There are a lot of changes we can expect in 2018 with Google Search and as a result, in the world of SEO. Here are some of the main changes we can expect:
Machine Learning
The biggest change we can expect is more use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in Search. Google uses machine learning in RankBrain, Cloud Vision, etc. When Google first announced RainBrain, the technology only affected 15% of search queries. Today, RankBrain affects all search queries. We can expect that machine learning will take over more and more components of the search algorithm.
Voice Search
Google sold millions of Google Assistant enabled devices during the last holiday season. Today, one in five queries are from voice search. With so many new Google Assistant devices in the market, we can expect the majority of queries to slowly switch over to voice. Google will surely increase the proliferation of Featured Snippets, as they are the source of information for Assistant devices.
Linkless Mentions
Microsoft’s Bing search engine uses a method of tracking mentions that do not involve a backlink and provide credit for the attribution. Google looks to be doing the same, based on a recent patent filing. Once again, Google will use machine learning to find, identify, and track these linkless mentions.
Fake News
Google will activate Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT), its new system to evaluate the quality of the page based on the accuracy of the content. It will be difficult for anyone to measure the success of the system outside of Google, but it shows that accuracy and truthfulness will become a part of ranking well.