Since SEO standards are so prone to rapid and radical changes, we’ve reached a point where it’s no longer enough just to keep up with current trends. You now need to stay ahead of the curve in order to remain ahead of the competition – this is something any SEO specialized website will advise.
While we can’t predict what surprises search engines could prepare for us in the coming months, we can still make some predictions according to the latest announcements and taking off trends.
That’s exactly what we’re going to do today as we take a look at the 6 SEO trends set to make waves in 2019.
- User experience will continue to rule the SEO
Back in 2015, Google stated that an AI algorithm called RankBrain will be the third most important ranking factor. A constantly evolving AI, RankBrain pays special attention to user experience signals such as:
- Organic Click-Through-Rate
- Dwell Time
- Bounce Rate
- Pogo-sticking
Any SEO expert worth his salt will need to make sure all of these user experience parameters are in fine shape if they wish to rank anything high on Google.
- Mobile-first will be the norm going forward
There are plethora of stats floating around that indicates Google is about to be taken over by voice searches in the following few years.
This is precisely why Google prepared its mobile-first index, an algorithm that determines rankings depending on how well a website fairs on mobile devices. This obviously means that any SEO strategy failing to implement mobile-friendly solutions will likely be staring at the back of its more up-to-date competitors.
- Voice search will take over as the primary means of using Google
While many saw it as a passing fad half a decade ago, voice searching is slowly taking over the reigns from typing as a primary means of communicating with search engines.
Pushing the scales only further in voice search favor is the fact this method of inquiring will certainly continue to become more intelligent, responsive, and accurate down the line.
Any SEO expert hoping to hold onto his job in 2019 will have to start optimising websites according to voice searches as going forward without doing so could have dire consequences for a website.
- Featured snippets will continue to be the promised land in 2019
Whenever you type in a popular keyword, chances are you’ll see a featured snippet such as a knowledge graph or concise explanation answering your question. Whenever you manage to establish your website as a source of a featured snippet, you basically make sure that about 9 out of 10 searchers end up on your page.
We do not see the trend of fighting for featured snippets changing in 2019. In fact, since Google is more than satisfied with how the feature performed in recent years, we expect to see an uptick in how much resources SEO specialists pour into trying to reach the coveted snipped privilege.
- Quality on-page content optimisation and technical SEO will remain a must
While talking about up-and-coming trends is undeniably more exciting and attractive, we should not make the mistake of forgetting basic on-page and technical SEO.
Even if your website is well optimised in terms of voice search and responsive design, if you have technical issues such as bad page load speed, duplicate content, or missing title and description meta tags, there’s no way the page will rank high on any search engine.
- Expect videos to play a major role in SEO going forward
In a few years time, 80% of the internet traffic is predicted to be spent on videos. If this turns out to be even remotely true, this form of content should definitely be on SEO’s radar going forward.
After all, since Google favors websites that have low bounce rates and high user retentions, having an embedded video keeping visitors animated is a great way of showing Google that your website is worth pushing through the ranks. This is something SEO experts will certainly experiment with in 2019.
Predicting Future Trends Does No Good If You Don’t Know What’s Currently Taking Place
As you can see, in 2019, search engines are poised to be much more intelligent, which means it will be more difficult to promote your site. Starting to slowly prepare for what’s about to come is probably the best course of action you can take – and covering what we listed above is a great start in the right direction.
However, if you’re going to get the most out of your SEO strategy, you’re going to have to align future trends with the current ones. After all, a lot of what’s currently taking place will still apply in 2019, so you’ll need to take that into account as well.
The following infographic will help you identify a total of 72 trends that are shaping the SEO industry right now. If you’re able to meet a vast majority of them while also preparing your website for the six trends mentioned above, there’s no reason why you should not expect to see success from your SEO tactics in 2019.
