The most important SEO Trends in 2019

These are the SEO trends of 2019 - Search engine optimization is constantly changing. What worked well in 2018 cannot suddenly have a major effect in 2019. With the new year ahead, it is high time to take a look at the SEO Trends of 2019.

Important factors that remain - There are a number of ranking factors that in the year 2019 are still enormously important. All lasting trends and the new trends in 2019 amount to meeting users' demands as well as possible. The overall picture is becoming increasingly important. These days, a website must be technically well designed. But also contain in-depth content, are honest and user-friendly.

When we keep this in mind, it is only logical that the following factors will remain important in 2019.

EAT - EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust worthiness. Where we saw the trend emerge mainly in 2018 due to a change in the Google Quality Guidelines , this trend will continue in 2019. The better your website scores on EAT, the higher it will rank in Google. To be able to do this, it is important that you show Google how good and reliable the content is on your website and its creator. For example, show on blogs who wrote it. Whenever possible, use professional jargon and state the sources that you used to write a text. In addition, there are links that refer to yours from other websites still important. This way your website is assessed for quality and integrity.

Mobile First Index - In 2019 it will become even more important to increase the user experience. Mobile web pages are becoming even more important. The desktop version of a website is therefore becoming less and less important. Websites that have separate desktop and mobile versions of their website were obsolete in 2019. Do you still have this? Then make sure that the pages of the mobile version are identical to those of the desktop version. Yet it is better to opt for a responsive website design South Africa .

Loading speed - In 2018, the loading speed of a webpage was already an important ranking factor for Google. This will remain so in 2019. We already wrote that the loading speed on mobile devices is becoming increasingly important. Do you want to make sure that your webpage loads on mobile devices as quickly as possible? Then you can set up Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). Even with a slow internet connection, an AMP will load quickly.

'Whole Foods' content - As early as 2018 it turned out that Google wants to answer the search intention of a user as well as possible. Among other things, by showing the users relevant web pages in its search results. Then there is a good chance that users will find the answer to their question. More content is expected in 2019 will be made than what is needed. Should that happen, then Google becomes even more selective when ranking web pages in its search results. Longer, in-depth articles, also known as 'Whole Foods content', will be given even more priority by Google. Smooth, lighter articles, also known as 'Snackable content', will be appreciated by Google. Occasionally 'snacking' remains delicious of course. Yet Whole Foods articles will really be needed to get a better appreciation for your website from Google.

The rise of Whole Foods content is already in full development. Do you want to participate in this trend? Then it is smart to anticipate this now by writing and publishing extensive, in-depth articles. There is a good chance that you will have to adjust your content strategy for this. Yet this is definitely worth it.

The SEO trends that we can expect in 2019

In addition to the aforementioned remaining factors, we can of course also expect new trends in 2019. We never know 100% for sure what the future holds. But various SEO Cape Town experts agree that we can certainly expect the following developments in 2019.

Google is answering more and more searches itself

It used to be that when you, as an SEO specialist, adhered to the 'game rules' of Google, you were placed in the top positions of the search results in return. If you were at the top, chances were that many users would click on your webpage. In 2019 this is no longer self-evident. In the meantime, Google 'plays the game differently'. Google is trying to keep users more and more on their own website. They do this by answering their questions as well as possible in the Google search results. And why would you still click on a webpage? The number of visitors that end up on your website via Google can therefore become considerably less.

How does Google respond to searches itself?

Google answers users' questions as well as possible by using featured snippets , among other things . A featured snippet is a white box that is above the search results in Google. In such a featured snippet is the answer that according to Google answers the search intention of the user as well as possible. Google can give this answer itself or take it from a website.

Google understands the search intentions of users better and better. This also allows Google to better assess which website best answers its users' questions. This website puts Google in the featured snippet.

Not many companies make use of the option to end up in a featured snippet. See this as an opportunity and already optimize your content to ensure that your website appears in 1 or more featured snippets.

How do you get a featured snippet in Google?

The algorithm that determines a featured snippet is different from the algorithm that Google uses to rank web pages in its search results. Thus it is possible that you will see a featured snippet of a web page on the 6 E 's ranking state and not the page number 1 status.

Answer a question that starts with 'how' or 'what'

All questions that start with 'how' or 'what' are good triggers for a featured snippet. Put such a question literally on your webpage and put the answer directly below it. Make sure the answer is concise, clear and as specific as possible.

Provide a clear structure - You probably think it's a good idea to answer as many questions as possible on your website now. However, in that case you will miss your goal. Only answer questions within your niche. This makes you an authority within your niche. To show Google that your web pages should be in featured snippets, it is important to provide 'structured data'. Structured data means that you specify the data elements on your website in a structured way. You can do this by adding microdata to the source code of each webpage.

Voice search - Almost all SEO experts agree: voice search is probably one of the most important SEO trends in 2019. This expectation mainly comes from the arrival of the English version of Google's assistant a few months ago. To optimize your content for this, it is important that your content contains frequently asked questions and that these questions are answered clearly. It helps enormously to adopt an informal writing style for this. It is also wise to incorporate long tail keywords and place names into your web texts.

Search terms become less relevant - The importance of search terms will decrease in 2019. That is because Google is increasingly looking at the context of content. Web pages with small search term variations will even be completely out of the question in 2019. Think of web pages that are on the same website and are more or less the same in content. The only difference is the use of keywords.

Think, for example, of Local SEO Agency who creates 3 pages on his website. On each page he focuses on 1 of these 3 search terms:

Local SEO Agency

Agency Local SEO

SEO Local Agency

Anno 2019 the SEO can better create 1 webpage in which all 3 search terms occur.

Images become more important - After various experiments, Google has discovered that it is very important to display images next to the search results. By doing this, visitors turn out to be able to understand faster which search results are offered by Google. Images improve the user experience. This makes it even more important in 2019 to optimize your images for the search engine . Provide all images on your website with good alt texts and with a correct caption. Also make sure that the search term is included in the file name, alt text and the caption of the image.

Videos are on the rise - For a number of years, users have been choosing more and more videos and images over text. The popularity of videos will only increase in 2019. In 2019, videos are not so much for entertainment anymore. They are becoming a popular means of transferring information. People prefer to watch a video of a few minutes, rather than having to read a long piece of text. In 2019 it is therefore a good idea to invest in videos as an online marketer and to optimize those same videos search engine friendly .

Visibility on other websites and in other search engines is becoming more important

For years, companies have wanted to score high in Google search results. But in 2019 it will become increasingly important for companies in certain sectors to be visible on other websites as well. Think for example of websites such as Searchenginejournal.com, Searchengineland.com and Searchenginewatch.com.

For some companies, good visibility on such an authoritarian website may even be more important than a top position in Google.

In addition, other search engines may become increasingly important in the Cape Town in 2019. Because people increasingly have doubts about how Google handles their personal data. And because people are becoming increasingly aware of their online privacy. That means there is a good chance that Duckduckgo will grow enormously. This is a search engine on which people can search completely anonymously. That is something that more and more people seem to need.

Amazon also seems to be becoming increasingly popular in the Cape Town. These developments make it a good idea to delve into how you can optimize your website not only for Google. But also for Amazon and Duckduckgo.

Conclusion: In 2019 it becomes even more important that you become a reliable source of information within your niche. You want to answer users' search intentions as well as possible. This makes you score higher in Google's results. But there is also a good chance that Google will put your content in 1 or more featured snippets. In 2019, shortail search terms are even a thing of the past. So you prefer to focus on creating good content than on processing as many search terms as possible. Don't always pass on information via long pieces of text, but also use videos for this.

In addition, it is important to keep a close eye on the advance of search engines such as Amazon and Duckduckgo. You can adjust your SEO strategy accordingly.

Do you need help with something or would you like more information about the SEO Trends that we can expect in 2019? Request an introductory meeting with the GiddyUp experts without obligation.