Search Marketing Summit 2023 - 2024 SEO Trends to Get Ahead of

Amanda's conference talk at Search Marketing Summit in 2023 focussed on trends in 2024 (and no, presenting in front of Gary Illyes wasn't nerve-wracking, at all). This includes her perspective on:
- Indexation
- E-E-A-T
- Schema Markup
- AI & SGE
- and more...

Transcript

2. 2024 SEO Trends to Get Ahead Of Now Amanda King, FLOQ Search Marketing Summit 29 Nov 2023
3. What’s what 1. What do we think? 2. Indexation 3. Entities & Schema 4. Personalisation & Personal Entities 5. Experience-E-A-T 6. A Sidebar on AI 7. The Death/? of SGE 8. Buckle Up 9. Who, me? 10. Further conversation
4. What do we think will happen in 2024?
5. Raise your hand if you think SGE will fully roll out in 2024?
6. Who thinks sites will have trouble getting indexed?
7. Who thinks zero click searches will rule the SERPs?
8. Who thinks entity optimisation will be critical?
9. Who thinks expertise & authorship will be super important?
10. Who thinks AI will rule the Internet?
11. What have we missed?
12. Indexation
13. Getting your website indexed is no longer going to be a given. It never really has been.
14. From an analysis by Bartosz Góralewicz published in Search Engine Land in 2020 (link) Bottom row, left to right: Verizon, Eventbrite, Barnes & Noble.
15. h/t to Cindy Krum @ Mobile Moxie for this summary slide from Barbados SEO
16. It costs Alphabet a significant amount of money to crawl the Internet — and the sh*tty AI content isn’t helping
17. Updates like MUM are about predicting journeys Predicting journeys and having those already mapped out to searches save Google processing.
18. The push to add knowledge graphs to more people reflects this too - along with E-E-A-T. It’s pre-filtering answers. Source: https://searchengineland.com/eeat-knowledge-gr aph-2023-update-digging-deeper-433867
19. Cindy isn’t the only one saying indexation is gonna get harder Jamie Indigo is as well — you can hear more of their thoughts on it if you listen to my podcast on Spotify (Engage on Enterprise SEO) //end shameless plug
20. This isn’t gonna fly anymore If your indexation looks like this - get working on understanding what’s causing it, and addressing the base issue/s. Your whole website will never be indexed and ranked, but we can all be better.
21. Entities, Schema and Surfaces
22. It’s all about relationships - as Jamie said - Google is crawling conceptually.
24. This isn’t personal. It’s not David and Goliath. It’s Goliath and Goliath.
25. Google Home Google Groups Google Discover Google Lens Google Arts & Culture Google News Google Assistant Google Play Google Images Google Videos Google Maps Google Shopping Google For Jobs Podcasts Google Travel Buy on Google Google Finance Google Books Google Classroom Bard AI Google has a large ecosystem to distribute content
26. Google Home Google Groups Google Discover Google Lens Google Arts & Culture Google News Google Assistant Google Play Google Images Google Videos Google Maps Google Shopping Google For Jobs Podcasts Google Travel Buy on Google Google Finance Google Books Google Classroom Google Search Bard AI And is much more than a search engine
27. To survive in a multi-surface world you have to be super explicit about who you are, and care a bit less about how folks get your content.
28. Entity management supported by Schema helps you do that. You want to be very explicit about what relationships your brand has and declare in Schema markup things like: • Social profiles, Wikipedia • Funding rounds / startup profiles (Crunchbase) • Other trusted sources of information (link) • Google local profiles • Disambiguations (other names folks use or have used for your company/brand) • Founder • …and more
29. If anyone has ever done Online Reputation Management (ORM) I think of Entity Management kind of like that
30. Because you’re finding all the places you’re defined online and herding them all together and declaring them you, explicitly.
31. Google doing this on it’s own isn’t a given, even when you’re a big brand.
33. Things to help you discover and manage your entities include • Kalicube (link) • Your PR team • Your social team • Brand searches and trawling all the pages • Wordlift • Inlinks
34. Google has long moved beyond keywords to entities - beyond understanding brands “[...]identifying queries in query data; determining, in each of the queries, (i) an entity-descriptive portion that refers to an entity and (ii) a suffix; determining a count of a number of times the one or more queries were submitted“ - patent granted in 2015, submitted in 2012 https://www.slideshare.net/AmandaKing1/the-new-content-seo-sydney-seo-conference-2023
35. So if your content strategy has yet to move from keywords to entities (or at least topics)...2024 is the year
36. Personalisation & Personal Entities
37. Google is leaning into surfacing verified, non-AI experience-based supports for searches https://patents.google.com/patent/US11727048B2
38. Methods, systems, and media for presenting recommended content based on social cues takes things a step further by finding folks you’re already following and presenting that back: “causing the selected items to be presented to the user; and indicating that a particular item was consumed by a particular social connection” Not just experience, but personalised experience
39. “Search will never be a solved problem; it continues to evolve and improve alongside our world and the web. Today, we’re introducing some of these improvements to help you find the information that’s most helpful just for you, no matter how unique or individual your question.” https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-november-2023-update/
40. “Starting later this year, we’ll also make it easier to find and visit your favorite sites. [...] our systems will recognize that and bring the site to the top of the search results page.” https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-november-2023-update/
41. E-E-A-T
42. “[...]we’ll bring the perspectives filter to desktop Search, so you can choose to exclusively see content from people on social media platforms, forums and other communities. And starting today, we’ll show new information on search results that highlights information about the individual creator — like their social handle, follower count or the popularity of their content — so it’s easier to find content from creators you care about.” https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-november-2023-update/
43. For Google, the goal of E-E-A-T is to understand trust: “ Trust : Consider the extent to which the page is accurate, honest, safe, and reliable.”
44. Experience, defined Experience : Consider the extent to which the content creator has the necessary first-hand or life experience for the topic. Many types of pages are trustworthy and achieve their purpose well when created by people with a wealth of personal experience. For example, which would you trust: a product review from someone who has personally used the product or a "review" by someone who has not? Source: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf
45. Expertise, defined Expertise : Consider the extent to which the content creator has the necessary knowledge or skill for the topic. Different topics require different levels and types of expertise to be trustworthy. For example, which would you trust: home electrical rewiring advice from a skilled electrician or from an antique homes enthusiast who has no knowledge of electrical wiring?
46. If you’re in any industry, but particularly YMYL, lean into your experts You likely already have staff writing or contributing to articles, but make it explicit, and describe their expertise. And if they don’t have the expertise, consider getting it reviewed by someone who is.
47. Build author profiles that focus on the actual expertise • Years in industry • Specific areas or sub-disciplines • Any formal certifications or degrees • Social profiles • Author profiles on other platforms
48. My schema should look something like this • Sameas includes not just my social profiles, • Because I’m a business founder, this should go on the about page of my organisation (because it’s also about me) and be nested within the organisation schema <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "familyName": "King", "givenName": "Amanda", "worksFor": "https://floq.co", "jobTitle": "SEO Consultant", "alumniOf": "https://www.skidmore.edu/", "image": "https://floq.co/wp-content/uploads/amanda-web-1024x683.jpg", "gender": "http://schema.org/Female", "sameAs": ["https://twitter.com/amandaecking","https://www.linkedin.com/in/a mandaecking/","https://searchengineland.com/author/amanda-king ","https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/author/amanda-king/","https:// www.instagram.com/amandaecking/","https://www.searchmarketing summit.com.au/speaker/amanda-king-aus/","https://www.crunchbas e.com/person/amanda-king-8e77","https://www.slideshare.net/Ama ndaKing1"] } </script>
49. "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1947-paul-m ulvaney" }, "url": "https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1947-paul-m ulvaney", "worksFor": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The University of Melbourne", "location": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressCountry": "AU", "addressLocality": "Parkville", "addressRegion": "VIC", "postalCode": 3010 }, "url": "https://www.unimelb.edu.au/", "telephone": "+61390355511", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/img/logos/unimelb- logo.png" } }, "name": "Paul Mulvaney", "givenName": "Paul", "familyName": "Mulvaney", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://pictures.staff.unimelb.edu.au/fae/index_eis.php?i d=1947&t=3&f=j" }, "honorificPrefix": "Prof", "hasOccupation": { "@type": "Role", "knowsAbout": [ "Surface and Colloid Science", "Science & Technology", "Physical Sciences", "Engineering", "Chemistry", "Chemical Sciences", "C1 Journal Articles Refereed", "Chemistry, Physical", "Technology", "Nanotechnology" ], "description": "Paul Mulvaney is Laureate Professor of Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne. He currently serves as the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science.\n He received his PhD degree at the University of Melbourne in 1989, working on surface electron transfer reactions with Professor Franz Grieser. He worked as a research associate at the ANU Applied Maths Department (1988-89) and the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago in 1986-87, 88. He was appointed as a research scientist at the Hahn-Meitner-Institute for Nuclear Research in Berlin from 1989-1992 with Professor Arnim Henglein, where he studied pulse radiolysis and the nucleation of nanocrystals. In 1993 he returned to the University of Melbourne as an ARC QEII Research Fellow, and he accepted a Faculty position in 1997. In 1999, he spent time in Palo Alto with Quantum Dot Corporation.He was a Humboldt Research Fellow in 2000 at the Max-Planck Insitute for Colloids and Surfaces in Golm with Professor Markus Antonietti,and again in 2005 at the CAESAR Nanotechnology Institute in Bonn with Professor Michael Giersig. Between 2006 and 2010 he was an ARC Federation Fellow and from 2011 to 2015, he was an ARC Laureate Fellow. In 2009, Mulvaney was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and in 2014 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. He chaired the National Committee for Chemistry from 2014-2016. His current interests include the optical properties of single quantum dots,surface plasmon spectroscopy of single metal particles, nanocrystal based electronics, nanomechanics and solar energy conversion. To date he has published some 350 scientific papers averaging around 140 citations per publication. The Nanoscience Laboratory at the University ofMelbourne focuses on the chemistry and physics of nanoscale materials, particularly optical properties. Current funding comes from the Australian Research Council (ARC), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany and the Department of Industry, Innovation &amp; Science (DIISR). The NSL collaborates with a number of Australian and international centres including the Technical University and the Frei University (Berlin), CSIRO, University of Colorado in Boulder,Colorado and Bayreuth University, Germany as well as CIGIT and SCNU in China . Professor Mulvaney serves as an Associate Editor for the journal ACS Nano and is a member of the editorial advisory boards of Advanced Functional Materials, NanoToday, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Langmuir and Nanoscale Horizons. From 2009-2011, he was Chair of the RACI Colloid and Surface Chemistry Division.", "email": "mulvaney@unimelb.edu.au", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "name": "03, 355, Chemistry Building, Parkville", "addressCountry": "AU", "addressRegion": "VIC" }, "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "ORCID", "value": "0000-0002-8007-3247" }, "awards": [ "Appointment Expires on 9/03/2025", "Humboldt Scholarship to Caesar nanotechnology Institute Bonn (sabbatical in 2005)", "University of Melbourne", "Humboldt Scholarship to max-Planck Institute in Potsdam (sabbatical in 2000)", "Grimwade Prize in Chemistry" ], "memberOf": [ { "@type": "Org "name": "Che } ], "hasCredential": { "@type": "Edu "name": "Doc "credentialCat "recognizedBy "@type": "Or "name": "Un } }, { "@type": "Edu "name": "Bach "credentialCat "recognizedBy "@type": "Or "name": "Un } } ], "sameAs": [ "https://orcid.or ] }
50. But Schema isn’t a ranking factor?? https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1717665192824516617
51. https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1717665192824516617
52. Don’t make Google think. It’s native language is code. If you can put something in code, explicitly, do it.
53. But how do I implement this? • Yoast SEO • Kalicube • Inlinks • By hand, if you’re masochistic like me <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "familyName": "King", "givenName": "Amanda", "worksFor": "https://floq.co", "jobTitle": "SEO Consultant", "alumniOf": "https://www.skidmore.edu/", "image": "https://floq.co/wp-content/uploads/amanda-web-1024x683.jpg", "gender": "http://schema.org/Female", "sameAs": ["https://twitter.com/amandaecking","https://www.linkedin.com/in/a mandaecking/","https://searchengineland.com/author/amanda-king ","https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/author/amanda-king/","https:// www.instagram.com/amandaecking/","https://www.searchmarketing summit.com.au/speaker/amanda-king-aus/","https://www.crunchbas e.com/person/amanda-king-8e77","https://www.slideshare.net/Ama ndaKing1"] } </script>
54. AI
55. Panda, anyone?
56. I’m a writer, so I’m biased against AI writing. Full stop.
57. Notes could also be training data to call out spam & AI content
58. “We’ve seen in our research that people want peer validation and like to see what others are saying about a given web page. Notes gives people a helpful layer of human insights on each Search result, working hand in hand with existing content on the web and making it more useful.” https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-november-2023-update/
59. The devolution & reintegration of SGE
60. Google has already softened some applications of SGE Source/ht: https://searchengineland.com/google-testing-more-subtle-search-generative-experience-design-433046
61. And is integrating into other rich results more directly Source/ht:https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-generative-ai-international-expansion/
62. This is mostly a hot take, but my general feel is that SGE is underbaked. Sorry Gary.
63. Buckle Up
65. Who tf am I?
66. Amanda King is a human • Over a decade in the SEO industry • Traveled to 40+ countries • Business- and product-focussed • Knows CRO, Data, UX • Always open to learning something new • Slightly obsessed with tea
67. 5 Key Takeaways 1. Clean up your cruft 2. Your content is what matters, not your website 3. Focus on building actual experience & expertise 4. Write your own content 5. Maybe don’t worry so much about SGE
68. Thank you Amanda King t. @amandaecking i. @floq.co / @amandaecking w. floq.co
69. Questions?