SEO trends for 2019

As the final months of 2018 loom ahead, it’s time to start thinking about our strategies for next year. It’s that time of year to already start asking our marketing selves… How can we begin 2019 with a pop, sizzle, or a bang? Better yet, what can we do right now to ensure we get nothing but positively sparkling results (like the fizz in champagne) as we think about a new calendar year? Achieve the ROI we’ve been looking for? Make sure our online content hits the mark? How about finally earn more killer organic Top Three spots in Google we’ve been hankering for, for months? Today, I’m sharing with you five key SEO trends for 2019 that I think will be big. In fact, I think they’ll play a major role in content ranking success (or failure). Follow along and let’s see what tactics, strategies, and more will help you have a banner year, including SEO tips from today that are still relevant. [bctt tweet=”1. Be Mobile-Ready for Mobile-First Indexing 2. Featured Snippets Rankings Will Go Up in Value …these & 3 other top #SEO #trends for 2019 by @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 5 Must-Do SEO Trends for 2019 to Follow Today Unsurprisingly, SEO trends in 2019 are all about keeping up with technology, staying on top of Google’s latest developments, and reinforcing your commitment to content. Let’s get right to it. 1. Be Mobile-Ready for Mobile-First Indexing Our first trend is one that’s continuing from recent SEO trends in 2018. Back on March 26, 2018, Google announced they were rolling out mobile-first indexing on their Webmaster Central Blog. Previously, Google web crawlers looked at the desktop version of your pages and content to populate the SERPs. However, with the switch to mobile-first, this means that Google will be looking at the mobile version of your pages for indexing and ranking. So, what if you don’t have a mobile version of your website? (Oh, the horror.) What happens? Google will still look at your desktop site version to rank your pages. HOWEVER: Your pages probably won’t display properly for users on mobile devices (or they’ll be difficult to navigate, read, and use). THUS: Your page rankings will most likely suffer (if they haven’t already). In other words, why haven’t you updated your website for mobile browsing yet? [bctt tweet=”Top #SEO trends for 2019? @JuliaEMcCoy got you covered in this information-packed, ROI-focused blog. #contentmarketing ” username=”ExpWriters”] To be as mobile-friendly as possible for all shapes, sizes, and types of devices, Google first and foremost recommends using responsive design. However, if you have two versions of your website (a desktop version and a mobile version), the search engine has some best practices you can follow for good results (via the Google Developers guide): These best practices include: Making sure your mobile and desktop sites have exactly the same primary content Including metadata like titles and descriptions on both site versions Including structured data for both site versions For best results, ensure you have all of the above items checked for your site. What worked for technical SEO in 2018 will roll over to 2019. Lastly, consider updating your site design so it’s responsive – it’s a better practice for the overall mobile user experience (UX). 2. Featured Snippets Rankings Will Go Up in Value Overwhelmingly, featured snippets are taking over the top spot in Google rankings for lots of keywords. This is a big deal – users see these results at the top of the page, where the #1 ranked piece of content used to appear. In other words, that prime real estate is no longer guaranteed. Many marketers are thus calling this highly desirable snippet spot “position zero.” Naturally, you should want key pieces of your content to shoot to top placements in featured snippets – but how? A. Create Content that Ranks on Page 1 Before you can even think about getting your content in featured snippets, first, you need it to rank on its own. According to Ahrefs, most featured snippets come from content that ranks in the top 10 results, or on the first page. In particular, the majority (90.1% of featured snippets) tend to get pulled from content pieces that rank in the top 5 positions. It’s all about choosing the right keywords, writing great content for your audience, and providing value. (See trend #4). B. Focus on Answers to Questions According to a SEMrush/Ghergich & Co. study of 6.9 million featured snippets and 80 million keywords, only around 7% of generic keywords include featured snippets in the results. In comparison, 41.59% of keywords with questions include featured snippets in the results – a 480% increase! In particular, question keywords almost always include paragraph featured snippets. These types of snippets include a chunk of text that answers the question the user searched for (according to the study, these average out to about 46-84 words in length with a maximum of 370 characters). You can thus earn your ranking content a featured snippet by framing short, succinct paragraphs of text as authoritative answers. For example, when I type the question/keyword “how many counties are in Iowa” into Google, the results show this featured snippet that directly answers that question AND provides supporting details: Question/keyword: How many counties are in Iowa? Answer/featured snippet: “There are 99 counties in the U.S. state of Iowa.” C. Use Numbered and Bulleted Lists, Especially for Subheaders To get your content in list-style featured snippets, always make sure you use properly formatted subheaders (H2s and H3s) to break up and organize your text. Google often uses subheader information to populate list-style snippets, like this result for “what countries are the Disney princesses from”: 3. Create the Highest-Quality Content In August 2018, Google confirmed a major core algorithmic update that took a full week to roll out. According to SEOers like Barry Schwartz and Glen Gabe, this update was all about quality. It particularly affected sites that had low E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness). Barry Schwartz studied over 300 affected … Read more