The top 3 SEO trends in 2019
Google is always striving to be the best at providing relevant web resources to internet users. In its efforts to increase user satisfaction, Google is continuously incorporating new searching and ranking techniques. In addition to search engines’ evolution, user behaviour also dictates the effectiveness of SEO marketing. Here are some of the trends that are not necessarily new, but will continue to take root and strengthen in 2019.
Mobile first indexing
Mobile first indexing was first introduced in March 2018. Google is in favour of mobile sites and mobile searches, which is evident in this move to prioritise indexing of mobile pages over desktop web pages. Considering that over 60% of all Google searches in 2019 will be done on mobile devices, this is a smart strategy to improve mobile searches and promote mobile websites.
To stay ahead of the game in mobile first indexing means investing in a quality website optimised for mobile use. Adaptive or mobile sites will continue to get better SERP rankings compared to their desktop counterparts.
Voice searches
Smart voice-enabled devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Home and Apple’s HomePod are flying off the shelves. A surprisingly large number of internet users are conducting local searches via these devices, and the trend is growing at a stunning rate. According to Voice Search Stats 2019, half of all online searches will use voice by 2020. Google Home is expected to take at least 30% of voice users by then.
It is high time to optimise your content marketing strategy to accommodate voice searches. Your keyword optimisation needs to include phrases and questions that could be used in a spoken query. Ensure that you have the relevant answers for the where, how and what questions that lead back to your brand to increase your conversion rate.
Amazon search
Amazon’s influence on the e-commerce space has grown to great lengths over the past few years. Although Amazon’s search only crawls Amazon’s internal web pages, it has become an e-commerce ‘Google’ of some sort. According to a recent study, about 56% of visitors on Amazon have shopping intent. Another 51% of shoppers will check with Amazon after finding a product elsewhere online or locally.
If your business is product based – music, film, electronics, furniture and so on, your presence on Amazon might just create your brand’s credibility and expose your products to its 56% of potential buyers. Besides that, Amazon’s products results on Google searches are incredibly predominant on the first page.
To stay afloat in the highly competitive online marketing space, you must keep in touch with the changing SEO trends to optimise your marketing and conversion strategies. Contact Epic New Media for more information about online marketing in 2019, and find out what’s best for your business.