Last week, you may have come across the report from SearchMetrics, which highlights the impact of the continued changes to Google’s user interface for search. In it was a big piece of data that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has seen search listings recently. On average, there are currently only 8.5 blue links in a typical search, which is down from 10 blue links. This change is due to an increase in enhanced searches, which include things like rich text, maps listings, video listings, images, and much more.

The days of 10 blue links per search result are coming to an end, which is also signaling how marketers should approach their SEO. In fact, this means that there are new and old ways to optimize your site that will keep you ranking above the fold. Here are some tips that you can use to optimize your website and business to still show up in the enhanced interface and Google Knowledge Graph:

Answer relevant questions on your site.

For all intents and purposes, a search engine’s basic function is to answer questions from users. By creating quality content on your site that answers questions inherent to your business, you’ll find your information being pulled in by Knowledge Graph. For example, a car dealer could have a page on how to change the wiper fluid in a car or how to fix a headlight. These kinds of pages can and will be pulled in by Google search and displayed for users searching for instructions.

Fully optimize for the keywords you want to target.

This may seem simple, but ensuring your site is fully optimized will give you a greater chance of showing up for all types of searches. Map out your entire site and see which keywords you want to target based on the pages on your site. From there, you can see which keywords fit which pages while allowing you to create titles and H2/H3 tags that build on what users are searching for. Furthermore, properly optimizing on site images (alt text), videos, content, etc. will give you a greater chance of showing up for searches that display images, video links, and more.

Make sure business listings are accurate and up to date.

Google likes to pull information for its enhanced search from a variety of sources. Ensuring business listings like Google My Business, Yelp, Yellowpages, and others are up to date with accurate information will provide Google with the information it needs to display for users. Also, staying up-to-date social pages (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) provides even more information that Google can use for your business. For marketers, the more information you can provide to Google about your business, the better.

Keep creating quality content.

This will forever hold true since there’s nothing better than quality content that provides value for users. If your site is creating quality content that users are engaging with, Google will pick up on it, just like they have for years.

By following these simple tips, your business will be stronger than ever in Google search. Staying up to date with Google’s latest changes will ensure you don’t get left behind!