Ultimate SEO Trends for 2019
Here is my subjective view on top SEO trends in 2019.
1. SEO is harder, but not dead
Every year SEO is becoming more competitive.
You need more backlinks, more content, more outreach and so on.
It’s because “marketers ruin everything” 🙂
But, SEO is not dead yet.
Top world class brands (HubSpot, Intercom, Buffer, etc) – rely massively on SEO and many bloggers still make 6 figures, thanks to SEO.
It’s just much harder.
2. Video keywords
Google is pushing a lot into video and video keywords.
Youtube SEO is booming right now.
A lot of traffic coming to Youtube videos is either from Youtube search or Google search.
So, create more video, include video into your blogs – they will rank higher.
3. Mobile first indexing
Not only more than 50% of an audience comes to my sites from mobile, Google also gives priority to mobile indexing, instead of a desktop.
Seems like a small something, but in reality, this is a huge shift.
IMHO, it’s a start of an end for desktop search.
4. Image search growing
Another trend I noticed, is that there is much more traffic from Google Images search.
Visual content in any form is becoming more powerful.
With the growth of Instagram and Pinterest, for sure Google is trying to find an alternative.
5. Voice search is not there (yet)
There is a lot of “hype” around voice search, similar as it was to mobile SEO a decade ago.
But it’s not there, yet.
Maybe, right now is the time to actively prepare for Voice search.
6. Google is stealing traffic – optimize
Featured snippets and in-search results are everywhere now.
Google displays all kind of information, without a need to visit a particular website.
That’s why there is a huge discrepancy between a number of search queries and an estimated number of clicks.
Therefore, whenever Google releases new “story” or ‘featured snippet” – optimize your site for it.
7. Invest in Tech SEO
Figure out, how to improve your site speed, structure, accessibility.
Seems, it’s becoming a huge ranking factor, much more than before.
Take a look at AMP – Amplified Mobile Pages. Google clearly gives an advantage to them in search results.
8. Social media signals
Shares, likes on main social media sites help to rank content, even without backlinks.
Some of my posts went up to the first page of Google, without a single backlink – just because of thousands of Pinterest shares.
9. Link building becomes MEGA-expensive
Link building – one of the hardest things in SEO.
And for high competitive keywords to rank on the first page, you need more and more backlinks now.
Average link building agency in US or UK can easily charge you $1000+ (at least) for 3-4 “high quality” referring domains.
Here are some ways to build links in a cheaper way.
10. Guest posts are devalued
Google can easily identify if your link is coming from a guest post.
And these types of links are valued less in Google’s eyes.
Try to focus on other high-quality ways of link building.
See below 👇
11. Influencers
Which brings us to the next point – Influencer Outreach and SEO marketing continue to grow fast.
Focus on establishing long-lasting connections with main influencers in your niche.
12. Brand matters more than ever
Google ranking signals tell that branding will matter a lot in 2019.
It’s very easy to test – if your brand searches grow in Google – you will see a massive traffic boost to all other content.
Always think of your blog/site/business as a brand, even if it has 1000 visitors per month.
13. Exceptional content
It’s really hard to impress someone with content these days.
Those 5000-word blogs don’t work that well anymore. 😞
But, if you create something fresh or really amazing – it will collect traffic and backlinks.
Check out this Animated Infographic.
So, experiment, test and produce really outstanding content – it’s worth it.
14. Visual Content
More visually appealing posts rank better.
Add infographics, illustrations – all kind of visual – to your blogs.
Also, short video overviews also work well.
Visual content increases session time on page, which is becoming super important ranking factor in Google.
15. Super Niche or Non-English SEO – easier way
Create a site in some super niche area with very specific long-tailored keywords.
Or run your blog in another language – Spanish, French, German, etc.
This is MUCH easier and MUCH cheaper.
TIP: this also works for Youtube.
Further reading
47 Experts on SEO trends in 2019
Back to you
What else do you think will bring SEO news in 2019?
