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What is SEO?
The global reliance on the digital platform for search seems never-ending. When the greatest technological blessing is at your disposal, it makes sense. Google remains the most dominant platform for activities pertaining to searches.As more and more people are familiarizing themselves with digital platforms, more individuals and organizations are offering their services for distributing information or buying products and services. But the goal is usually set on bringing the ranking of one’s site to the premier level. This entails that the sites on the top rankings carry the potential to usurp more traffic.
The observation, understanding, and application of information that helps improve rankings of a website are called SEO. There are several criteria to bring one’s site up in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Google has its personal algorithm that promotes or demotes websites according to the parameters Google has established. These algorithms are updated frequently, which makes SEO one of the most herculean tasks to perform.
Therefore it is commonplace to see your website on second ranking today and in a few days disappear from the first page of SERP. Also, vice versa; sites on the 6th page of the SERP can expropriate the first ranking on the first page.
So, if you want your page to perpetually occupy the topmost spaces in the Search Engine Results Page, be ever vigilant!
SEO trends to be looking forward in 2019
Just like every year, new additions are always added to the Google SEO algorithm to minimize the possibilities of bringing content to the users that might not be directly related to the searched keywords. These are the top SEO trends people need to look out in 2019.Age of Voice Searches
Many predict that with the current rise in voice searches, by 2020, roughly 50% of the search results will result from that. Time might not be very far when to know the temperature of the local city, people will start with ‘OK Google’.
The usage of Voice Searches is swiftly diminishing the traditional way of research. According to the data shared by BrightLocal Study, 58% of customers have utilized the benefits of voice research to gather business information in 2017. The study also further asserts that 46% of the voice searchers, continually look for a local business, 27% people visit the required websites after conducting the search by voice, 76% of the smart home speaker users carry out local searches once a week, at least in which 53% perform voices searches every day! In 2016, a study by Global Web Index claimed that 1 in 5 adults uses voice searches at least once a month.
As clearly demonstrated from the above examples, voice search is here to stay. The increase in SEO is one of the biggest changes yet in SEO. This change will require a fresh strategy if one has to dominate the first rankings in the Search results.
There are a few pointers one can use to improve their Voice Search Optimization.
HTTPS
Almost 65% of the websites that make its way into results of voice searches are HTTPS compatible. HTTPS compatibility is a titanic factor in bringing up resourceful sites in SERP and also in Voice Search Results.Authoritative Websites
It’s likely that you won’t become the next Huffington Post or Economic times by the end of the week. But don’t let that deter you from working on further because a highly authoritative website might show before pages with lower domain authority. Even if you do not reach the level of authority that Forbes and Business Insider has accomplished, you can still have a high domain authority and page authority within your niche. That can be achieved gradually by creating better content, having links shared with others, building links and having a website with good user experience. Better marketing skills will be of pivotal value here as you need to make an outreach attempt for others to link their materials to your page.
Adequate Speed
As stated by Brian Dean (one of the most sought after SEO Gurus and the proprietor of backlinko.com) for a website to be displayed in the Voice activated searches, they have to be fast. He recommends a speed that is not over 4.6 seconds. Better than 4.6 seconds will have better results. To know your optimum page speed, you can always check it on Google page speed insights and make the improvements that will make your website load faster.Mobile Friendliness
Make sure your website is mobile friendly. Most of the voice searches will require the use of a phone. So, the website’s mobile friendliness is another factor for your site to come in SERP for voice. You can use Google’s Mobile friendly test to determine that and later make changes according to the results.Google My Business Listing
Chances are that the majority of the searches will be for local businesses. For example; finding a local bakery or the most rated flower bouquet store or even the nearest church. If you wish for your business to show up in the local searches, use the Google My Business Listing. You can provide your address and necessary contact details so it would be more convenient for the business to show up in local searches.
Noteworthy Content
Often, with the promptitude for arrogating the places for the first three rankings, websites often are filled with information disgorged from other websites. People might just go on different websites, collect and amalgamate the information from them all and then pour it over their page.Mainly if you are coming from a domain of relatively low authority, this might not work at all and in a few cases can even backfire on you. Google’s alacrity to give a fresh and the best content keeps an eye out for such websites. If your website is providing the same old content already present on other websites, there could be penalties added to your page pertaining to that keyword.
Penalties usually mean that the website would lose its ranking on that keyword and will keep on falling below in the SERP. The existence of that page becomes pointless since no one will be able to find it in the search results.
Google is always looking for people to provide missing information. To rank in SEO in 2019, you have to make sure to fill up the information gap. For example; With listing the top 10 oncologists in Seattle, WA, most of the websites might just include the name of the specialist and the hospital where he or she practices their profession.
However, a website that might even allow the total experience of the doctor and the consultation fee might be ranked before the website that only displays the address of the hospital and the name of the cancer specialist. So, focusing and providing missing content will greatly help the page get a better rank.
Glue your audience
Another important indicator of a site being ranked well is the measurement of average time spent on the page. A Higher bounce rate will indicate that people aren’t sticking to your page and consequently, the conclusion might be that your page doesn’t provide the necessary information.
There could be one of the possible innumerable reasons for such an event. Another reason could be a heading that has no relevance to the content. So, people who are flocking to the webpage might come for a different intent. So, once they realize that the content differs from what they are actually looking for, they will immediately hop back from that page. This will create a false impression about the page and the ranking will keep falling.
So it is imperative to ensure that the title of the content applies to the content itself.
Also, it has been noticed that the addition of ‘bucket brigades’ which are words or phrases instrumental in the gluing process.
Wanna know more about it?
The “wanna know more about it” is an example of a bucket brigade. These are terms when the user is about to bounce back from the website, suddenly he comes across a phrase that amplifies his or her curiosity. This keeps the user engaged in the content more than he goes into the next paragraph and this gives you a lower bounce rate and ergo, a higher grading on the SERP.
Influencer Marketing
When you are starting out fresh in the competitive world of SEO in 2019, it’s best if someone else testifies of your content. This can be achieved with the help of string marketing skills where you can approach an already established website or page to vouch for you by linking your website to their page, increasing your domain and page authority in return. This will significantly improve your ratings on the search results.Since the majority of these influencers spent most of their time on social media, mainly Instagram or even LinkedIn, it is easy to approach them and ask their help in linking your page to theirs.
Use of Social Media
Once you have a website that has great content, appealing design and is user-friendly when opened on a phone, then the traffic will ameliorate compared to the past. When you’ve gained a momentous amount of traffic, the next step is to link the website with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This will lead to an increase in followers and will drive the target audience to reach your website faster and generate even more traffic.As more and more people engage in your content, your social media following increases and therefore, according to this feedback, your search ranking increases with it.
Dependency on AI
AI, undoubtedly, will be the next big thing in SEO. It might not give out quick solutions to everything but it will benefit our lives that is for certain.
AI or Artificial Intelligence has been used for a long time now and the same determines even the algorithm used to determine the best fit websites for a particular combination of keywords. AI allows machines to somewhat think like a human being and attempts to solve a situation by repeated simulations and learning.
There was a time when a phrase or keyword was searched on Google and it would give out web results related to the same, but now as the tech companies are also exploring deep learning, they’re able to create images and even videos that have been there on very rare occasions.
AI on keywords
Here you need to convince the AI that your content is good enough for the keywords that are being searched. For that, you need to make sure that throughout your content, your content will benefit the user.AI on Visual Information
Videos and graphics make it easier to comprehend many things on SERP. For example, it’s easier to learn how to make a Lasagna from scratch on YouTube than just read about it on a website. So, to give better rankings in 2019, its exigent to optimize images and videos. Visual artists now are entrenched with a responsibility to ensure that the images and videos to show up in search results.AI on the links present in the content
Going in 2019, you have to be very selective with the links. Often people would simply put links of low authority websites or websites that do not have the best relevant information dealing with that content. This when brought into the notice of Google, those pages can lose their ranking drastically as a penalty.AI on Analytics
Businesses can use analytics to see how well they are performing. The analytics display helps them build their content and strategies in a more effective way to gather more traffic. They realize what their users are looking for and hence build their content around the more trending keywords. This directly correlates to the ROI and increased sales of the products or services.
AI on Customer ease
Use of chatbots is revolutionizing the customer experience. A Chatbot is active 24/7 and doesn’t tire of answering questions. It aims to act like a human and keeping the customer engaged on your site by solving the issues or giving solutions to the customer. This helps the customer develop a personal relationship with the brand and builds trust.AI on keyword Stuffing
Stuffing keywords in an aberrant fashion to increase keyword density might not be that easy today. As AI gets more simulations on how to catch these black hat SEO techniques, those websites who still follow a similar trend might lose their rankings completely.Conclusion
These trends based on AI applications and voice searches will be the new dawn of SEO techniques that envision problem-solving of people with the list of best solutions.
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