I’m a bit late to the game of 2024 predictions, considering we’re already in mid-January and have started the year. But better late than never. So here are my predictions of what the year 2024 will mean for SEO.
All of these are my personal guesses, and some might just be wishes that I would like to see come true in 2024. So none of this is based on any insider information I have.
Large pages will continue to lose traffic in 2024
Big generalists and content platforms are losing more and more traffic and positions on Google. This is a trend I’ve been seeing more and more lately, and I believe in 2024 these pages will have an even harder time. Users no longer want to read large generalists, but rather more specialized pages where they know who is behind them.
Domain authority will become less important
This is directly related to the first point. Of course, there are still topics, such as YMYL, where it’s important to build and show authority, proving that you are a trustworthy source. But in general, domain authority will become less and less important. Which is good news, because in the game of link building, those with the biggest wallet still win.
Links from guest posts will lose value
Too much link building was done with guest posts on shabby sites. These will lose value in 2024 and Google will announce it. What Google won’t announce, but is sure to come, is the following.
Social media shares will gain importance
AI-generated content is on the rise, and guest posts are losing importance. So how does Google know if your content is good and popular? With social media. But not your own – rather what is really being talked about and shared.
Topical Authority will become increasingly important
While domain authority fades into the background, topical authority will become more important. It’s no longer enough to just write a post on a topic, you have to really go in depth. We will certainly see this trend continue in 2024.
More content will be published, but of poorer quality
We are still in the “innovation phase” of AI. However, now we are far enough along that most can handle it. Even in 2024, this will still be a huge topic. And first and foremost, with all the content that is being published. More Content but of poorer quality. Google will throw out new updates like Helpful Content or Spam Updates.
Google will make even more updates, but announce less
Speaking of Google updates. 2023 was a year full of updates, especially big ones and core updates. This will continue in 2024, but Google will announce less of them publicly. This was already announced by Google in Q4 and will surely cause some speculation in 2024, whether there was an update or not. The answer is probably always: Yes, there was another Google update.
SGE will also come to Europe
Whether this is a real prediction or more of a dream of mine, I don’t know. But it would be really cool if SGE finally becomes available in Europe as well. Whether rolled out or as a beta version, I don’t care. I believe both will happen. The beta version in Q1, and the worldwide rollout in Q3.
Affiliate marketing will come back
Affiliate marketing got a bit of a bad reputation in recent years and especially users no longer wanted to click on links with asterisks from weird websites. In 2024 I predict that we will see a shift towards Affiliate Sites again. After all, content becomes easier to create, and it becomes more difficult for large generalist brands to rank. The strategy is clear: Let an affiliate marketer create the niche site, with topic authority. The plus point: should there ever be a penalty for AI-generated content, it does not affect the brand itself, but the affiliate marketer who wrote the content.
Do you want to read more SEO predictions for 2024?
I’ve collected more SEO predictions for you, so you can see what other SEOs expect from 2024
Kevin Indig: https://www.growth-memo.com/p/2024-predictionsEli Schwartz:https://productledseo.substack.com/p/seo-and-marketing-predictions-for
