{"id":120501,"date":"2019-03-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=120501"},"modified":"2020-02-05T18:30:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:30:54","slug":"quick-guide-seo-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/07\/quick-guide-seo-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"A quick guide to SEO in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Nothing forces you to keep a close eye on Google updates quite like having a wide variety of <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/09\/25\/qa-with-mozs-sarah-bird-and-rob-bucci\/\">SEO<\/a> projects and clients.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With clients in almost every industry, I\u2019m forced to check early and often when changes appear in search to see how they\u2019re playing out differently based on the industry (and even the search intent within each industry).<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, I have to think ahead.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, most of the big changes came from Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/01\/08\/google-search-algorithm-updates-of-2018-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">search ranking algorithm<\/a> updates, its growing emphasis on structured data, and tweaks in the Google <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/04\/05\/google-search-console-guide\/\">search console<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s also a shift in focus from what sites owners wanted to what users need.<\/p>\n<p>The rollout of mobile-first <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/optimize-instagram-account-search-engines\">indexing<\/a> demonstrates Google\u2019s response to the impact of technology on human behavior.<\/p>\n<p>As people spend more time with their mobile devices, it\u2019s only natural to pay more attention to <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/09\/11\/landing-page-copy-tips\/\">content<\/a> that\u2019s optimized to be dynamic and mobile-friendly.<\/p>\n<p>Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/data-types\/speakable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">speakable markup<\/a> typifies both the company\u2019s plans for search and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2018\/02\/01\/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-ai-is-more-important-than-fire-electricity.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AI-is-the-future mantra<\/a>. The growing popularity of <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/01\/11\/voice-search-optimization-guide-2019\/\">voice assistants<\/a> and their newfound place in smart homes have certainly guided advances in how search engines operate.<\/p>\n<p>However, as somebody who drives rankings for a wide variety of clients and personal projects, I\u2019m still holding my breath as to whether voice search can drive any meaningful business metrics.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/sewprod.wpenginepowered.com\/2019\/07\/12\/how-to-get-featured-snippets-no-link-building\/\">content<\/a> optimization will continue to matter. From structured data to on-page optimization, competition for ranking advantage may come down to which sites can meet Google updates standards.<\/p>\n<p>For the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/optimize-instagram-account-search-engines\">SEO<\/a> community, 2019 requires a better understanding of how people engage online in order to create meaningful <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/09\/04\/improve-seo-using-data-science\/\">content<\/a> that positively impacts user experience and a site\u2019s search engine visibility.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/12\/social-media-how-does-it-affect-seo\/\">SEOs<\/a> will need to double-down in understanding four key areas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mobile<\/li>\n<li>Structured data<\/li>\n<li>Relevance<\/li>\n<li>Accessibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Mobile matters<\/h2>\n<p>According to Pew Research Center, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewinternet.org\/fact-sheet\/internet-broadband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one in five American adults<\/a> access the internet through their smartphone.<\/p>\n<p>In the latest report by We Are Social, mobile phones account for <a href=\"https:\/\/wearesocial.com\/au\/special-reports\/the-state-of-the-internet-in-q4-2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">50% of the web traffic share by device globally<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The growth of the mobile industry has not been overlooked by Google, who rolled out the mobile-first <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/optimize-instagram-account-search-engines\">indexing<\/a> in the first quarter of 2018, after over a year and a half of experimentation.<\/p>\n<p>This move shows that Google is increasingly using the mobile version of your page for its crawling, indexing, and ranking systems. While this update does not provide any ranking advantages per se, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/04\/16\/seo-writing-guide-from-keyword-to-content-brief\/\">SEO<\/a> in 2019 will certainly put greater emphasis on optimizing pages for mobile crawlers.<\/p>\n<p>Sites that offer two versions of their content will continue to see a negative impact on their <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/06\/17\/local-seo-guide\/\">SERP<\/a> (search engine results pages) performance if mobile renderings are amiss. For digital marketers, this means both <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/mobile-sites\/mobile-first-indexing#best-practices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mobile and desktop content should be equivalent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As mobile web pages become Google\u2019s primary search engine index, webmasters, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/20\/seven-reasons-why-your-rankings-dropped-and-how-to-fix-them\/\">SEO<\/a> specialists, and digital marketers must ensure websites are well-coded and mobile-responsive. Checking out how your page\u2019s content renders across various mobile devices is critical to identifying issues like speed and performance which could potentially affect your bounce rates.<\/p>\n<h2>Content optimization through structured data<\/h2>\n<p>The search engine results page, especially in terms of informational searches, is dominated by <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/30\/implement-googles-how-to-schema\/\">structured data<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/30\/implement-googles-how-to-schema\/\">schema<\/a>: snippets of information that help Google understand the content of your page rather than guess the data.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/guides\/intro-structured-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Structured data<\/a> provides Google contextual information that helps in classifying your page and which, when done right, enhances the appearance of your site in search.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/06\/10\/online-reviews-powerful-seo-weapons\/\">SEO<\/a> community will continue to explore how to further optimize this feature, which is valuable for e-commerce pages and business web pages especially as schema options grow. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rebeccagill.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebecca Gill of emagine<\/a>, using expert profiles and structured data can convey to Google who you are, what you\u2019re doing, and why your website should be on page one real estate.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some types of information that can be added through structured data:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Business name<\/li>\n<li>Contact details<\/li>\n<li>Aggregate rating<\/li>\n<li>Products and services<\/li>\n<li>Place or address<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While structured data enables your site to be featured in Google\u2019s knowledge graph, it\u2019s not a guarantee. Google is stringent and rightfully so on how structured data is implemented.<\/p>\n<p>Done right, it can do wonders to your SERP performance. But if the information provided is inaccurate, too broad, or badly formed, Google will identify your structured data as ineligible, which would negatively affect your rankings.<\/p>\n<h2>Research and relevance<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/05\/google-rankbrain-clearing-up-the-myths-and-misconceptions\/120782\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RankBrain, Google\u2019s machine-learning AI system<\/a> introduced in 2015 reflects the evolution of how people look for content online.<\/p>\n<p>Despite very little information from Google about how it works, we know that the technology is an important ranking signal, and it\u2019s unique in its capacity to understand if users are satisfied with their search query results. This means that <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/06\/17\/local-seo-guide\/\">SEO<\/a> in 2019 will continue to have a stronger emphasis on watching search intent.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-120500 size-full\" style=\"width: 634px; position: relative; margin: 5px auto; display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top;\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/asg_XJJsNgAcfxcLK5GD2Fart_zobUeoWtbOEwH3gE2F1550511688075-seolevelsofawareness.png\" alt=\"Structure of research and relevance in search\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/asg_XJJsNgAcfxcLK5GD2Fart_zobUeoWtbOEwH3gE2F1550511688075-seolevelsofawareness.png 1920w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/asg_XJJsNgAcfxcLK5GD2Fart_zobUeoWtbOEwH3gE2F1550511688075-seolevelsofawareness-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/asg_XJJsNgAcfxcLK5GD2Fart_zobUeoWtbOEwH3gE2F1550511688075-seolevelsofawareness-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/asg_XJJsNgAcfxcLK5GD2Fart_zobUeoWtbOEwH3gE2F1550511688075-seolevelsofawareness-1024x576.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What do users want? Information, resources, or products? Mapping <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/optimize-instagram-account-search-engines\">keywords<\/a> based on a buyer\u2019s journey will be crucial this year.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/05\/google-rankbrain-clearing-up-the-myths-and-misconceptions\/120782\/\">RankBrain\u2019s<\/a> ability to process both single and <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/01\/11\/voice-search-optimization-guide-2019\/\">long-tail keywords<\/a> demands even more comprehensive <a href=\"https:\/\/sewprod.wpenginepowered.com\/2019\/07\/15\/keyword-research-tools-free\/\">keyword<\/a> research and expanded awareness about your consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses will have to look for all the topics relevant to their industry, understand the search intent around the various topics, and make sure that they match a site\u2019s content closely. Still, Google will continue to favor larger and more authoritative sites, so unless you\u2019re running a page comparable in breadth and depth as Wikipedia or Forbes, the focus should be on niche relevant keywords.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, consider updating site content. Since 2011\u2019s Google Freshness update, dated content continues to significantly impact rankings in the SERP. Updating old posts, including its publishing data, will tell Google that sites are providing fresh content, especially those that are linked to higher authority sites.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not about writing daily, weekly, or even monthly. It\u2019s about making sure that your best content is always relevant based on the most recent information.<\/p>\n<p>Last year saw links losing value and the trend will continue in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Relevance is the new \u201cauthority\u201d when it comes to links.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/competitive-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A competitor analysis audit<\/a> will be essential to determining just how many links, and what links, will work for your industry or niche.<\/p>\n<h2>Content and accessibility<\/h2>\n<p>If Google\u2019s priority is user experience, then on-page optimization efforts are non-negotiable.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen how keyword density is no longer as impactful as before, especially with structured data playing a bigger role in search. Content and writing style will also be influenced by semantic search with Google\u2019s efforts to identify the contextual meaning of the query.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, expect content with more images, videos, and even music embed. Google looks at user satisfaction and rich media is one way to improve online engagement.<\/p>\n<p>But even if your content is well-written, accessibility to your site can impact how you rank in SERP.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs of the 2010 census, one in five Americans have a disability, and one in ten people have a disability that directly impacts their computer use. That\u2019s 56.7 million people! This is a huge portion of our potential users, and we have an ethical duty to help all people who will use the technology we create.\u201d \u2013 Fen Slattery, Accessibility Lead at Clique Studios.<\/p>\n<p>Accessibility is about inclusion and when your website performs terribly for a group of people, it\u2019s unlikely that it will hold any sort of rankings for a significant period of time.<\/p>\n<h2>Ongoing changes<\/h2>\n<p>Change is the only thing certain in the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/31\/image-optimization-for-seo\/\">SEO<\/a> industry. Google\u2019s interest in AI technology is firmly anchored on how people look for information online, and the way they do so has changed over the years.<\/p>\n<p>2019 is likely to see even lower organic CTR than in 2018 as Google continues to offer more and more options to keep users in search.<\/p>\n<p>For the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/30\/implement-googles-how-to-schema\/\">SEO<\/a> industry, this means understanding how people think, and how people act. Digital marketers, website owners, and businesses need to be flexible, curious, and creative. They need to look for ways to gain trust and authority, two values that have not only remained important in an ever-changing <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/09\/13\/seo-team-management-expert-tips\/\">SEO<\/a> landscape but are now considered non-negotiable to getting on page one.<\/p>\n<div><em>Brendan is an <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/10\/07\/b2b-and-b2c-link-building-tactics\/\">SEO<\/a> Team Lead\u00a0at CliqueChicago. He can be found on Twitter\u00a0<span class=\"username u-dir\" dir=\"ltr\"><a class=\"ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrendanHufford\">@BrendanHufford<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year, SEOs will need to double-down in understanding four key areas: mobile, structured data, relevance, and accessibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":121253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[27310,105,1148,75,37,342,38,101,1433,22,27305,579,109,277],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-120501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo","tag-accessability","tag-algorithm","tag-competitor-analysis","tag-content-2","tag-google","tag-google-algorithm-updates","tag-mobile","tag-rankbrain","tag-relevance","tag-seo","tag-seo-in-2019","tag-seo-trends","tag-serp","tag-structured-data"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/A-quick-guide-to-SEO-in-2019-120x90.jpg","category":"SEO","timeago":"7y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120501"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=120501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}