4 SEO Research Strategies to Explore in 2024

Delve into four crucial SEO research endeavors to prioritize in 2024, ensuring sustainable growth driven by data.

The SEO landscape remains unpredictable amidst algorithm shifts and the emergence of Search Generative Experience (SGE) in SERPs. Amidst this uncertainty, it's opportune to shine a light on underutilized SEO research strategies that yield results:

• Analyzing keyword trends.
• Conducting customer research.
• Exploring non-search channels for content.
• Performing SERP analysis for keywords within reach.

By embracing these initiatives, you can gain a sense of control over your SEO trajectory despite the prevailing turbulence.

Trend Analysis for Keywords

There's more to keyword analysis than meets the eye. Trend analysis uncovers:

• Emerging keywords.
• Shifts in keyword dynamics.
• Evolving relevance of your target keywords.

My preferred tool for staying updated is the Glimpse Google Trends extension, offering enhanced insights beyond traditional data. Utilize it for extensive long-tail keyword information, trending subjects, alerts, and data exports. This tool, coupled with a proactive mindset, enables real-time keyword management, departing from traditional sporadic reviews.

Customer Insights

You're probably engaging in some form of customer research, right? However, from my experience, SEOs often overlook a holistic approach to understanding customers, which involves cross-team conversations and proficiency with various tools.

Here are some tools to explore immediately:

• Heat mapping tools (Hotjar is a favorite for its insightful free version).
• Survey tools like SurveyMonkey, Typeform, or Google Forms.

Regarding surveys: use them sparingly and clarify how the data will be utilized. For valuable insights, consider offering small incentives like gift cards.

Additionally, your brand or client’s sales and customer service teams possess valuable real-time information on customer queries, challenges, and more. Regular catchups with these teams, facilitated for easy knowledge sharing, are highly beneficial.

Whether in an agency or in-house role, your paid teams are often overlooked sources of valuable data. Insights from high-CTR ad copy, keyword trends, and audience performance can greatly inform organic search strategies and priorities.

Non-search Channels Analysis

Forums like Reddit and Quora, community hubs, brand and competitor FAQ sections, as well as social media and YouTube comments, provide real-time insights into user behavior and emerging trends for content creation.

Among these, Slack communities stand out as valuable data mines (and have even led to new client acquisitions for me). Active Slack communities relevant to your industry often offer rich discussions and inquiries that you can address directly.

To maximize your engagement on Slack, adhere to community guidelines, avoid being overly promotional unless explicitly sought, and seek opportunities to contribute meaningfully to ongoing discussions, even if they don't directly benefit you.

Analyzing SERPs for Keywords in 'Striking Distance'

In the era of Google's old page system, moving up from 11 to 10 or even 4 to 2 was akin to unlocking significant growth potential. However, with the shift to infinite scroll, focus has shifted to relative position among SERP features like videos or 'People also ask' sections.

Despite this change, not all keyword ranking improvements carry equal weight, necessitating careful assessment of the cost and benefit of significant leaps. As the SEO landscape continues to evolve, it's crucial not to lose sight of proven fundamentals amidst emerging trends like AI-generated content.

Having witnessed numerous seismic shifts in the search landscape, I've learned that maintaining a focus on core SEO principles is essential during times of change. Regardless of how the rollout of SGE unfolds, staying grounded in best practices is key to navigating the dynamic landscape of search marketing.

Onward and Upward!

Having spent a considerable time in the SEO industry, I've witnessed numerous significant changes in search dynamics that sent marketers into a frenzy. The current period is particularly dynamic, with the advent of AI-generated content presenting an entirely new challenge for search marketers.

However, amidst these changes, brands often overlook fundamental SEO principles that consistently contribute to growth. Regardless of how the rollout of SGE unfolds, the key is to focus on what you can manage and ensure your best practices are in top shape.

source: 4 under-utilized SEO research approaches to tackle in 2024 (searchengineland.com)

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