search trends upcoming.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your search engine optimisation strategy, or maybe you’re not even sure where to start, contact us and we’ll do all the hard work for you. Take a look at our new digital marketing packages available.

Check out our other services here.

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