The End of Fake News and The Rise of Voice Search: 9:45 – 17:25
A lot of predictions are coming your way in 2018, but topping Mike’s list are … #fakenews and voice search!
We’re all familiar with the term fake news and how it played a role in the outcome of our 2016 presidential elections. In the aftermath, Google and Facebook have been hit especially hard with allegations of promoting fake news. As a result, the new year will bring algorithm updates that “fact check” websites (evaluating web pages on the actual accuracy) and combat against “non-authoritative information.”
Hey Alexa! Hey Siri! Hey Google! These words are turning the SEO world upside down. With one in five mobile searches being activated by voice search, the importance of featured snippets will only continue to grow.
Black Mirror & Your Local Grocery Store: 9:45 – 17:25
Plot twist! Meg stepped up to the table with an unexpected article and delves deep into Black Mirror territory!
Adobe is working on real-time consumer tracking, using your preferences and buying patterns to offer you specials and promotions on the spot. Retailers can look at live foot traffic in their stores, segment the customers on how much they spend or the types of products they buy, and push relevant product offers to their phones.
Good idea? Bad idea? Scary idea? What’s your take?
Web Design Trends – It’s A Bold New Year!: 17:40 – 26:25
Ashleigh comes in a strong with her new year proclamation! And she is predicting web design trends that are uniquely different from what we’ve seen in previous years.
One trend we discuss in depth is Brutalism. It’s not as scary as it sounds but it does involve design that’s more eclectic and asymmetrical and that lacks conventional hierarchy. These are bold and artistic designs that still put an emphasis on UX and UI. But, users may need to train their brain and their eyes to accept this trends as it becomes more popular.
Other elements of web design that will be prominent include:
- gradients and drop shadows that move away from flat design
- illustration over photography
- bold typography
How Do You Rank on Google? You Probably Already Know The Answers: 26:35 – 41:00
Kelly wraps things up by letting us know that not everything is changing in 2018. In fact, when it comes to ranking in search engines the rules are staying pretty much the same in the new year. We recommend putting your focus into these efforts:
- creating accessible and crawl-able pages
- doing keyword research and implementing focus and secondary keywords on your pages
- becoming an authoritative source of content that helps users with their goals
- writing solid meta titles and descriptions
- improving your site speed (including your mobile site!)
- utilizing rich snippets and schema to enhance visibility