7 SEO Trends in 2019 No One is Talking About
Each year, there is a new wave of SEO trends that digital marketing geeks won’t stop talking about until the next year. 2019 is no different.
However, in this article, we’re not going to talk about the super popular trends, but the more under the radar ones that don’t seem to be getting enough attention. With that, here are 7 SEO trends in 2019.
Long Tail Keywords
Just a brief refresher, long tail keywords contain anywhere from 3-9 words (for example, if you’re a pet store, one long tail keyword you may focus on for a specific blog post would be “Training Dogs with a Dog Whistle”).
Quite frankly, long tail keywords are how most people use Google when they are searching, and it is typically associated with high intent. Long tail keywords also have the lowest costs and risk, as well as the highest probability of conversion. So, with a smart and successful long tail keyword campaign, you’ll bring in more high quality, intent-driven traffic.
Why wouldn’t you focus more on long tail keywords in 2019? You’d be practically losing money not to!
Longer, Richer Content
In a Forbes article, Peter Boyd of PaperStreet Web Design claimed that content pages of 1,500 words or more are performing better in search engine rankings and attaining organic traffic when compared to shorter pages.
Typically, longer content will receive more social shares, as well as backlinks too. However, it still needs to be quality content. Don’t write a 2,000 word post that is filled with fluff and is redundant. Search engines can still differentiate between crap content and high quality content.
So, when it comes to writing longer content that is rich with keywords, find evergreen content topics that will be searched all year round, and make sure that the topic is deep enough that it warrants and extra amount of words, but succinct enough that you might be featured in Google snippets. Therefore each paragraph written will be relevant.
Page Speed
Now, page speed gets a lot of talk each year. However, it isn’t being discussed enough. The reason why page speed will always be an integral part of SEO is because smartphone and computer users will never be satisfied. They can always be faster.
If your competition is smart, they will always be looking for ways to make their website more efficient. Not only are search engines using load time as a top on-page SEO factor, but longer load times can lead to high bounce rates, which will harm your SEO rankings.
In 2019, load time for mobile especially should be on everyone’s radar.
Video on Landing Pages, Articles, and Top Products
Cisco predicted in a study that by 2021, video will account for over 82% of all consumer internet traffic. That means this year is the year to start playing around with video content if you haven’t done so already.
It’s not hard to understand why video is becoming so prevalent, as it more engaging content and allows for easier access to essential information, whereas reading a long blog or article will take more time. Use 2019 as a year to figure out video and by 2021 you’ll be dominating your competition with SEO.
Voice Search
Some early predictions point to more than 50% of all searches being done through voice search in 2020. So yeah, voice search demands your absolute and full attention in 2019.
As smartphones become more advanced, especially in terms of voice command, the amount of voice searches will continue to grow. As voice search technology continues to become more advanced, some ways you can help now are by avoiding using flash in your webpages and by writing content in a more conversational tone.
Local SEO
If you’ve been avoiding optimizing your local SEO for the past few years now, start today! Don’t even wait until the New Year. There are tons of opportunities with local SEO, as according to an Optimize Marketing article, 18% of local smartphone searches led to a purchase within a day, compared to 7% of non-local searches.
When it comes to improving your local SEO, focus on optimizing your website for mobile, as most of local searches happen from mobile. Ask for reviews from customers, create an awesome Google MyBusiness page, and list yourself on Google Maps as well.
Press Releases and Social Media (Mentions in Media)
You can always do more with your social media presence, which has a big impact on your SEO. There are so many people on social, that no matter who your target market is, you can reach them through a social platform. Make sure that you are sharing your content and relevant industry news on social, as well as responding to comments and messages. Boosting your social media engagement will help improve your overall SEO. Consider press releases as well, which can help you gain links and more traffic to your site.
Keep Your Ears to the Ground
When it comes to being a digital marketer, being up to date on the latest digital and interactive trends isn’t just a smart thing to do, it’s a requirement of the job. Make sure that you are constantly paying attention to the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing.
This post was written by Tim Brown. He is the owner of Hook Agency , and strategic marketer focused primarily on driving traffic and leads for small businesses and construction companies.