10 SEO Trend Predictions For 2019

Professionals are very aware that SEO requirements evolve over time. With algorithm changes and emerging trends, it can be very easy to fall behind the modern necessities of SEO, which is why it remains important to keep up with those changing trends. 2019 brings some very unique changes to the way that SEO management should be focused, and by missing out on these key criteria, you could see your existing SEO strategy lose its effectiveness. Not all of the emerging and future SEO trends will be suitable for each business model, but by being aware of what consumers and search engines are looking for, you can be more certain about the worth of your actions regarding SEO.

1. Audience Awareness

Knowing what your audience are looking for from you will be the key to improved SEO in both 2019 and beyond. This narrowing down of audience expectation is vital, and knowing the kind of content that your users prefer, and what value they require from you will continue to dominate your future SEO trends strategy. No matter how good your existing content may be, if it is being created for the incorrect audience, then it will continue to have a negative impact on your SERPs. The more that you understand your audience’s intent when visiting your pages, the more that search engines will reward you for your focused content.

2. Moving beyond Google

While Google remains the number one search engine and the main driver of SEO strategy, the increasing number of consumers that are using Apple and Amazon in order to find the products that they need is steadily growing. Those search numbers are slowly cutting into Google’s dominance, especially for product searches, and how you address this will depend on your product. If you create gaming apps, then you need to optimize SEO to appear in the Apple and Play store, while podcasters will need to consider how to boost their ranking through podcast platforms alongside Google.

3. Structured Data Mark-up

By adding your structured data to the HTML of your website, you make it significantly easier for search engines to understand what is happening with your content. When search engines use your structured data to provide more information about your business, then you make it far simpler for them to rank you accordingly in search queries. For both personalisation and localisation, structured data mark-up is one of the vital SEO trends 2019.

4. Content Remains Essential

Google and other search engines continue to use your content to evaluate how important your website is. The more exceptional your content and the more in-depth that you go, the more that search engines will reward you when it comes to SERPs. If you are creating content purely so that you have something to share on social media, then you are losing out on a valuable opportunity to improve your SERPs, and the more that you integrate audience awareness into your content creation, the more likely that search engines will prioritise you when it comes to rankings.

5. E-A-T

The three foundations of your content and marketing need to be:

●    Expertise

●    Authority

●    Trustworthiness

This means that you need to focus on specificity when it comes to the value that you provide with both your content and your metadata. Businesses hoping to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to their SERPs will need to focus on optimizing EAT.

6. Technical SEO

As the demands of SEO continue to grow, it’s essential that you do not prioritise content over the technical elements on your SEO strategy. This means ensuring that your website:

●    Is fast to load

●    Makes greater use of JavaScript

●    Builds PWAs (Progressive web apps that are so convenient that users will want them on their phone screens and desktops for greater ease)

Maintain your technical elements of SEO as an extension of your content.

7.Voice Search

If you’re only just starting to look at voice searches for your SEO, then you are already falling behind. While the majority of people are not using voice search for 100% of their search queries, the number is steadily rising. Prioritising the transition to voice search optimization will mean that you are ahead of the curve, as this is one of the future SEO trends that will only continue to grow.

8. Machine Learning

While this is a trend that has been showing progressive but slow growth, it remains important that you keep up. With the use of RankBrain, Google have stated their intent when it comes to the need for machine learning in order to access the data your business needs to provide. Machine learning can only help you to provide the exact content that both users and searches engines are looking for. Basing your content on the data driven by machine learning analytics will continue to become more and more important.

9. Snippets

Featured snippets have been having a bigger and bigger impact on your CTRs, so it’s important that you start optimizing your web pages and content for featured snippets in order to continue to have a strong SERP. It is no longer just about appearing as position number one on a search engine query, but appearing in position zero. Lists and structured content are the key, but there are many additional methods for improving your chances of becoming a featured snippet.

10. Video will be essential for niches

When it comes to both instructional and how-to content, video will continue to grow in importance in both 2019 and beyond. For niche services in particular, video will be the main divider between those businesses that perform well on SERPs and those that fall behind. With video also being used for featured snippets, it is obvious that business of all kinds need to prioritize video content.

By refocusing your strategy with these SEO trends 2019 in mind, you will be entering 2020 in a much stronger position. Search engines do change their methods and reasons for prioritizing one website over another. It remains essential that you keep ahead of the trends that continue to be important this year, as well as the ones that are set to dominate the SEO demands of the future.