Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is used for improving website rankings on Google and Bing. We are taking a look at the hottest SEO trends to look out for in 2019. These techniques are randomly picked and stacked based on the results we’ve seen them yield in 2018 and before. So, in no particular order, we begin with:
1. Content
In order for your website or blog to generate traffic, you need to ensure that your content is fresh, of high quality and relevant to the topic. Useful information will keep the reader on your page for longer and in order to keep your content relevant. It needs to be continuously updated, to keep up with the times. Not only does this improve engagement, but it also boosts your SEO performance by ensuring you are truly answering the question asked by the reader. Check your text continuously and make sure it remains unique and offers added value. Well-structured and accurate data allows Google to pick up keywords easily. Numbered articles also tend to attract more readers.
2. User Experience
The reason behind SEO is for users of search engines and websites due to user experience being of the utmost importance.
- Mobile optimization: Meet user needs by ensuring that your pages are accessible on smartphones or tablets.
- Loading speed: There are tools which you can use to check the loading times of your web pages as well as measure the performance of your site.
- Technically flawless websites: Users are becoming more and more demanding and should be able to rely on your pages being usable in 2019 as well.
3. Voice search
Integrating voice search command with your website or blog is one of the big things to watch out for in 2019. In order for voice search to work effectively and efficiently, your content must be conversational and cater to questions such as “Where is the nearest coffee shop?”. Capture user ability by making provision for the user to use Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple Siri -to mention a few- which will cater for a wide variety of users regardless of the interface they use. Training yourself to use artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms will be beneficial. Users communicate directly with the search engine in voice-controlled searches, you should focus more on longtail keywords when optimizing content. At the same time, it can be helpful to anticipate possible user questions that your content will answer.
4. Mobile First Indexing
Over the past two years, Google has shown that the focus is increasingly on mobile. Since the number of users on the mobile Internet has risen significantly and exceeds the number of desktop users when it comes to web searches. For example, mobile optimization was only introduced as a ranking factor in 2016. In 2017, Google finally drummed up advertising for accelerated mobile pages and improved its mobile update. In summer 2018, the “Mobile First Index” has finally been implemented. Google prefers to show the version of a page in the mobile index in the future, which is optimized for mobile devices.
If you have not yet optimized your website for mobile devices, you should do so by 2019 at the latest.
5. Video
Have content in video format, slide presentations and whiteboard videos. This should increase your traffic volumes and allow your site to rank higher.
Make provision for videos on your pages, most people would rather watch videos and scan through articles.
6. Use title tag modifiers
Use words like “best” “review”, “year”, “free shipping”
Create good quality, a high-value resource that people will want to read regardless of how long it is.
