Exploring The Top Search Engine Optimization Trends in 2019
Even with the rise of social media, search engines still remain the key to product and business discovery online. Thus making search engine optimization (SEO) an integral part of any effective digital marketing strategy. But like all elements of digital marketing, SEO is always changing, and always evolving to be in line with the behavior of its users. Because of this, it is critical that your SEO efforts also evolve in order to maximize your search opportunities. That is why the team at MarketKeep, the digital marketing agency for small businesses, has put together its list of 9 search engine optimization trends in 2019 that every business should be aware of. These 9 SEO trends highlight a shift in SEO, and if implemented correctly can help improve your company’s visibility online.
The 9 Best Search Engine Optimization Trends in 2019
Before we highlight the 9 best search engine optimization trends in 2019, first we must understand why you should take SEO seriously. All you have to do is looking at the following statistics to recognize that showing up on the 1st page of search results can have huge implications for your business:
- Search engines drive 300% more traffic to your website compared to Social Media
- 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine
- 75% of users never click past the 1st page of search results
- 87% of smartphone owners use a search engine at least once a day
- 81% of buyers perform an online search before making a large purchase
- 70-80% of users ignore paid ads and click on organic search results
- SEO leads have a 14.6% click-through rate (CTR) as compared to only a 1.7% CTR for outbound leads such as print advertisements
Trend #1: User Intent: One of the trends for focus on for 2019 is optimizing your website for user intent. The user intent, or search intent states which goal or intention an internet user has when entering a search term into their web browsers. User intent is now a central factor in content and search engine optimization and is eclipsing individual keywords as a dominant ranking factor.
Trend #2: Optimize for Voice Search: In 2019 more businesses should be focusing on optimizing their website for voice search. For the content that you create focus on questions, your target audience has online and try to answer them concisely.
Trend #3: Look Beyond Google Search: Google is not the only place to reach consumers online anymore. More people online are taking to websites such as Amazon, Facebook, and popular apps for the answers they seek. Businesses should learn to optimize for other platforms other than just Google.
Trend #4: Your Brand is Now a Ranking Factor: Brand mentions, sentiments, brand reputation, and the context of your brand will matter more than ever before. Focus on leveraging your 5-star reviews on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp to optimize your presence online.
Trend #5: Mobile-first Indexing Matters: With mobile devices soaring in popularity, businesses need to strive for higher rankings on a mobile-first indexing model. Make sure that your website is compatible with mobile search results, and provides easy access to the solutions they need.
Trend #6: Target Featured Snippets: Answer boxes, knowledge graphs, carousels, and rich snippets are popular and easy ways for consumers to get the information they need. Make sure to optimize your website for featured snippets and gain a majority of the organic web traffic you need.
Trend #7: Create Quality Content with Long-Tail Keywords: Focusing on long-tail keywords is a great SEO tactic that many business owners do not take advantage of. While long-tail keywords get less search traffic, they typically have a higher conversion value since they are specific and geared towards a specific user.
Trend #8: Pay Attention to Techincal SEO: It is time to start making it easier for search engines to crawl your website. Optimize your URL structure and JavaScript code and start using structured data markups. This should help you increase your ranking online.
Trend #9: Page Speed Matters: This is something every business owner should already be aware of, but page speed matters. The better the user experience the higher you will rank on search engines.
About MarketKeep
MarketKeep is a digital marketing agency for small businesses and start-ups based in Towson, Md. Our goal is to help small business owners plan, place, and optimize their digital marketing strategies. MarketKeep is proud to offer our clients the following services:
Website Design – As a website design company we build websites that represent you and your brand and instantly builds a connection with your customers online. To learn more about our website design capabilities please contact our website designers.
SEO Company – As a Maryland SEO Company, we partner with small businesses to help grow their organic presence online through on-page, off-page, and reputation management techniques. To learn more about our SEO services for small businesses please contact our SEO team.
Pay Per Click Experts – As your SEM Agency MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your SEM campaigns so that you are maximizing your SEM campaign. To learn more about our SEM Services please contact our SEM team.
Social Media Management – Tired of running your social media accounts on a daily basis? Not sure what to post? As your Social Media Marketing Assistants MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your social media strategies. To connect contact our Social Media Management Team today.
Local SEO – So many of us rely on our phones to find businesses and products that are close by. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with customers in your backyard. As a Local SEO agency MarketKeep helps to position your business online to acquire Local SEO searches. Learn more by contacting our Local SEO Agency Team.