Do you know about the latest SEO updates and trends? Do you know how to tackle them and draw audience to you website?

The primary purpose of Search Engine Optimization is to ensure that your brand ranks at the top of search results. But, why is it important?

According to a survey, the first five organic search results on the first page account for around 68% of all clicks. If your website isn’t ranking in the top five, your target audience may never even discover your business!

Like everything else on the internet, factors affecting search engine optimization keep evolving through specialized  updates and are released from time to time. This blog aims to inform you of some of the crucial algo updates of 2024 that can affect your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) rankings. Get ready for some SEO tricks along the way!

What are the recent Google search algorithm updates?

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Before you can truly appreciate how the online marketing landscape has evolved in the past few months, you need to know about algorithm updates that can affect search results.

Here they are –

• New local interface and map functionalities in search
• Businesses can now make listing updates right in the search results
• Google News Showcase
• Your business can now create Google Business Profile attributes

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The reason behind these updates and other algorithm changes is to ensure the reliability of the information that users get when they search through their engine. Let's talk about the most useful SEO tricks in the next section.

7 SEO tips and tricks to capitalize on Google’s latest algorithm updates

Google made numerous changes to rank its pages on the web. A lot more will change in the coming years. As a business owner, you have to be on your toes to evolve with the algorithm updates when they arrive.

With that in mind, here are some SEO tricks that will ensure that your site gets to the top of search results.

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1. Accurate & localized business information is the key

Does Google show the correct address and contact information when someone searches for your brand by name? Is your marked location on Google Maps accurate? These are some questions that you should be able to answer definitively if you want to ensure successful SEO.

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Providing all of the above-mentioned information will ensure increased traffic and help Google rank your business organically in search results. But that isn’t all.

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If you have multiple branches in different cities, you also need to ensure that users find the appropriate local landing page based on their location. Brands like Starbucks do landing pages extremely well. These pages not only help the local outlet or branch’s business to grow but also provide actual helpful tips to readers. This is specifically a local SEO trick that can work wonders for your brand.

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2. Google Business Profile Optimization: A much needed technique

With the latest algorithm updates, Google has changed the Google My Business feature into Google Business Profile. It is about the summary of your business that shows up in search results.

The Google Business Profile includes:

• Name of the brand
• Business Timings
• Contact information, including phone number and email ID
• The full address for your business
• General Google ratings from users of your products and services.

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The next question is about incorporating these Business Profile features to improve your SEO. Well, there are a few SEO tricks to remember. Let's take a look at them!

• Pay attention to the language and terms used by actual customers while leaving a review. You should try to include some of these terms while describing the products and services you offer. Doing so should increase the overall connection with consumers.
• Make sure to upload plenty of pictures and videos on your Google Business Profile. Needless to say these pictures must relate to what you offer and your business in general.

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Paying attention to these attributes should help your business profile gain a good reputation online. Over time, it should also help with your search engine rankings.

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3. Focus on your business website’s overall design

Many businesses fail to grasp the importance of a well-designed website and it's relation to achieving a good SEO. Websites with a significant number of pictures, videos, and multimedia, for instance, must also have a sitemap. Without sitemaps, search engines will take much longer to index and crawl videos, audio, and pictures.

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In SEO, one cannot deny the importance of creating a business website that encourages visitors to explore. Your brand’s homepage should have the link of your new blog. You can also invite site visitors to check out the testimonial section of your website to understand what other customers think of your products or services.

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A good website should allow people to quickly share a blog or a product that they find on your portal.

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The thing about a well-designed website is that it involves more than just visual appeal. Sure, you want the website to look pleasing enough for your visitors to stay. But, a well-designed website is also highly responsive, easily navigable, and extremely optimized on all devices, including mobile.

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Improving the load times of a website involves extensive coding knowledge. Thankfully, you don’t have to start studying website design and manage a business all at the same time. Upthrust provides impeccable website designing services to reduce load times and improve your site’s overall SEO. The digital marketer focuses on metatexts and site loading times to ensure that your SEO meets your brand’s image. Get in touch today and optimize your website.

4. Content is the King

Gone are the days when you could post generic articles and blogs, stuff them with chosen keywords, and then hope to rank on the search engine. With evolving algorithms, Google now prioritizes websites that post relevant content, answering genuine questions that people may search for.

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So, for instance, if your business deals with food delivery, you need to come up with a blog topic like, “5 foods rich in antioxidants that you should order today!” rather than creating a generic blog detailing the benefits of ordering from your website.

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Moreover, you need to keep posting new and engaging content at regular intervals. This will give users a reason to return to your website, which in turn will improve traffic and raise your overall rankings.

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This specific SEO trick also ensures that your community can share new content through social media and increase your brand’s reach organically. One thing to keep in mind is that whatever content you post must be completely fresh. Plagiarism is a big no-no and will immediately affect your site’s ranking.

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5. Link to dependable and authoritative websites

Some marketers will tell you that linking to an external website is a bad idea since it takes visitors off your own page. But, they forget to account for the long-term gains of such a practice. Does it take a reader from your brand’s page to a different page? Yes. Does that harm your business in the long run? No, it actually benefits you!

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When your blog has an external link that takes readers to a reputed and reliable page, you build a good reputation, like the brand you used for reference. External links will allow you to provide concise information to your site visitors.

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More importantly, linking out to external sites will earn your business some merit points from the owners of these sites. When you are generous and point your readers in their site’s direction, they too will eventually do the same for you. Soon, you will receive visitors from other portals.

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This give-and-take policy can actually work wonders for your business. However, keep in mind that the purpose of external linking is to enrich the information that your readers receive. That’s why it’s best to focus on the quality of the linked sites instead of the quantity.

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6. Encourage reviews and set up an effective review management system

As per surveys, around 95% of online shoppers read business reviews posted on Google, Yelp, and other similar platforms before making a purchase decision. The importance of reviews cannot be stated enough.

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Today, a business or brand with no reviews will make minimum revenue. In fact, even if a brand has mixed rating, it would do better than a brand that has none. Business owners must encourage their consumers to leave helpful reviews on Google and other places, based on which other people can also try out their products or services.

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Review modification is also crucial. If there are too many negative reviews on your page, customers may get turned off a product or your brand entirely. Try to highlight the five-star reviews, while also taking the negative feedback into account.

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‍7. Web analytics is key to long-term SEO success

Defining the SEO goals for your company website is one thing. But, you also need to follow up after implementing these optimization techniques. All the SEO tricks will mean nothing if you don’t check whether they are giving your brand the desired results.

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Google Search Console and Google Analytics are just some of the web analytics tools that can help you understand how visitors interact with your website. With these tools, you can easily identify the primary reasons to why visitors are navigating away from your website after discovering it. After that, all you need to do is to rectify the issues.

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These SEO tricks are but just the start. Search engine optimization encompasses a vast number of factors, all of which together determine how your brand or business is viewed by consumers. Wrapping your head around all of it can be taxing, which is where Upthrust’s services come in.

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The digital marketing agency is highly experienced in handling optimization for a significant variety of clients. Book a consultation call today. with Upthrust and learn how to drive consumer engagement and SERP ranking organically!

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“SEO is not just about optimizing for search engines, but also about understanding and catering to the needs of your target audience. By creating relevant, valuable, and user-friendly content, you can not only improve your website's visibility in search results but also build long-term relationships with your customers.”

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