SEO 2019: Innovative trends to watch out for

Search engine optimization or SEO is an integral aspect of digital marketing. If you want to maintain or increase the visibility of your site or business in search results, you will have to observe the trends, compete, and keep up with the innovations of technology your target audience prefers.

As a digital marketer or entrepreneur, you need to be able to stay up-to-date with innovative trends and evolve as algorithms and techniques do.

SEO has evolved since the time it was introduced, and it has never been so challenging as it is now to compete for a higher space in search results.

Here are the innovative SEO trends in 2019 that you need to watch out for:

1. Long-form content and link building

As a digital marketer or online entrepreneur, you might have heard of the phrase that content is king far too many times. This 2019, valuable content is still seen as one of the biggest contributors for SEO, specifically focusing on long-form content. At the same time, link-building also remains to be a significant ranking factor.

Each link pointing to your site is similar to a vote on the Internet that search engines look at. The more ‘votes’ you have, the better spot you get in the search engine results pages or SERPs. If your business or blog is struggling with either content or link building, you can reach out to trusted services like NO BS Agency so that you can focus on other aspects of business improvement. Here are a few guidelines for content and links:

• From the previous 350 words standard, you should create articles that are more than 600 words, ideally at least 1,000. This tells search engines that you are providing valuable and in-depth information about particular topics.
• Combine text and media to encourage more engagement with your articles.
• Use different link building strategies like guest posting or blogging, internal linking, and others.

2. Mobile-first indexing

With the rise of mobile users searching and using the Internet compared to those on computers, search engines like Google are making sure that these users are getting the best experience. If you want to get the most from your SEO in 2019, you have to prioritize having a mobile-friendly site. Google has announced that its algorithms will predominantly use mobile versions of content for indexing and ranking. Here are some tips that you can use:

• If you haven’t done so yet, shift to responsive web design.
• Have compatible content on both mobile and desktop versions.
• Constantly improve the user interface and user experience which targets the mobile market.
• Ensure that your servers can handle and support a possible increase in crawl rate for your site’s mobile version.

3. Voice search

While users are have been using Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Assistant, it is suggested that more searches will be done through voice this year. More mobile users prefer voice search compared to lengthy typing, and if your brand can cater to this innovation, then you will stand out against competitors. A few ways to plan for this adaptation are:

• Use long-tail keywords and be as detailed as possible because voice queries are significantly different from written ones. For example, instead of “Italian food,” you can use “authentic Italian Pasta Con Pomodoro E Basilico made with handmade pasta.”
• Know your audience better by observing how they express themselves. You can see this through their engagement with your social media pages and inquiries or concerns through emails.
• Incorporate conversational phrases in your content because people speak differently compared to how they write.

4. Technical SEO to updated standards

Search engines like Google are putting in more emphasis on technical SEO because it enhances user experience or UX. If the technical sides of things are slacking off compared to your competitors, your visibility may not be as successful. You need to have seamless user experience that will encourage your audience to keep visiting your site, purchasing your products, or sharing your content. Some technical SEO ideas that can help with your ranking are:

• Optimize your page speed. Page loading times in both desktop and mobile has been a part of Google ranking factors for some time.
• Focus on easy to understand and easy to use interface and design on your websites.
• Create a sitemap if your website has lots of content.
• Conduct a weekly technical audit and fix the issues that you can find.

Final thoughts

If you’re determined to win this year with better rankings, then you must know the biggest SEO trends. With the advancement in technology, it’s not surprising that many SEO tactics are changing quickly. This year’s trends are focused on user experience, so know your audience well, don’t neglect their feedback and improve on their pain points when using your site.