The Top 8 SEO Trends to Watch in 2019

Every year, significant changes seem to shake the SEO industry to its foundations. 2016 was no different—we saw rising trends that changed how we do SEO throughout the year. Improving the user experience was a hot topic all year long, as was mobile-friendliness. And who can forget the ever-enduring regal status of content?

With 2017 here, we finally find ourselves again on the verge of redefining how SEO is done. Join us as we look to the near future and see where SEO is headed with our Top 8 SEO Trends to Watch in 2017!

Content vs. Links

People say, “Content is King,” but links are still the most significant ranking factor. But if you look at what Google has been doing lately, it’s obvious they aren’t looking at links as the be-all and end-all anymore. Google has begun shifting its focus and plot twist—it isn’t user experience.

Rising SEO trends in technology like voice search (more on this later) are causing users to ask Google more involved, specific questions. And as a result, Google has tried providing users with more complex, particular results. They do this by trying to understand better what users want.

Google has begun tuning its algorithms to focus more on the meaning behind each search query. The websites that best answer a query with quality, in-depth content will earn higher spots on the SERPs.

So, how can you turn this to your advantage in 2019?

Think “Intent over Keywords”

Because of the complexity and specificity of recent queries, keywords are becoming less critical to an overall SEO strategy. And in 2019, we may even see a significant shift away from them. We’ve already begun using long-tail keywords to rank, which are more detailed by nature, so adjusting your content to fit the new strategy shouldn’t be too hard.

Of course, you shouldn’t count out keywords completely. Keywords still add relevancy, making a page an excellent match to a user’s search query. Whichever you decide, remember to build your content—and your links—around answering users’ questions. “Intent over keywords” is the game’s name for several of 2019’s top SEO trends. If you can match up your on-page content to give users the information they’re looking for, your rankings will likely rise.

Security

Web security will always be a hot topic in our industry. 2015 was the year Google revived its #NoHacked campaign, which helped web admins counter some of the web’s most common hacks. Although we saw our fair share of hacks in 2016, hacking seemed to be less of a popular topic over the year, and as a result, we saw less of an immediate effort to solve them. That’s about to change in 2019.

We’re slated to see a significant change in early 2019 concerning security and HTTP websites. Starting in January, Google Chrome will mark HTTP sites that use password and credit card fields as “insecure.” The entire site won’t be marked insecure for now, only the offending pages. However, Google says this is “part of a long-term plan to mark all HTTP sites as non-secure.”

Condemning an entire site for being on HTTP may seem a bit harsh. However, consider how much more at-risk users are while visiting HTTP sites. The encryption of HTTP sites isn’t up to what other newer protocols can handle. That risk threat could cost you a customer, so why stick to HTTP?

All last year, Google encouraged web admins to switch to HTTPS. They even began indexing HTTPS pages by default. Will 2019 be the year we see the next step in their anti-HTTP campaign? We don’t think we’ll have to wait long to find out.

Digital Assistants and Local Search

Digital assistants like Google Home, Alexa, Siri, and Cortana are rising. The act of merely asking a question and hearing (not having to read) an answer adds a new convenience to users, especially on the local search level. Local queries are often asked at the moment (“Where is a pizza place near me?”), and the digital assistants housed inside mobile devices can serve up instant answers.

We expect several local SEO strategies centered around leveraging digital assistants will establish themselves in the new year. The simple task of filling out your Google My Business page is a good start. Other more complex strategies will be using structured data to improve the relevancy of key landing pages to bring nearby users to a business’s physical location. This brings us to…

More SERPs Experiments

We all know Google loves to experiment. And the place Google enjoys running experiments most is in the SERPs. Increasing the length of meta descriptions and titles was just one of the many surprises Google threw at us over the year. What kinds of experiments will we see from Google in 2019?

Rich Snippets

Rich snippets are Google’s way of spicing up the search results. Rich snippets help users find answers before they even make their first click. Since the debut of rich snippets in 2009, we’ve seen them introduce breadcrumbs, recipes, review ratings, videos, and many more different types of snippets. As Google invents new snippets, web admins must double their efforts to ensure they’re putting structured data on the right pages to get them featured as rich snippets.

We expect snippets more tuned to mobile users and the immediacy they crave. Maybe they’ll have an eye-catching design or be placed just right for maximum clickability. No matter what form they take, stay on top of your structured data to take advantage of them when they arise.

Go Mobile or… You Get the Idea

2016 was a great year for mobile. Google released AMP pages, a mobile-friendly algorithm update, and is working on making mobile its primary index.

Will we see as big a push for mobile in 2019? Perhaps, but we think it’s unlikely. Oh, we have no doubt we’ll still see plenty of news about Google’s upcoming mobile features. But look at it this way—Google has laid the groundwork for its mobile-first world, and now that it’s here, you’re either mobile-friendly or in BIG trouble. It’s up to you to take the necessary steps to stay relevant, which means mobile.

We expect we’ll learn more about Google’s mobile-first index in 2017. If we get an official announcement, webmasters who haven’t gone mobile-friendly will no doubt feel the fire being set under them. Google’s committing to the mobile-first index would be a severe step toward cementing mobile as the undisputed future of SEO.

Machine Learning

It’s been over a year since the announcement of RankBrain, Google’s new machine-learning AI. It was already the third-most important ranking signal under content and links. As it refines its algorithms, we may see RankBrain emerge as the industry-defining change of the year.

Google’s AI is already able to process a ton of data. It looks at all the clicks and impressions it gets (and, more importantly, even the clicks it doesn’t get) to learn and adapt its algorithms more quickly and efficiently than Google’s programmers have been able to. You might find it impossible to keep up following traditional SEO methods.

So what can you do in light of all this machine-learning business? The answer—may be nothing. At least, it’s nothing like what we’re used to doing. We talked before about how keywords, the way we’ve been using them, may go in the direction of the dinosaurs. And as before, the solution is the same—focus on the user’s intent.

Remember—the intent of queries is becoming more important than the words themselves. Google’s AI-designed algorithms can better learn and adapt to how users are searching, which makes Google effective at serving its user base. RankBrain will always change, but as long as your site serves the user’s purpose, you should have what it takes to survive.

Voice Search

What’s easier than typing a question to Google? That’s easy—asking your question out loud and having the answer read back to you. 50% of teens and 21% of adults use voice search daily, proving it a good fit for today’s on-the-go lifestyle. Mobile devices facilitate this ease, as smartphones currently inhabit many pockets and purses and are available immediately.

Research shows 43% of voice searches occur at home, 36% in the car, and 19% on the go. People don’t just use voice search while they’re out and about, but whenever their hands are busy. That can happen anywhere and at any time! With voice search improving at word recognition, search engines must work double time to get to the heart of each query.

What does voice search mean for SEO?

Voice search queries have some distinct characteristics:

• They don’t resemble the traditional phrases typed into Google’s search bar.
• They’re much more conversational.
• They’re usually composed of whole sentences that ask precisely what the user wants to know.

As part of an SEO strategy, you don’t have to account for every permutation of a phrase someone will use to find your site. Instead, you can capture the intent of their query. (Do you see a pattern here?)

As we’ve stated several times, you should still use keywords for your site. Keywords can show the search engines how your site relates to a user’s query. For example, a user asking, “Where’s the closest place to buy a tennis racquet?” could find your place of business if you’re ranking for “tennis racquet” in the user’s location. If anything, voice search makes it easier for you to focus on answering users’ questions with quality content—yet another alternative to the keyword stuffing you should already be avoiding! You can use voice search if your site content solves the user’s query.

If you’ve been working on other things lately, this is the year to fill out your pages with relevant, helpful content. So you’d better ensure your content is the best it can be. That way, when the dulcet tones of Siri, Cortana, or Google Assistant read your page, users will be dying to know more.

Site Speed

We’ve seen voice search and machine learning on almost every “SEO trends for 2017” blog. These topics are as trendy as they come and have only come about in the past few years. Still, we’re surprised we don’t see more mention of site speed as a significant trend for the new year.

Many webmasters overlook site speed in favor of appearance or user experience. Google has been continuously telling us how important those are, but the difference between a user staying on your page could have less to do with how pretty it looks and more with how fast the page loads. Considering that amount could be only a few seconds, we’re surprised site speed isn’t more of a priority.

As we said, UX is still essential. But the ease of use of your menus will only do so much to retain a customer—especially when weighed against how long your pages take to load. If you prioritize site speed, you’ll likely keep those users on the page.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking a beautiful WordPress theme will make up for slow load times. Most users won’t wait longer than 3 seconds for a page to load. Fix your site speed and reap the benefits in 2019.

Follow These SEO Trends Closely

Here’s a recap of the top 8 trends to watch this year:

• Content vs. Links
• Security
• Digital Assistants and Local Search
• Rich Snippets
• Mobile-Friendliness
• Machine Learning
• Voice Search
• Site Speed

If you want to come out on top in 2019, these are the SEO trends to follow. Attention to a few of them (we expect big things from Content, Rich Snippets, and Site Speed) could greatly benefit your SEO campaigns next year.

Want to ensure success in the new year? Give SEO Inc. a call at 877-736-0006, and we’ll figure out the best way to tackle 2019 head-on in a way that fits your business and needs.

We look forward to helping you!