The Top 5 SEO Trends That Will Matter Most in 2019
As we head into the latter half of 2019, it’s time for digital marketers to reassess your SEO strategy. The SEO landscape is volatile, and we have already seen several tactics fall by the wayside this year.
If you are among the legions of businesses struggling to improve visibility in search engines, it’s obvious you need to rethink your SEO strategy.
Identify Niche Keywords
It’s no secret that keywords that match search terms are an important ranking factor. Effective keyword strategies are widely used thus competing for popular search terms is increasingly difficult – especially now marketers have cracked the enigma code of Google’s algorithm.
However, there is a side door that most online businesses have failed to spot; niche keywords. These are search terms that are used fairly regularly but have not been adopted en masse.
Understanding how to identify niche keywords enables you to pull in visitors from the fringes and gives you an edge over your competitors.
Conduct a site audit
Data analytics is key to mastering SEO. However, data analytics tools only develop part of the overall picture. The missing pieces are filled in with a site audit that reveals how visitors are using your website and identifies the weak areas.
A thorough website audit provides valuable insights into the overall health of your online store. The ability to identify and correct underperforming ranking factors will give your search rank a boost in time for the Christmas period.
Improve page load speed
Whilst website speed optimization is not a new mind-blowing strategy, it’s surprising to find how may online businesses neglect site speed – and how many web developers have not discovered a solution to fix slow loading pages.
The fact of the matter is that internet users are not prepared to hang around for pages to download. You get about two to five seconds.
In order to improve download speeds, Google launched its Mobile-First index in 2018 to improve user-experience. The problem with this is the functionality of websites on mobile devices have limited features which can have a negative on conversions. The only option is to speed up your load time.
Acquire high-quality backlinks
SEO specialists Cayenne Red declare a results-based SEO strategy has to include authoritative backlinks from high-ranking domains.
Despite their advanced algorithms, search engines need help from end-users to flag up websites that are publishing high-quality content.
Inbound links are a solid indication that a website is worth reading, otherwise, why would other publishers direct their readers to competing content – especially top-quality bloggers that have a reputation to uphold.
An outreach strategy should only include backlinks that originate from high-authority domains. Although the cost can be stratospheric – especially if you want to publish in top ranking websites like Forbes and Entrepreneur – acquiring high-quality backlinks is the most powerful weapon in your SEO arsenal.
Engage your social followers
Although the majority of businesses understand the power of social media, many fail to actually engage their followers. This can be due to time constraints, lack of initiative or lack of creativity.
Once you have committed to social media marketing, you have to go all out and dedicate the time to it. If you are not engaging your followers, your presence will go unnoticed.
Adopting SEO trends that are proving to be winning strategies in the second half of the year should reward you with higher ranking positions in search engines. If any of the above strategies are not already in your thinking, adapt your SEO plan immediately.