Keeping up with the latest twists and turns in the world of SEO is becoming much harder.

In 2023, we experienced some of the highest number of changes we’ve ever seen to the SERP, algorithms, and ranking signals. 

And, with the continued advancement and integration of AI into daily workflows, SEO in 2024 is about to get a whole lot more intense.

Organic Search generated over 1 million organic clicks for our clients in 2023, and we’ve kept a close eye on the factors driving SEO success, which will continue to matter during 2024.

Here’s what our team thinks your SEO strategy should focus on over the next 12 months.

User Engagement Metrics & Optimisation

Google has effectively told us with the release of GA4 that user engagement metrics are now a crucial part of ranking success. Signals such as click-through rate, time on page, and engagement rate will be used to determine whether your content is valuable or not.

Ultimately, Google wants to serve users with the most relevant results and then the best experience once they click through to a website. So, search sentiment, CTR, and website UX all matter and will continue to help determine your ranking on the SERP, which will drive traffic and revenue.

Our advice for optimising user engagement metrics in 2024:

• Write compelling meta titles and descriptions that accurately describe your content
• Use highly relevant keywords in these elements to attract your target audience
• Ensure your content is high-quality, engaging to readers and easy to navigate
• Utilise internal linking to help users navigate through your website more easily
• Use multimedia such as images and videos to increase the time spent on page
• Include a call to action that clearly shows what readers need to do next

E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T is nothing new. However, its importance will continue to rise in 2024. Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are four crucial factors that Google takes into account when determining the quality of a website’s content.

To improve your E-E-A-T and, therefore, your chances of ranking higher on the SERP, you’ll need to focus on showcasing your expertise by providing informative, accurate, and well-researched content authored by a real-life expert or member of your team.

Additionally, gaining backlinks from authoritative and trustworthy sources can also boost your E-E-A-T (more on that in a minute).

Our advice for improving your E-E-A-T in 2024:

• Create in-depth and well-researched content that demonstrates your expertise
• Have authoritative sources link to your content as a form of endorsement
• Regularly update and improve your website’s content to showcase ongoing expertise
• Utilise social proof, such as customer reviews and testimonials, to build trustworthiness
• Include quotes from experts and create an author bio showing who’s written the piece and why they are qualified to write it

Data-Driven Decision Making

You can’t run a successful SEO campaign in 2024 without gathering, analysing, and acting on the millions of data points you’re collecting. While artificial intelligence has been widely used for content creation, we believe the real value is in using AI for data storytelling.

This allows you to make more informed decisions on your SEO strategy and identify areas of improvement quickly. For example,  AI can be used to analyse traffic and conversion data, identify top-performing keywords and topics, and predict future trends. This will ultimately help you stay ahead of the competition and make smarter decisions for your business.

We’ve built our own in-house tools and processes that analyse a range of data points from multiple online platforms to help inform our SEO strategies and drive success for our clients.

Our advice for using AI in your data-driven decision-making in 2024:

• Utilise AI-powered tools that can help you better understand large amounts of complex data
• Regularly review and analyse your data to identify patterns and trends
• Use AI to predict future trends and make informed decisions on your SEO strategy
• Implement machine learning for more accurate keyword research and content creation
• Continuously track and measure the performance of your website to inform future optimisation

Optimising For SGE

Google’s SGE will start rolling out proper this year, so we’ve been focusing on how to optimise for it. From our research, we know that SGE relies heavily on structured data and natural language processing (NLP) to understand user intent and deliver more accurate and relevant results.

This means you’ll need to focus on optimising your content to align with user intent and utilise structured data to make it easier for SGE to understand and index your website.

For example,  implementing schema markup can help SGE better understand information such as product descriptions, reviews and ratings, opening hours, and more. This can improve your chances of appearing in a featured snippet on the SERP.

Our advice for optimising for SGE in 2024:

• Prioritise user intent when creating content and optimise for long-tail keywords
• Use natural language in your content to improve NLP understanding
• Implement structured data such as schema markup to help SGE better understand your website’s information
• Continuously analyse and improve your content to align with the latest updates to SGE

Acquiring High-Quality Backlinks

There’s no getting away from the fact that backlinks still play an important role in SEO. However, gone are the days when quantity takes precedence over quality. 

In 2024, the focus will be on gaining high-quality backlinks from relevant and authoritative sources to improve your website’s authority and rankings.

To achieve this, you’ll need to have a strong link-building strategy in place that focuses on building relationships with other websites in your industry. This could involve creating valuable content they would want to link to or pushing out a digital PR strategy that acquires links from reputable online publications.

Choosing the right anchor text for your backlinks is also crucial. It’s no longer about stuffing keywords into every anchor text, as this can actually hurt your website’s rankings. Instead, focus on using natural and relevant anchor texts that accurately describe the content you’re linking to.

Our advice for building high-quality backlinks in 2024:

• Focus on building relationships with other websites in your industry to acquire high-quality backlinks
• Create valuable and shareable content that other websites would want to link to
• Utilise digital PR strategies to acquire links from reputable online publications
• Vary your anchor text and avoid using exact match keywords in every anchor text

You’re Ready For 2024 SEO Success

SEO is constantly evolving, and with the integration of AI into daily workflows, it’s important to stay ahead of the game by adapting to these changes.

In 2024, user engagement metrics and E-E-A-T will continue to play a crucial role in determining ranking success, while data-driven decision-making, optimising for SGE and generating high-quality backlinks will help drive traffic and revenue for your business.

By following our advice and staying informed, you’ll be well on your way to success in 2024 and beyond.  So buckle up because the ride is just getting started.

Let’s see what else the future of SEO has in store for us!

2024 SEO Strategy: Your Questions Answered

How will AI will impact SEO in 2024?

We believe that AI will play a crucial role in data-driven decision-making, content creation, and personalisation. It will also continue to be used for image recognition and voice search, affecting the way we optimise our content.

Will backlinks still be important in 2024?

Yes, backlinks are expected to remain an important ranking factor in SEO. However, the focus will likely shift towards acquiring high-quality and relevant backlinks rather than quantity. Research shows that backlinks also carry less weight as a ranking factor in 2024.

What impact will SGE have on SEO in 2024?

SGE is expected to play a significant role in how content is ranked on the SERP. This means that optimising for user intent and using structured data will become even more important in order to appear in featured snippets. CTR may go down, and the way we measure rankings could also change.

How can I stay ahead of the SEO changes in 2024?

To stay ahead of the game, it’s important to keep up with industry news and updates, as well as constantly analysing and adapting your strategy based on data and trends. Partnering with an experienced and knowledgeable SEO agency like us can also help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of SEO and get the most from your budget.

What’s the best way to create an SEO strategy for 2024?

Start with your goals and objectives as this will give you something to measure success against.  Next, research your target audience and keyword trends to inform your content creation. Then, focus on technical SEO elements such as site speed and mobile-friendliness before implementing user engagement tactics, content creation and building high-quality backlinks. Finally, continuously analyse and adapt your strategy based on data and updates from Google so that you stay ahead of the competition.