Search engine optimization connects businesses with relevant audiences who search for their products and services. In late 2019, Google provided an inside look at how they think about SEO. Each tip highlights SEO strategies they use which you can also use to gain significant, measurable growth.

At CMG, we think staying on top of the shifting tools, trends, and guidelines that govern search engine visibility is the best way to amplify your marketing strategy. Here are three key takeaways you can add to your existing strategies to start rating higher in potential customers' search results:

Having a search presence is a must for any automotive dealer. With so many dealerships vying for searchers, it can be challenging to stand out in search ads, but with dynamic search ads, you can do just that. Dealerships using dynamic search ads can reach consumers further down the path to purchase and boost qualified leads coming from paid search.

From 2008 (when Google first added its voice search feature to the Google Mobile App on the iPhone) to 2010, voice search usage remained at a "statistical zero." However, from 2010 to 2016 voice search usage multiplied sevenfold, and now it is forecasted to reach 33.8% market share this year.

What are some current voice search trends you should pay special attention? Here are some significant insights that can be gleaned from recent studies:

Take a moment to think about all of the digital spaces where customers exist. There's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor, Google, Eventbrite, Zomato — the list goes on and on. As a business, creating unique profiles with updated pictures, hours, and locations across all of these platforms can be headache-inducing (if not impossible).

So, how do you stay relevant in a market saturated in digital platforms? Great question! Let's talk about how your brand can stay relevant in the digital tsunami.

Amazon has launched new HIPAA-compliant skills aimed at improving voice services in healthcare fields. All of these skills will now transmit health-related information via voice within the confines established by HIPAA.

While HIPAA-compliant voice features have been on the horizon for some time now, this marks a significant step towards progress in the $3.5 trillion healthcare industry. While healthcare has lagged behind other consumer-facing industries when it comes to technology, this new software coming out of Amazon appears to be the light at the end of the tunnel.

Google recently released a new update to their search engine called the March 2019 Core Update. Google makes hundreds of small changes to their algorithm every year, but most of them go unannounced. Core updates refine Google’s algorithms to make search results better.

Google did not officially announce the update or make a public statement until industry professionals started to notice some changes and approached the company for clarification. This type of privacy is common for Google, especially since the guidelines surrounding how it ranks websites are complex. Industry professionals are still waiting to see how the changes associated with the March 2019 Core Update, which was rolled out on March 12th, may impact websites' overall rankings and traffic. 

Almost two-thirds of smartphone users are more inclined to make a purchase from businesses that customize location information. Businesses that optimize their local search presences are primed to convert searchers into sales.  

To improve the odds of appearing in local searches, businesses should take full advantage of their Google My Business (GMB) page. When searching locally, Google will display GMB pages before more traditional website links. For example, search for "Chinese restaurant" on your smartphone. Google will display the GMB pages of restaurants that fit that description in the Maps results at the top of your screen. As a business owner, you can leverage your GMB profile to improve your local search visibility and increase potential customers.

Can your potential customers easily find you online? According to Forbes, 74 percent of internet users are performing local searches and 61 percent of those searches result in a purchase. Regardless of what business sector you are in, search engine marketing (SEM) plays a key role in getting new customers. In fact, 85 percent of retailers say that SEM is the "most effective customer acquisition tactic." While search engine optimization (SEO) is all about organically growing your web traffic, SEM involves paying to list your business in relevant search results. If your SEM strategy isn't effective, you're losing customers and money. You can reverse that trend by finding the right SEM partner to help you reap the benefits of SEM. Here are five questions to help you choose one that's right for your business. 

Over time, SEO best practices have evolved; however, the importance of inbound linking has remained relatively consistent. If anything, the primary change has been the search engine approach to scoring each link, which combats link-stuffing and suspicious link-building tricks.

If you're a marketing professional trying to optimize your business for search, you likely understand the practice of link-building. Additionally, you probably recognize the importance of avoiding questionable tactics that do more harm than good. But there are other, less-common strategies that leverage emerging marketing trends and attempt to create linking advantages through partnerships and business relationships. Here are three such practices to strengthen your approach to SEO.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can make content more user-friendly and empower marketers to work efficiently. However, discussions about AI and content marketing often center on the potential for machines to eventually replace writers. While the technology is already used to generate sports and financial news updates, creating bots smart enough to write with nuance, creativity, original research and critical thinking is far off.

Still, AI's major role in search has significant implications for content marketers.