#the only time the author’s intention matters is if 1) you’re doing contextual research

[ghostdrinkssoup]

“why is the author acting like they know so much” is the funniest way to respond to death of the author. it’s like looking at god and being like 🤨🤨 why are you talking about creationism and the cosmos like that… who even are you… she doesn’t even go here…

[kendrixtermina]

Since you seem to enjoy analyzing stories I was wondering if you have any advice on what to do when your mind narrows in on critical aspects? I usually really enjoy analyzing media but recently I found that my mind tends to hyper-focus on aspects that I don't like even when I'm actively trying to ignore it and focus on what I do like. So I was just curious if you have tips for dealing with it and/or getting out of this mindset. Thanks and I apologize if this isn't the right blog for this!

Ugh. This is a big question and I’m not sure I’m qualified or immune to complaining. But I consider myself honored, I’ll try my best to answer it. 

There’s three things you can do here

a) Try to find out where it’s coming from. 

Cross-examine yourself active listening wise. Your reactions can generally come from two places: What you’re actually looking at, or yourself. 

Is everything annoying you as of late because you are angry? Are you having a bad week because of something in your private life? Are you sensitive because some larger tendency in RL/society is pissing you off? Is it even anger? What are you feeling and why? Does it really have anything to do with this movie etc?

Or is it something about the work itself? Does it remind you of something that happened to you? Does your displeasure come from a value that is important to you or a pattern that you believe to be a bad influence on society. 

Really try to put into words what it is that makes you feel this way while keeping in mind that your feelings, your reaction to the work and the work itself are separate entities. 

I’d remain open to the possibility that you have a legitimate gripe here. If you personally can’t enjoy a work either because a subjective factor or an objective flaw that’s a dealbreaker for you, you shouldn’t force yourself to like it because your friends do or because it didn’t do anything “unforgiveable”. Deciding that it’s not your cup of tea needn’t be a moral judgement on everyone who made the work or everyone who likes it. 

On the other hand you might find it easier to enjoy it if you acknowledge the flaw and put it into definite words, tell your inner critic that you heard them and then continue. If you try not to think about something you automatically end up thinking about it. 

b) Keep in mind that there are many valid stories and that all of them are worth telling

A lot happens on this green earth. Consider the following cases:

A1: A small, lithe person is mistreated by a big strong one

A2: A small, lithe person mistreats a big strong one and pretends to be the victim appealing to their small ness

B1: An eccentric kid is labeled as disordered just for being eccentric and because the teachers don’t want to deal with her 

B2: A serious-minded kid has an actual anxiety disorder and experiences stigma because of it and people not understanding that it’s real and debilitating

C1: There is a socially awkward, nerdy character. She is eventually revealed as autistic and her friends accept her just as she is. 

C2: There is a socially awkward, nerdy character. She comes out as aroace and all her friends support her. It is emphasized that she is actually as affectionate as everyone else and preconceptions to the contrary were just bigoted misunderstandings. 

C3: There is a socially awkward, nerdy character.  She finds a significant other who loves her even though she is socially awkward, and her love leads her to discover more communicative passionate sides to her personality. 

Clearly, for each of these scenarios, there are going to be people who relate to some but not to others. If you’ve got an anxiety disorder you’re going to relate to the story with the anxiety disorder, and if you were mis-labeled by incompetent teachers you’re gonna relate to that. But both actually happen in real life. B1 is me B2 is one of my sisters. You might even say they’re caused by some of the same intolerant attitudes. 

So ask yourself:  Is any of these intended as a “fuck you” to the people who would rather have the other ones? If in one particular story the character was mistakenly labeled by incompetent teachers and never had a real disorder, it it saying that no one has real disorders? If the small and lithe character turns out to be the victim, does it mean that big and strong characters are never victims? No of course not. 

 - You can criticize it if the story outright makes such statements and it is vital to do so (see next paragraph), but if the point in the story is just that this particular character was wrongly labeled, or this particular small character was the victim, then it’s simply telling a different story, not at all making a point about whether real disorders or big strong victims exist. 

What’s cathartic or empowering or meaningful to people is as different as people themselves. There’s a good chance that there won’t be an exact match between you or any given authors. 

Often the problem is not the stories that are there, but the ones that are missing. It’s not per se bad to have “girl gets rescued by prince” stories, it’s only bad if they’re the ONLY stories. The solution is more stories. 

Obviously there are exceptions to that like stuff that outright includes negative stereotypes or unquestioned bad behavior treated as good, 

c) Focus on constructivity and context instead of loaded labels

The above was more about perceived flaws this one is about real indisputable flaws. Flaws that are important to point out.

The number one goal here, if you really care about stopping harm and not anyones egos,  should be to get people to stop doing it. 

Sometimes in extreme cases making someone out to be a bad person and warning of them is exactly how you stop harm, but often time its not and getting obsessed with “punishing bad people” while losing sight of “preventing harm” does zero to help the people actually being harmed. Or worse than zero, if you associate a worthy cause with frivolous squabbles. 

Some people just don’t care and will never change their ways but you won’t ever convince those. You need to convince everyone else. All the ones who are maybe just ignorant and didn’t know better, or never had to form an opinion about this. Even if the maker themselves won’t change opinion, you can sway those. 

Imagine a bigoted religious person. how are you more likely to convince them? Get them to stop being religious, which is probably a part of their identity? Or try and argue that equality is, in fact, compatible with their religion? If you step on people’s egoes they will be attacked and block/dismiss all you have to say. Not only will they not change, they’ll dig in their heels. In the worst case, they’ll now start thinking that your Reasonable Position is incompatible with their identity. 

Again some people are determined to have their egoes stepped on and will be insulted no matter what, but those are not the target. 

This isn’t about appeasing assholes, it’s about creating change, because that will stop harm. So instead of throwing negatively changed emotional labels at people (which activates the ego and the emotions) try talking about cause and effect and consequences, to talk to their reason. Explain how the consequences happen. 

For similar reasons, try to think of solutions. You don’t want to destroy the work, you want to make it a better work that more people can enjoy without being distracted by unnecessary flaws. 

Avoid: 

“X is a [negative label] who [buzzword] a [sympathy-drawing label]!!! Why are [entire social group that contains people you want to convince] like this?!”

Instead:

“I know that this was probably supposed to express [intention], but it comes off like [unfortunate implication] and given [harmful social tendency] it might have been better to do [alternate redendition] “

Example #1: “The intention in scenes like in the original Blade Runner, several James Bond Movies or in the Original Star Wards trilogy where the original male characters was probably that these protagonists being suave guys know that the girls really want them to screw/kiss them. The authors know this because they created the characters, but IRL you cannot actually read anyone’s mind and what often happens IRL is that person A proceeds without really making sure that the other person is comfortable, and then they freeze up in fear though they don’t want to have intercourse, and ends up horribly traumatized. There’s not enough general knowledge about the “freeze” part of “fight-flight or freeze”, or good consent education and it would be irresponsible to make this worse. 

All it would literally take to fix it is to have the girls explicitly show that they want to kiss/have sex.”

Example #2: “A lot of horror fiction slaps the names of real diagnosable conditions on what are basically violent monster villains. It’s only natural to wonder what’s going on in the minds of killers and monsters and try to want to contextualize this, but it is vital to keep in mind that there is currently a lot of stigma against people with mental ilnesses, and that depictions like this can make it worse and make it hard for actual real-life people to get jobs and housing. 

If you’re going to use the names of real-life diagnosable conditions you should be committed to researching them and writing the characters realistically while being mindful of the stigma and the social impact that wrong renditions would have and not make a freakshow out of it. 

Alternatively, if you just want to do an unrealistic horror movie killer, don’t use the names of real conditions that real people have.”

d) Refresh Button. 

Especially because you’re saying that this isn’t your default mode and that it feels like some recent thing that you don’t really want. 

- take a break, busy your mind with something else, give the subconscious time toprocess and old perceptions time to settle. Then come back to it. 

- Try sort of looking at it from a new perspective, to deconstruct it from the bottom. What dothing really mean? What are we really told about the characters and events? Try processing it all new from the ground up without “common widom” 

- Things that aren’t explained on screen aren’t necessarily plot holes. There’s a difference between a contradiction, something that can’t fit together, and something that can fit together you just don’t know how. Deduce. Speculate. This is where your logic and imagination come in. 

- Maybe watch a new person react to it for all new input like a reaction vid on youtube

e) Outside Data. 

Same as above - People are basically really sophisticated Boltzmann machines/ statistical learning algorithms. I#m the least to want to admit that but to a degree we’re all influenced by the Data we take in. 

If you’re surrounded by a lot of material and soucres that pick apart every little thing in media, it’s natural that it would arise as a thought. 

If you don’t really want that in your life, filter it out. 

I hope this was of some sort of use. But I stress again that I’m no kind of authority on any such things and that many others might pick this apart as blasphemy. 

[gloriasousaus]

Smart Cities and the potential Misuse of Data

Context

During the seven weeks of the Pre-College Summer Intensive English Program at The New School, my class was divided into groups of three to work on a Capstone project. Each group received a broad theme, and our job was to narrow it down to build a presentation with a specific thesis, which was presented to an audience composed by The New School Faculty and Staff on August 3rd. We also had to write separate research papers with paraphrased academic sources.

My team got Technology as a topic. The following text consists on the final research paper I handed in, named Smart Cities and the Potential Misuse of Data.

Credits: Gabriella Ullauri 

Introduction

Smart Cities are emerging hotspots. Huge producers of Data, these are places that aim to use the personal information collected from its citizens to improve public infrastructure. Cities like Singapore, London, and New York are among the few that openly declare their attempt to adapt to this new model. In the case of NYC, this undertake exists since the year 2000: presented on September 28th of that year, at the 2nd International Life Extension Technology Workshop in Paris, the document entitled “The Vision of A Smart City” stated the early solid efforts of the city government (in consonance to Brookhaven National Laboratory) to integrate the city. According to this report, the main strategies at that point included underground utility mapping and passive structural integrity monitoring.

As written in the article "Addressing big data challenges in smart cities: a systematic literature review", the gathering and use of Big Data through new technologies increases information awareness, facilitating the policy-making process while creating many alternatives for social interaction in the city. In that sense, the data compiled enhance real-time services automation, which consequently drives city administration towards making urban management more effective. Examples of that would vary from installing intelligent traffic lights to monitoring the conditions of infrastructure in public areas, transforming urban settings into more dynamic spaces. And that is what should happen in smart cities.

But although the authors’ conclusions are true and can be extremely beneficial to society, there is an aspect that is often overlooked: A Smart City is a direct product of its government. Despite the idea and the tools to implement it, what is done to the online content is not a matter of technicality. Once carrying people’s information, the success of a Smart City is an outcome of political intention. And that can be disastrous. 

Songdo, a smart city in construction since 2004. Retrieved from https://youngining.wordpress.com/2015/08/08/smart-city-songdo-incheon-korea/

We know humanity is now experiencing an invisible revolution. At the beginning of the XXI Century, there were already 502 million internet users in the world [1]. In 2012, 67% of the internet users had social media accounts [2]. In 2013, 56% of American adults owned a smartphone [3]. What these numbers show is a fast transition to the globalized world. But the intrinsic fact is that the latest changes are not material, yet virtual. They consist on the interpretation of our personal lives, sprinkled in infinite bytes of Data.

In this scenario, Big Data is a key term, once it can be stated as the theoretic column of smart cities. Amply used in the sense of an amount of complex, coded information., it has intrigued tech enthusiasts for different reasons: The interpretation of this informational web has many uses, from knowing a target audience for a product to extracting index statistics. But while some agree that it can be a tool to address the Common Good, others argue that once addressing particular interests, it can be a weapon for controlling of the public opinion.

Retrieved from https://smartcity.org.hk/index.php/aboutus/background

This way, the conception of privacy and State’s power in smart cities rises as two big question marks in our future. As we go deeper in the Digital Age and the interconnection between different devices becomes clearer, the ethical aspect of technology must be discussed. Between the absence of concrete policies to regulate enterprises and the political apathy of the civil society, privacy becomes more and more of an abstract idea: In the realm of social media, is anything really private?  

To answer this question, our research tries to look into the way the governments operate in smart cities. More specifically, our approach to the privacy issue focuses on how Smart cities raise privacy concerns, considering the potential misuse of Data and violation of people’s basic civil rights. For that purpose, we adopted examples of various smart cities initiatives, from those in Boston and New York City to in Rio de Janeiro.

     2. Structural vulnerabilities in Smart Cities and how they afflict its inhabitants

As humans, we often don’t want to share something. Where we are going, our health records, our bank account information: These are some examples of what it’s usually considered private matters.Yet, we display so much information online without hesitating. And by doing that, we allow private companies and governmental organizations to take advantage of it by selling or incorporating (in their databases) our personal data. Still, we trust and agree to website's security policies.

In this vicious cycle, Smart cities can be extremely vulnerable places. In their article “Data Security in Smart Cities: Challenges and Solutions”, Daniela Popescul and Laura Diana Radu write about how this happens. According to the two researchers, if on one hand the use of smart objects - that is “objects connected in order to provide seamless communication and contextual services”- enables the collection, transmission, and processing of huge amounts of Data; on the other hand, it needs to be constantly protected. These devices have multiple resource-constraints, such as network requirements, hardware limitations or software restrictions, which is an obstacle to the installation of security mechanisms.  Due to these difficulties, software designers often overlook the issue of device security and prioritize other aspects of the product, such as performance and energy consumption. That seems like a way to deceive the consumer: The best-ranked tech products on the market cannot guarantee your safeness in the virtual world,  and they are sold as they could.

Another factor that weakens Smart Cities’ structure is the lack of regulations. Our Capstone group had the opportunity to interview New School’s Director of Information and online security, David Curry. When asked “how secure is our Data?”, Mr. Curry said: “ In Europe, particularly, and some would say in Latin America, [...] there are very specific laws about when you collect private Data you have to say exactly what is it used for, and you’re not allowed to use it for something you didn’t say you’re going to use it for. In the United States, that’s a little squishy. As for smart cities and that kind of thing, that is a real concern: What kind of Data is being collected by what? Who has access to it? It’s the whole notion of the Internet of Things. ”

Besides not being able to guarantee information security, the smart city system doesn’t make the city accessible to all citizens. In the November edition of Fordham Urban Law Journal,  the authors Kelsey Finch and Omer Tene argue that, despite the nature of government’s intentions, services offered by smart cities often impact individuals in a discriminatory way. According to Finch and Tene, that happens because the system automatically favors those used to technological devices. For example, when looking closely at the case of the Street Bump app, which was an initiative aimed to report to Boston’s Public Works Department the location of potholes and road castings,  it is possible to affirm that the younger and wealthier areas of the city benefited the most. By that we can infer that people who are less likely to carry smartphones, such as seniors, were indirectly excluded from the perks of such in the same manner others did.

Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/systems/2014/12/18/boston-is-becoming-a-smart-city-with-eng-support/

This problem appears in other social and infrastructural projects. For instance, take Singapore’s regulated Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme. Once the toll booth system was installed in a single cordon area, dramatic changes in traffic happened. According to the book “Transport Economics”, within few months, the percentage of carpooling with less than four passengers dropped from 48 to 21, while the use of public transportation rose from 41 to 62 percent. Despite that, the average number of cars during rush hours also declined, but the traffic after ERP’s functional hours peaked. What these numbers show, in fact, is that those who could not afford the extra fee were indirectly prevented from accessing some parts of the city. As we can see, technology itself is not inclusive, and often perpetuate the status quo.

Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/roads-and-motoring/managing-traffic-and-congestion/electronic-road-pricing-erp.html

     3. Governance vulnerabilities in Smart Cities and how it affects individual liberties

The complete eradication of privacy in Smart Cities by the government is also a risk to the current democratic system. By exchanging our information for security and practicality, we allow the government to not only know about us but also to profile us and even forecast our actions. In her article, " Legislating Privacy: Technology, Social Values, and Public Policy", Priscilla M. Regan, Professor at George Mason University, writes about the implications of new technologies in Public Policy. According to Regan, while the use of digital media devices by enterprises is usually classified as an invasion of privacy, it usually makes the organization even more powerful over individuals. That is, the online information turns into a new source of mass control, once that by accessing it, they can know one's history, activities, and proclivities.

In this scenario, minorities are groups of special interest. Historically underrepresented in public matters and often the target of authoritarian measures, this part of the population is more exposed than any other. One key factor to explain this is society’s tendency to generalize. Although the United States of America Civil Rights Act states that “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin”[4],  ethnicity, nationality, and religion continue to result in stereotypes and hate crimes. Take terrorism as an example. After the 9/11 attacks in New York, more muslims started to be selected for security checks at airports, despite the fact that most of them were peaceful individuals. Simultaneously, less of them were accepted in the U.S. as immigrants and tourists [5]. Statistically speaking, when the numbers prove that there is a profile for people that commit certain crimes, it is almost impossible to assure that there won’t be reprisals to this particular group.

Indeed, as technology makes these kinds of web intelligence acts evident, it also broadens its scope. In that sense, one concern about the interconnection of databases is shown in the forensic use of DNA. While the use of DNA samples to identify criminals boosts the efficiency of the judicial system, it also makes us question whether this measure leads to wrongful convictions. According to the article “Building a Face, and a Case, on DNA”, some researchers doubt the accuracy of the technology used in the recreation of facial images. The argument is that such techniques could stimulate racial profiling among law enforcement agencies, consequently affecting individual privacy and resulting in a violation the Fourth Amendment, which states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”[6]

Retrieved from http://nuffieldbioethics.org/project/bioinformation

Another example of how good ideas can become dangerous is seen in New York City. Recently, the City Hall opened the possibility to its citizens of avoiding bureaucracy when registering to its Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program through an app called HRA Mobile. Instead of handing documents directly to a social services office, applicants can quickly upload them using the platform. According to Nina Stewart, the reporter behind the New York Times’ headline “Those Needing Food Stamps Find City App Eases the Path”, from March to June 2017, more than a million documents were posted. What is not said in the news, however, is what else these Data can be used for. From mere statistic purposes to profiling people to make use of populist measures, there are unlimited possibilities.

Unfortunately, one of the effects of Big Data usage by the government can be the perpetuation of tyranny. When it comes to an actual vigilance mechanism, the lack of privacy that is characteristic of Smart Cities becomes a dangerous threat to freedom of thought and expression. In the article “The watchers”, the author, Jonathan Shaw, argues that the mere awareness of surveillance reshapes people's behavior. This happens because, once you know you are constantly being watched, you tend to be more careful in your actions. According to the text, many governments use this kind of self-censorship to perpetuate its values. One example of this comes from China. By basing its system in 24/7 vigilance and rigorous repression, the Chinese government manages to keep its population following the rules. The understanding behind this approach is that, in the words of Bruce Schneider, one of the experts working in the cybersecurity program at Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, “if you don’t know where the line is, and the penalty for crossing it is severe, you will stay far away from it.”

In smart cities, surveillance is a vivid reality. Both New York and London have special departments to deal with the information gathered from security cameras - the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and Government Communications Headquarters (CCHQ), respectively. And even not so developed cities seem to be heading in the same direction. In the online article “The truth about smart cities: ‘In the end, they will destroy democracy'”, Steven Poole mentions Rio de Janeiro’s center of operations. In Poole’s view, “One only has to look at the hi-tech nerve center that IBM built for Rio de Janeiro to see this Nineteen Eighty-Four-style vision already alarmingly realized. It is festooned with screens like a Nasa Mission Control for the city.” The journalist also highlights what Anthony Townsend writes about the building in “Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia”: “What began as a tool to predict rain and manage flood response morphed into a high-precision control panel for the entire city.” They both make use of a quote of Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, when he affirms that “The operations center allows us to have people looking into every corner of the city, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Rio’s Center of Operatios (Centro de Operações da Prefeitura do Rio). Retrieved from http://www.metropolismag.com/cities/big-data-big-questions-data-smart-cities/

      4. Conclusion

To sum up, although Smart Cities seem to be a strong tendency for the future, they still must overcome many issues. The matter of whether technology should influence in policy-making – and more importantly, remain under the realm of already rich and powerful institutions such as governments – has to be addressed in the next years. In that sense, awareness of the population over the matter needs to increase, and is, therefore, one of the goals of this paper.

In the original online survey conducted by this Capstone group, the subjects were asked to briefly tell us about their background with social media. But we included an extra question. By the end of the form,  we simply put “What is Big Data?” as an optional part. From the 779 responses, we obtained only 65 answers to this particular inquiry. And even between these few, many included variations of “I don’t know.” The outcome of the process described was clarifying, even though it was somewhat expected. Living immerse in a technological environment, we understand that the loss of privacy often seems natural and that concepts like Big Data are not really discussed. What surprised us, however, was the unwillingness of people to find more about it. Most of the participants didn’t even try to google the term, they just jumped the question. And that is worrying.

Translated from Portuguese: “ Have you ever heard of Big Data?” In red, “no”; in blue, “yes”; and in orange, “maybe”.

So, the best way to address the privacy issue is to invest in ways to inform the population about it. Once we are all aware of the complexity of Smart Cities and understand the possible consequences of it, we can demand our governments to be more transparent and to formulate concrete online privacy policies. Anyway, the future is uncertain, but it is possible to minimize its risks.

References (in order of appearance):

Hall, E. (2000). The Vision of a Smart City. Retrieved from: https://ntl.bts.gov/lib/14000/14800/14834/DE2001773961.pdf

Chen, W. & Wellman, B. (2004). The Global Digital Divide. IT&Society (1) 19. [1]

Duggan, M. & Brenner, J. (2013).  The Demographics of Social Media Users – 2012. Pew Research Center. 2. [2]

Smith, A. (2013). Smartphone ownership – 2013 Update. Pew Research Center. 2. [3]

Chauhan, S.; et al (2016) Addressing Big Data challenges in smart cities: a systematic literature review. The Journal for Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications, Information and Media. 2, 2-5.

Popescul, D. & Radu, L. (2016). Data Security in Smart Cities: Challenges and Solutions. Informatica Economica. 30.

Finch, K. & Tene, O. (2013). Fordham urban Law Journal. 41. 1602-1604.

Oum Hoon, T.; et al. (1999). Harwood Academic Publishers. 289.

Regan, P. (1995). Legislating Privacy: Technology, Social Values, and Public Policy. University of North Carolina Press. 74-75.

The United States Civil Rights Act (1965). Retrieved from https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=97&page=transcript [4]

Abbas (2007); Croucher & Cronn-Mills (2011); Gonzàlez, Verkuyten, Weesie, & Poppe (2008). [5]

Pollack, A. (February, 2015). Building a Face, and a Case, on DNA. New York Times: D1

Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment [6]

Stewart, N. (2017). Those Needing Food Stamps Find City App Eases the Path. The New York Times. Published on July 25th, 2017.

Shaw, J. (2017). The Watchers. Harvard Magazine. 119 (3), 56.

Poole, S. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/17/truth-smart-city-destroy-democracy-urban-thinkers-buzzphrase [7].

[ralphlayton]

Applying On-Page SEO Principles For Pinterest Success

Pinterest is one part social media and one part search engine, which makes it a powerful tool for individuals and businesses alike to build their brands and drive traffic to their websites. Recently, we have decided to throw our hat in the ring and apply our expert on-page SEO techniques to Pinterest in order to take full advantage of this growing platform.

Traditionally, Pinterest has been the home of DIYers, fashion bloggers, and photographers who enjoyed the platform’s use of large attractive graphics and simplistic interface. Unlike popular social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest doesn’t have very many options and doesn’t focus so much on follower counts and likes as it does on serving quality content to those who are searching for it.

The overall atmosphere of Pinterest has shifted in recent years. What was once a website full of random, albeit attractive, images has since transformed into a high-quality source for finding the best blog content on the web. Although basic photography is still an important component of the platform, there has been an upswell of purposefully crafted graphics designed specifically for the blogs they link to. These pins convey important information and help Pinterest decide who to serve them to according to specific search queries.

Using what we know about on-page SEO, we have been able to skyrocket our Pinterest engagement in just a few short months, and have learned a thing or two about what makes a great pin and how this platform can best be used for both lead generation as well as eCommerce.

  We’ll be taking a look at the steps we took to reignite our Pinterest, where we are now, and where we expect to be in the future as we continue to refine our efforts.

How Pinterest Behaves Like a Search Engine

Pinterest is a powerful platform that can be used to drive traffic to your blog, offers, products, and more, using the same basic principles that search engines use to help users find what they are looking for. Pinterest users can pick a topic that interests them and search for information on it just as they would on Google.

The difference here is that rather than text-based links like you would see on Google, everything on Pinterest is visual. While every pin has its own title and description much in the way a web page does, it’s the pin itself that is most important. This is what will ultimately encourage a user to either save or click the pin.

While saving or “repinning” a pin is good for its impressions, the quality of a pin is often decided by its SEO relevancy. Pinterest relies on optimized titles and descriptions in order to best serve its users, which means you must use appropriate long-tail keywords and a supporting description.

In this search for “seo tips,” we can see an array of highly targeted results that rely on a properly constructed title and an attractive pin that is easy to read and describes the content that it is pointing to. Pinterest can “read” the text that is present on an image and will take this information into account when serving results.

Just like Google, you can get more out of Pinterest by using long-tail keywords and related search terms to find exactly what you’re looking for with ease. The great thing about Pinterest is that you can create boards centered around your favorite topics and save the pins you find for later use, or simply to help your own followers find them.

Pinterest doesn’t simply rely on the title and description of a pin when taking its relevancy into account, but also the board on which it was originally pinned to, and that board’s description as well. Both of these areas should use the proper keywords as well in order to maximize your chances of your pin becoming popular.

Like any social media, Pinterest is looking for users who create and cultivate the highest quality content. If the content is high enough in quality it has a chance of going “viral.” However, it also functions just like a search engine, in that if you apply the right SEO techniques when creating your pins, they are all but guaranteed to gain authority over time and rank. These two forces combine to create a platform that has massive potential to drive traffic, leads, and sales to any website, so long as there is value present.

There is one important thing to note about the way Pinterest functions in relation to certain niches. Unlike Google, which applies to the whole web, Pinterest really only to very specific topics. While some niches such as SEO, blogging tips, DIY crafts, recipes, fashion, fitness, and health are very popular and ubiquitous on the platform, other niches are not represented whatsoever. You have to use your best judgment and run some initial searches to determine if you can make inroads on the platform using the techniques we implemented.

The Anatomy of an Effective Pinterest Pin

There are some challenges to overcome if you want to construct the perfect pin. Some of the techniques that work well elsewhere on the web don’t apply to Pinterest, while some of what works boils down to common sense. The most essential components of an effective pin are a bold and easy to read title, eye-catching color, and a reason to click.

Here is an example of one of our highest performing pins from the last month. It has received over five hundred impressions and ten saves by itself.

This pin covers the essentials: the title is large and easy to read, the colors pop, and there is an incentive for users to click if they want to know more about SEO. These elements are supported by a high-quality image, secondary copy that builds on the theme, and a title and description that match what the pin says.

There’s no magic sauce when it comes to building a great pin, you simply have to focus on these areas and be consistent. Make sure your copy is well-written and that you start with a solid foundation by leaning on a keyword that is being searched for. In this case, our keyword in question is “ecommerce seo.”

Before we took our Pinterest campaign seriously, we were only uploading images such as webpage designs, photos of our office, and the occasional infographic. Without optimized titles and descriptions and without contextual copy on the pins themselves, there was no way for Pinterest to understand what to do with these pins, and so our impressions remained quite low for years.

It wasn’t until recently when we finally decided to take the platform seriously and apply our on-page SEO techniques to our pins while taking the time to design high-quality pin graphics that would catch our users’ attention. Since we implemented these changes we’ve seen a complete transformation in the way our Pinterest performs. The way you design your pin matters, it’s the backbone of the platform.

If you want to use Pinterest for your business or eCommerce efforts, start with a few of your most important keywords and do some research into the search intent behind them. Construct high-quality graphics that plainly describe the content that is being linked to, and keep in mind that you ideally want users to save these pins to their own boards as well. This is one reason why you don’t see an overabundance of branding on Pinterest.

In terms of showing off your brand through your pins, you want to do so through the general aesthetic you choose. While logos and watermarks are fine and expected, no one is going to pin your pin if it has giant corporate branding all over it. Users want pins that they can “claim” and place on their boards almost as if they were their own. The composition of your pin, your fonts and colors, and your imagery should do the talking for your brand.

Week 1 vs. Week 12

When developing our newly refined Pinterest presence, we first had to decide what our goals were for the platform and settle on a theme. We wanted to provide valuable information on search engine optimization, digital marketing, and eCommerce that users could use to help them with their online business pursuits, while also attracting anyone who might be interested in our services as well.

To that end, we spent a couple of weeks crafting a line of templates that went through several rounds of revision until we were satisfied with them. Overseen by our knowledgeable design team, we focused on synthesizing a friendly and informative feel with our enterprise agency reputation, so that our pins would at once convey professionalism and accessible information that anyone could use.

After we were happy with our initial results, we began to jump into a regular pinning schedule. When we first began this new campaign, our account was not seeing substantial activity, averaging about 175 total impressions per month. I knew that to turn the ship around we had to start from the bottom up, so I deleted several boards and renamed others to include relevant keywords, and improved some of our older pins with optimized descriptions.

After the first full week of implementing our new Pinterest campaign, the results were already pouring in. While we only added a few pins in total that week, the changes to our board titles and other SEO optimizations that we performed was enough to revitalize our account and get some traction.

It’s important to make a note here about pin longevity. Unlike traditional social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, where posts lose relevancy very fast, a pin may take weeks or even months to gain traction, not unlike a web page. It’s all a matter of who finds it and saves it, and how the algorithm interprets what it sees. If you follow through with the right on-page SEO techniques, a pin that has been dormant for months can suddenly spring to life.

This is one of the reasons why Pinterest as a platform to drive targeted traffic is so powerful. Every pin that you create and add has SEO staying power that can one day translate into more traffic or even sales for your business. During our first week implementing this new campaign, a couple of the old pins that had been completely dormant on our account stirred and gained new impressions, and they are now performing better than ever. SEO techniques work extremely well on Pinterest and can drive a substantial amount of traffic if you are consistent and keep feeding the platform with quality content.

On that note, here is where we found ourselves after the first month of running our new campaign. Keep in mind that we were adding only two or three pins per day, and usually only on weekdays.

We accrued a staggering 12,411% increase in impressions, with over 500 engagements. This includes users clicking on pins, commenting on them, liking them, repinning them, or clicking our links. As you can see from the graph, we even had a couple of pins go semi-viral, amassing several thousand impressions and several saves and link clicks all on their own.

As we analyzed the results we were getting from our initial efforts, we began to double down on what was working, creating better-looking pins with catchier pin titles. When it comes to Pinterest, you can’t be afraid to drop what isn’t working and embrace what is. Some of our initial pin templates flopped, which forced us to refocus on what was working and apply those specific techniques to the rest of our pins.

We also saw a period of reduced impressions in late April that I attributed to lazy descriptions. I went through dozens of our older pins and some of our newer ones, and added optimized copy where needed, while also enhancing our boards with better titles and covers. We also created a few new templates, which turned out to be just what we needed.

Over the course of three months of adapting and experimenting, we have amassed some impressive results.

Not only have we accrued well over 100 saves, but we have more than doubled our followers. This not only means our individual pieces of content are “pin-worthy,” but in general we are doing what we set out to do: provide valuable high-level information to our users.

It’s clear that by implementing the proper SEO techniques on Pinterest, you can dramatically increase your engagement, drive traffic, and build a following. As you expand your Pinterest outreach, always keep in mind that for the best results, make sure your website is following SEO best practices as well and has plenty of relevant and valuable information for anyone who is clicking on your pins. Just like Google, Pinterest takes into account metrics such as bounce rate, session time, and whether or not your users are making purchases or signing up for your mailing list, as well as other actions. Take care of your SEO on all fronts and you will get the results you’re looking for.

If you are interested in improving your online presence with SEO, we here at 1DigitalⓇ can help you out. Our team of expert SEO technicians and writers can drive traffic to your website and keep it there through an array of on-page optimizations and attention-grabbing content. We are a results-driven agency that will work hard to increase your conversions and grow your business. Give us a call today at 215-809-1567 and find out how we can best address your needs.

You can learn more about how we apply SEO principles to help clients find success by reading more of our case studies featured here and if you’re on Pinterest too, give us a follow.

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The post Applying On-Page SEO Principles For Pinterest Success appeared first on 1Digital®.

Applying On-Page SEO Principles For Pinterest Success published first on yhttps://improfitninja.blogspot.com/

[thelmasirby32]

Content creation guide: How to effectively think of SEO at every stage

30-second summary:

Content marketing and SEO are like a sailboat and its sail, they need each other.

We’re in a time where only nine percent of content actually sees organic traffic from search results, and nearly 70% of all clicks go to the first five organic search results.

Co-founder and CEO of Influence & Co., Kelsey Raymond shares a five-step guide to help you with an SEO-friendly content creation process that wins in SERPs.

Content marketing and SEO are like a sailboat and its sail, they need each other. Just like your sailboat’s not going anywhere fast without a sail, your content isn’t going to help you reach your goals if people can’t find it. And finding it might be harder than you think.

In a time when there are nearly 80,000 Google searches per second, breaking through the noise can seem impossible. Only nine percent of content actually sees organic traffic from search results, and nearly 70% of all clicks go to the first five organic search results.

So how can you compete in this race to the top of search engine results pages to make sure your target audience can find your content?

By thinking about SEO at every single stage of the content creation process.

Keeping SEO in focus throughout the content creation

Creating high-quality, educational, engaging content is an honorable pursuit, but in order for that content to actually be valuable, you can’t ignore SEO as you’re planning and creating your content. After all, content can only be valuable to someone if she knows that it exists.

So as you’re developing your next batch of content, here’s how you can consider SEO and implement SEO strategies at every stage of the content creation process:

1. Brainstorming

From the very start of content creation — even before you’ve nailed down definite content topics — you should be considering SEO. Two ways you can do that are by looking into which subjects you should cover based on what your audience is searching for and researching potential publications you might want to target.

Let’s start with keyword research. You can use a tool like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to get a grasp on what your audience members are searching for now, how they’re searching for it, and what other content is ranking for those keywords. This research will tell you which keywords you rank for, your position in search results for each keyword, and the traffic that keyword attracts, just to name a few metrics.

As you’re researching keywords to gather content topic ideas, start broad with your overall content theme. For example, if you’re looking into what your audience is searching for related to content marketing, start there. When you search for content marketing in one of the above tools, it will return variations of other keywords that people are searching for that are related to content marketing, such as what it is, techniques, strategies, ROI, case studies, examples, and more. This will help you cast a wide net from the start and narrow your focus from there.

Once you have this information, you can discover what content your audience finds valuable and take the next step of determining how you can create content that’s higher-quality and more engaging and relevant to your audience.

For guest-contributed content

Consider which publications you might want to target based on your niche and subject matter expertise. Once you have that list, research those publications. It’s important to choose publications that are reputable authorities within your industry. While domain authority isn’t a direct ranking factor, a site with a higher DA is perceived as more authoritative, which can potentially lead to more eyeballs on your content and, therefore, a higher ranking due to that engagement. Not sure which sites qualify as authoritative? A good test is to ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable sharing an article from the publication with your colleagues and friends. If not, keep looking.

In addition to considering publications’ credibility, you’ll also want to look at what types of links these publications include in their articles. You can use a tool like MozBar to see which links in an article are “nofollow” or follow and internal or external. A follow link is acknowledged by search engines and drives SEO juice for the linked site. But keep in mind that just because a site doesn’t use follow links, that doesn’t mean it won’t advance your content goals. Follow links do carry link juice, but you can still gain valuable organic referral traffic to generate leads without those follow links.

Also, check to make sure the publication uses contextual links, tools like cognitiveSEO can help with this. Contextual links are links that are surrounded by relevant text within the body of a piece of content. For example, in one of my recently published articles, I included an educational link that was directly related to the surrounding text:

Getting those contextual links in high-authority publications helps Google establish the relevancy of your content, and these links can boost your click-through rate by providing readers with additional valuable information.

2. Outlining

Once you’ve chosen a content topic and a publication target for guest-contributed content based on your research, you can begin the outlining phase.

Start by determining a few primary keywords you’re focusing on in this specific piece of content. List out some related long-tail keywords and keyword variations you might consider including so you can keep them in mind during the writing stage. Also, pinpoint any related links you’d like to try to include naturally within the content. Here’s an example:

Next, write up a brief summary of the topic. What’s the big picture? What will this article cover, and what value will it provide to readers? Make sure this summary ties back to your target keywords. Here’s an example, notice the underlined target keywords:

Once you have that summary in place to guide you, you can create a bulleted outline including the actual information you want to cover within the article. Include your own insights, the takeaways you want readers to walk away with, and relevant examples and research.

3. Write with a “people first” approach

When you’re writing your content, remember to write for people first. Write content that is helpful, educational, and engaging, and optimize from there.

When you’re including keywords, use both short- and long-tail keywords naturally. These days, search engines are trying to curate search results that ring true to the searcher’s intent and to do that, they’re trying to understand the searcher’s natural language in the same way another person would. Make sure to include your keywords in a way that would match up with what your audience members are looking to learn based on their search.

Searcher intent is also important when determining the length of your content. If you’re focusing on a keyword that people are searching for when asking a simple question, you might want to keep the content short and sweet — they’re probably not in the market for a long guide. However, it’s still important to balance out those shorter pieces of content with long ones so you can provide valuable content to members of your audience at every stage of their journey with your company.

Consider voice search

Also, remember that search isn’t limited to text anymore. By 2020, almost a third of searches will be done without the help of a screen  – think Siri, Amazon Echo, and Google Home. And research shows that only 1.71% of voice search results have the exact match keyword in their title tag. So make sure you’re including keyword phrases in a way that people might speak to help your content rank in voice search. For example, in addition to the keyword “content marketing strategy”, you might also want to include something like “how can I create a content marketing strategy?” into your text.

Make it digestible

Finally, as you’re writing your content, make it digestible. For content that’s on the longer side, use subheadings and bullet points to break up the content to provide a better experience for the reader.

Also, look for opportunities to optimize your content for Google’s “featured snippet” box, also known as “position zero.” Only 12.3% of search queries result in a featured snippet box, and 93% of SEO experts say that claiming the featured snippet box can drive more clicks and visits to a website. A few ways you can optimize your content for the featured snippet box are posing a question in a header and then concisely answering the question directly below, including FAQ schema, and providing a table of contents with anchor links.

4. Editing

Once you have a written draft put together, it’s editing time. It’s best to have someone other than the writer edit the content because a fresh set of eyes is more likely to catch grammatical errors and other content issues.

During the editing stage, make sure the keywords read naturally within the copy. Be on the lookout for keyword stuffing (that is, including tons of keywords without regard for readability) or missed keyword opportunities, and double-check that any hyperlinks you’ve included are placed on keyword phrases when possible.

The anchor text for hyperlinks should be relevant to readers based on where they are within the article, and it should make sense for them to want to click another link. For example, let’s say a reader stumbles across this sentence: “It’s important to optimize your blog posts for SEO.” When the reader sees that “optimize your blog posts” is linked, he will probably assume that the link goes to a page that provides advice on optimizing blog posts for SEO. But if that link leads straight to a homepage that contains no helpful insights related to that topic, the reader will probably get frustrated and bounce.

It’s also important to ensure the content title is relevant and includes keywords so your audience members can find the content in search and see clearly that it can help them solve their pain points or answer their questions.

Next, take a step back and make sure the content is formatted for readability on mobile. Google research found that there are more Google searches on mobile than desktop, so this couldn’t be more important. To ensure your content is formatted for mobile, Jumpfactor CEO Zamir Javer recommends that you “use the squint test to scan the page to identify design and layout flaws so that you can adjust the layout to make it more readable. Don’t bring your readers to a page with a wall of text, or they will leave just as fast as they came. This will ultimately erode your search visibility as Google measures site interaction as a signal for rankings”. This squint test should be done on a mobile device to confirm that everything looks great for your mobile readers.

Evaluate whether there are enough subheadings within the content. Subheadings break up content to make it digestible and less overwhelming for readers, which can improve the user experience and time on site, which then boosts your search rankings. Include relevant keywords within subheadings when appropriate so readers can quickly see that the content is relevant to them and what they’re hoping to learn.

5. Prepping for publishing

Congratulations! You’ve created a high-quality piece of content and have kept SEO in focus throughout the journey. But the work isn’t finished quite yet if you’re creating content for your own site.

Don’t forget to add alt text for any visual elements you’re including. The alt text describes what an image or other visual element contains. This makes your content accessible for people with visual impairments and makes sure Google correctly interprets what those visual elements are.

Also, create an SEO title tag that’s 60 characters or less and a meta description that’s 155 characters or less. The title tag denotes what will appear as the page title in search results, and the meta description is the descriptive text that appears just below the title in those results. These elements ensure searchers can clearly see what your content is about and are enticed to click through to it. Make sure this metadata is both keyword-rich to help with rankings and engaging to drive click-through rates.

Finally, do one last check to make sure the content is visually easy to follow and doesn’t bombard readers with a big wall of text.

Well, there you have it! You’re now armed with the information you need to stay focused on SEO throughout the entire content creation process — all while creating high-quality, engaging content that your audience will love.

Kelsey Raymond is the co-founder and CEO of Influence & Co., a full-service content marketing firm that specializes in helping companies strategize, create, publish, and distribute content that accomplishes their goals.

The post Content creation guide: How to effectively think of SEO at every stage appeared first on Search Engine Watch.

from Digital Marketing News https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/06/19/content-creation-guide-how-to-effectively-think-of-seo-at-every-stage/

[philipfloyd]

How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7%

When we talk about SEO, usually all our focus goes to Google. But what about SEO for Bing or Yahoo? Is that something you need to miss out?! The short answer is no, and we’ll let you know why and how you can actually increase your rankings & get more traffic from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.

  With Google being so volatile, Bing seems a constant and valuable source of traffic with a rich source of data. Lots of people overlook it and miss a lot of audience and conversions.

    Even though Bing is a good source of traffic, by no means am I suggesting that you should focus solely on Bing, but rather use it as an additional source because Google is still a strategic player.  

  Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic

Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

Tag Your Website

Optimize Your On-site SEO Elements

Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  The biggest restaurant isn’t the only choice in town. In searches, it is like every other place. For buying clothing or groceries you don’t go only to the big store, you also try the small shops, right? The same thing can happen when users look for something on the search engines; you might be surprised to find out that they have different options than you thought.

    1. Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic 

  Owning a 24.7% market share in US, Bing should be kept on sight. The latest report from Comscore Search on Explicit Core Search Share shows that Google still has the largest market share, but Bing comes right next after. Bing is owned by Microsoft and Yahoo was purchased by Verizon Media.

  The interesting and best part of the Explicit Core Search is the fact that it excludes the contextual searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.

    While Google owns almost 63% of the US market share, there still remains a significant percentage of 37 points. Moreover, you can easily see that the market share for Google dropped from January to February. In contrast, Bing and Yahoo have increased their market share up to 0.2 points.

  Even though you’re a veggie, you should study the next “burger situation”. It’s not “cheesy” at all.

    With that in mind, would you be willing to lose almost 25% of traffic, which may be generating conversions and leads? My guess is you would not. If we were to put Yahoo in the same basket, you’d have a total of 36.4% of potential traffic.

  Yahoo’s index depends on Microsoft for 51% of its search results and ads.

  So, it should be taken into account. If you optimize for Bing, automatically you’ll optimize for Yahoo, too, in a smaller percentage though. And you’ll have a higher chance to get traffic for Yahoo. It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

  For the rest of 49% listings and ads, Yahoo uses Google to provide for some of the desktop search queries where it doesn’t have to use Microsoft. And that covers the whole search for Yahoo. Let’s put it this way: you’d be covered on all major search engines.

  2. Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

  Bing can bring a lot of traffic due to the fact that users spend more time on site, visit more pages, subscribe more to newsletters and so on. Bing can face lower competition than Google since a significant number of businesses are targeting the latter. Lots of experts tested Bing and there are many case studies on this topic.

  Matthew Woodward, expert and award-winning internet marketer, did a case study on the matter and saw that Bing traffic is quite significant. If you take a look at the screenshot below, you can see that Bing traffic is almost the same as Google traffic. On top of that, he also experienced a lower bounce rate for Bing users and more clicks for affiliate links.

    Another case study by Tony Edward, Senior SEO Manager at Elite SEM, shows that Bing is the second-highest source of traffic after Google by checking Q1 2016 performance year over year. Below you can see the screenshot with his findings.

    Bing can get you a larger audience and more targeted web traffic than you will see on Google. Take the following situation, for example. Masha Maksimava, VP Product & Marketing at Awario, saw that Bing traffic generally has a better conversion rate than that from Google. After a deeper analysis made for one of their websites, in Google Analytics she could see that Bing traffic had a conversion rate of 19.66% and Google traffic only 16.47%. Below is a screenshot with the results.

Did You Know

Bing is much more transparent than Google when it comes to ranking factors. Also, many optimization steps meant for Google also fit into the Bing world.

You should start tracking your SERP positions on Bing for all the keywords that matter for you.

Tracking your rankings on Bing might not be a popular choice, but it’s for sure a must SEO task. You can easily and accurately track your Bing rankings with cognitiveSEO’s Rank Tracker. This way, you’ll get an overview of your position on the Bing market, and you’ll have a great starting point for your SEO strategy. 

  3. How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

  3.1 Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

  Links are a trust signal in Bing’s eyes as well, so getting links is a good way to gain popularity. Bing supports the idea of quantity, so the more links you have, the more authority you’ll get. Websites that link to you mean that your content is good, and send signals to the search engines that your website should be trusted. But that doesn’t mean quality should be ignored. Both quality and quantity are important in this case.

  Bing rewards links that have grown organically, that is, that have been added over time by content creators on other trusted, relevant websites made to drive real users from their site to your site.   Bing Webmaster Guidelines      

Bing encourages websites to build links while respecting the Bing Webmaster Guidelines. Abusive tactics for getting spammy links, such as links buying, participating in link schemes (link farms, link spamming and excessive link manipulation) can exclude your website from Bing’s index.

  When deciding on the right strategy and the steps for building links on Bing focus more on the following tactics:

target high authority domains and well-established sites to build links.

links on .gov, .edu, and .org domains weigh more.

select older domains, because Bing places greater emphasis on domain age.

drive social media links. According to a Searchmetrics, social signals have a strong correlation with better rankings in Bing.

set a limit of 20 backlinks a month.

use keywords as anchor texts.

  Even though Bing’s ranking factors are different and acquiring links can be done easily, we shouldn’t forget that every change we make can influence the rankings on the other search engines. That’s why creating link-worthy content is the best type of link building. Which points us to another way to optimize your website for Bing.

  3.2 Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

  When we talk about optimized content for Bing, we talk about quality. The gold rule is that you provide clean, free-of ads content to have a chance to get indexed and Bing shows your website in search results. Don’t block your main content, avoid having spammy poping ads and just make your content easy to find.

  Another important metric or information that you need to keep in mind and follow rigorously is the length of blog posts. A research on content length from Buffer shows that each blog post should have approximately 1,600 words of quality content to maximize your chances to rank on Bing and Yahoo.

  The average total seconds rises for longer posts, peaks at 7 minutes, and then declines.   MEDIUM  

  Fresh and unique content makes Bing crawlers love your website even more so make sure you have a content marketing plan that allows you to publish articles regularly.

  3.3 Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

  Bing recommends content writers to use relevant keywords and perform quality keyword research for every piece of content. Numerous studies on the topic showed that using relevant keywords is an important search ranking factor in SERP, including Bing.

  Same as in Google, relevant and contextual keywords are vital in Bing. Below you can see a comparison between Google and Bing when it comes to keywords:

    Add proximity keywords in your post, if possible. They can increase your chances to get traffic for local SEO. Keywords are extracted from context. Make sure you don’t get spammy.

  3.4 Tag Your Website

  Using tags and categories is your key for getting your website discovered and indexed by any search engine. There are a lot of content management systems, like WordPress, that allow you to easily manage tags and categories on your website.

    By tagging your content you let Bing crawlers, as well as manual or robotic Bing algorithms know what to expect from the post and what it is about. More than that, similar blog posts can be tagged using similar words and placed automatically in the same category. 

  Tags and categories also improve user experience by allowing visitors to quickly find the content they’re searching for and make it easier for you to manage all of your website content Kristen Baker Content Strategist at HubSpot /@KBakes2226

  Some of the studies made along the years show that 5% of the visitors are referred to by tag pages listed in search engines, out of the 250,000 unique visitors per month. That is something! You can attract even a slight slice of that audience if you grasp the category and tagging opportunity when blogging.

  3.5 Optimize Your On-Site SEO Elements

  On-site SEO should be the top priority for any webmaster and it is even more important than off-site SEO for Bing. Two of the most important elements of on-site are internal links and sitemap.

  The easiest way to find out if your site has any on-site issues is to use a Site Audit tool. This way, you’ll find out all your website’s issues, prioritized by importance and you’ll also get recommendations on how to fix them. 

    Having a good linking architecture and adding XML Sitemaps can increase your search traffic from Bing, and not only. An experiment made by NinjaOutreach helped them boost their organic traffic by 40% with clever use of internal links. They started doing internal linking from the pages that were doing well to the lowest-performing pages.

  If you fix your website’s errors, you can get about 1k visits from organic search each month, just like Greg Kristan from TM Blast. After fixing and optimizing the on-site elements, he got about 30% of my organic clicks from Bing.

    3.6 Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  Every business owner wants more and more visitors, on the website, at the store, on the social platform, generating engagement and on every possible platform where the brand is available.

  When we’re talking about optimization for local SEO, you need to visit Bing Places for Business and claim ownership for your business listing. Once you go to the site, you can follow the same steps as in Google My Business, and import the data or add your business information from scratch.

    Local content that is optimized correctly can bring online purchases. A research on “Local Search Unleashing Opportunities for National Advertisers” by IDC and YP showed that:

  Nearly half (49%) of consumers looking locally for national products and services conducted four or more search activities, and nearly one in four (24%) did six or more.

  The information needs to be on sight and that’s because, according to the same study, people are taking the decision to buy in less than an hour. 63% of the survey respondents completed their searches in under an hour.

  On top of that, more and more users are using not just one device, but several of them. Which, in terms of local SEO, can trigger lots of benefits if you have your business listed on Bing places. It will be easier to find your website since all the local results are above Bing search results.

  Device Usage Among Local Searchers Source: IDC (2016)

  For more exposure, use local listings such as Yelp, Foursquare to help Bing locate and index your website correctly.

  Bing is a rich source of data and you should not overlook it. Otherwise, you’ll be losing almost 25% of new incoming traffic and potential clients. You can use it as an additional source of traffic to what you’re already targeting. And if you’re still not convinced, here are some more good reasons to start doing SEO for Bing.

The post How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7% appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/22286/seo-bing/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[wjwilliams29]

How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7%

When we talk about SEO, usually all our focus goes to Google. But what about SEO for Bing or Yahoo? Is that something you need to miss out?! The short answer is no, and we’ll let you know why and how you can actually increase your rankings & get more traffic from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.

  With Google being so volatile, Bing seems a constant and valuable source of traffic with a rich source of data. Lots of people overlook it and miss a lot of audience and conversions.

    Even though Bing is a good source of traffic, by no means am I suggesting that you should focus solely on Bing, but rather use it as an additional source because Google is still a strategic player.  

  Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic

Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

Tag Your Website

Optimize Your On-site SEO Elements

Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  The biggest restaurant isn’t the only choice in town. In searches, it is like every other place. For buying clothing or groceries you don’t go only to the big store, you also try the small shops, right? The same thing can happen when users look for something on the search engines; you might be surprised to find out that they have different options than you thought.

    1. Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic 

  Owning a 24.7% market share in US, Bing should be kept on sight. The latest report from Comscore Search on Explicit Core Search Share shows that Google still has the largest market share, but Bing comes right next after. Bing is owned by Microsoft and Yahoo was purchased by Verizon Media.

  The interesting and best part of the Explicit Core Search is the fact that it excludes the contextual searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.

    While Google owns almost 63% of the US market share, there still remains a significant percentage of 37 points. Moreover, you can easily see that the market share for Google dropped from January to February. In contrast, Bing and Yahoo have increased their market share up to 0.2 points.

  Even though you’re a veggie, you should study the next “burger situation”. It’s not “cheesy” at all.

    With that in mind, would you be willing to lose almost 25% of traffic, which may be generating conversions and leads? My guess is you would not. If we were to put Yahoo in the same basket, you’d have a total of 36.4% of potential traffic.

  Yahoo’s index depends on Microsoft for 51% of its search results and ads.

  So, it should be taken into account. If you optimize for Bing, automatically you’ll optimize for Yahoo, too, in a smaller percentage though. And you’ll have a higher chance to get traffic for Yahoo. It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

  For the rest of 49% listings and ads, Yahoo uses Google to provide for some of the desktop search queries where it doesn’t have to use Microsoft. And that covers the whole search for Yahoo. Let’s put it this way: you’d be covered on all major search engines.

  2. Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

  Bing can bring a lot of traffic due to the fact that users spend more time on site, visit more pages, subscribe more to newsletters and so on. Bing can face lower competition than Google since a significant number of businesses are targeting the latter. Lots of experts tested Bing and there are many case studies on this topic.

  Matthew Woodward, expert and award-winning internet marketer, did a case study on the matter and saw that Bing traffic is quite significant. If you take a look at the screenshot below, you can see that Bing traffic is almost the same as Google traffic. On top of that, he also experienced a lower bounce rate for Bing users and more clicks for affiliate links.

    Another case study by Tony Edward, Senior SEO Manager at Elite SEM, shows that Bing is the second-highest source of traffic after Google by checking Q1 2016 performance year over year. Below you can see the screenshot with his findings.

    Bing can get you a larger audience and more targeted web traffic than you will see on Google. Take the following situation, for example. Masha Maksimava, VP Product & Marketing at Awario, saw that Bing traffic generally has a better conversion rate than that from Google. After a deeper analysis made for one of their websites, in Google Analytics she could see that Bing traffic had a conversion rate of 19.66% and Google traffic only 16.47%. Below is a screenshot with the results.

Did You Know

Bing is much more transparent than Google when it comes to ranking factors. Also, many optimization steps meant for Google also fit into the Bing world.

You should start tracking your SERP positions on Bing for all the keywords that matter for you.

Tracking your rankings on Bing might not be a popular choice, but it’s for sure a must SEO task. You can easily and accurately track your Bing rankings with cognitiveSEO’s Rank Tracker. This way, you’ll get an overview of your position on the Bing market, and you’ll have a great starting point for your SEO strategy. 

  3. How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

  3.1 Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

  Links are a trust signal in Bing’s eyes as well, so getting links is a good way to gain popularity. Bing supports the idea of quantity, so the more links you have, the more authority you’ll get. Websites that link to you mean that your content is good, and send signals to the search engines that your website should be trusted. But that doesn’t mean quality should be ignored. Both quality and quantity are important in this case.

  Bing rewards links that have grown organically, that is, that have been added over time by content creators on other trusted, relevant websites made to drive real users from their site to your site.   Bing Webmaster Guidelines      

Bing encourages websites to build links while respecting the Bing Webmaster Guidelines. Abusive tactics for getting spammy links, such as links buying, participating in link schemes (link farms, link spamming and excessive link manipulation) can exclude your website from Bing’s index.

  When deciding on the right strategy and the steps for building links on Bing focus more on the following tactics:

target high authority domains and well-established sites to build links.

links on .gov, .edu, and .org domains weigh more.

select older domains, because Bing places greater emphasis on domain age.

drive social media links. According to a Searchmetrics, social signals have a strong correlation with better rankings in Bing.

set a limit of 20 backlinks a month.

use keywords as anchor texts.

  Even though Bing’s ranking factors are different and acquiring links can be done easily, we shouldn’t forget that every change we make can influence the rankings on the other search engines. That’s why creating link-worthy content is the best type of link building. Which points us to another way to optimize your website for Bing.

  3.2 Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

  When we talk about optimized content for Bing, we talk about quality. The gold rule is that you provide clean, free-of ads content to have a chance to get indexed and Bing shows your website in search results. Don’t block your main content, avoid having spammy poping ads and just make your content easy to find.

  Another important metric or information that you need to keep in mind and follow rigorously is the length of blog posts. A research on content length from Buffer shows that each blog post should have approximately 1,600 words of quality content to maximize your chances to rank on Bing and Yahoo.

  The average total seconds rises for longer posts, peaks at 7 minutes, and then declines.   MEDIUM  

  Fresh and unique content makes Bing crawlers love your website even more so make sure you have a content marketing plan that allows you to publish articles regularly.

  3.3 Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

  Bing recommends content writers to use relevant keywords and perform quality keyword research for every piece of content. Numerous studies on the topic showed that using relevant keywords is an important search ranking factor in SERP, including Bing.

  Same as in Google, relevant and contextual keywords are vital in Bing. Below you can see a comparison between Google and Bing when it comes to keywords:

    Add proximity keywords in your post, if possible. They can increase your chances to get traffic for local SEO. Keywords are extracted from context. Make sure you don’t get spammy.

  3.4 Tag Your Website

  Using tags and categories is your key for getting your website discovered and indexed by any search engine. There are a lot of content management systems, like WordPress, that allow you to easily manage tags and categories on your website.

    By tagging your content you let Bing crawlers, as well as manual or robotic Bing algorithms know what to expect from the post and what it is about. More than that, similar blog posts can be tagged using similar words and placed automatically in the same category. 

  Tags and categories also improve user experience by allowing visitors to quickly find the content they’re searching for and make it easier for you to manage all of your website content Kristen Baker Content Strategist at HubSpot /@KBakes2226

  Some of the studies made along the years show that 5% of the visitors are referred to by tag pages listed in search engines, out of the 250,000 unique visitors per month. That is something! You can attract even a slight slice of that audience if you grasp the category and tagging opportunity when blogging.

  3.5 Optimize Your On-Site SEO Elements

  On-site SEO should be the top priority for any webmaster and it is even more important than off-site SEO for Bing. Two of the most important elements of on-site are internal links and sitemap.

  The easiest way to find out if your site has any on-site issues is to use a Site Audit tool. This way, you’ll find out all your website’s issues, prioritized by importance and you’ll also get recommendations on how to fix them. 

    Having a good linking architecture and adding XML Sitemaps can increase your search traffic from Bing, and not only. An experiment made by NinjaOutreach helped them boost their organic traffic by 40% with clever use of internal links. They started doing internal linking from the pages that were doing well to the lowest-performing pages.

  If you fix your website’s errors, you can get about 1k visits from organic search each month, just like Greg Kristan from TM Blast. After fixing and optimizing the on-site elements, he got about 30% of my organic clicks from Bing.

    3.6 Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  Every business owner wants more and more visitors, on the website, at the store, on the social platform, generating engagement and on every possible platform where the brand is available.

  When we’re talking about optimization for local SEO, you need to visit Bing Places for Business and claim ownership for your business listing. Once you go to the site, you can follow the same steps as in Google My Business, and import the data or add your business information from scratch.

    Local content that is optimized correctly can bring online purchases. A research on “Local Search Unleashing Opportunities for National Advertisers” by IDC and YP showed that:

  Nearly half (49%) of consumers looking locally for national products and services conducted four or more search activities, and nearly one in four (24%) did six or more.

  The information needs to be on sight and that’s because, according to the same study, people are taking the decision to buy in less than an hour. 63% of the survey respondents completed their searches in under an hour.

  On top of that, more and more users are using not just one device, but several of them. Which, in terms of local SEO, can trigger lots of benefits if you have your business listed on Bing places. It will be easier to find your website since all the local results are above Bing search results.

  Device Usage Among Local Searchers Source: IDC (2016)

  For more exposure, use local listings such as Yelp, Foursquare to help Bing locate and index your website correctly.

  Bing is a rich source of data and you should not overlook it. Otherwise, you’ll be losing almost 25% of new incoming traffic and potential clients. You can use it as an additional source of traffic to what you’re already targeting. And if you’re still not convinced, here are some more good reasons to start doing SEO for Bing.

The post How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7% appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

[krisggordon]

How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7%

When we talk about SEO, usually all our focus goes to Google. But what about SEO for Bing or Yahoo? Is that something you need to miss out?! The short answer is no, and we’ll let you know why and how you can actually increase your rankings & get more traffic from Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.

  With Google being so volatile, Bing seems a constant and valuable source of traffic with a rich source of data. Lots of people overlook it and miss a lot of audience and conversions.

    Even though Bing is a good source of traffic, by no means am I suggesting that you should focus solely on Bing, but rather use it as an additional source because Google is still a strategic player.  

  Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic

Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

Tag Your Website

Optimize Your On-site SEO Elements

Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  The biggest restaurant isn’t the only choice in town. In searches, it is like every other place. For buying clothing or groceries you don’t go only to the big store, you also try the small shops, right? The same thing can happen when users look for something on the search engines; you might be surprised to find out that they have different options than you thought.

    1. Understand that Bing Is a Major Source of Organic Traffic 

  Owning a 24.7% market share in US, Bing should be kept on sight. The latest report from Comscore Search on Explicit Core Search Share shows that Google still has the largest market share, but Bing comes right next after. Bing is owned by Microsoft and Yahoo was purchased by Verizon Media.

  The interesting and best part of the Explicit Core Search is the fact that it excludes the contextual searches that do not reflect specific user intent to interact with the search results.

    While Google owns almost 63% of the US market share, there still remains a significant percentage of 37 points. Moreover, you can easily see that the market share for Google dropped from January to February. In contrast, Bing and Yahoo have increased their market share up to 0.2 points.

  Even though you’re a veggie, you should study the next “burger situation”. It’s not “cheesy” at all.

    With that in mind, would you be willing to lose almost 25% of traffic, which may be generating conversions and leads? My guess is you would not. If we were to put Yahoo in the same basket, you’d have a total of 36.4% of potential traffic.

  Yahoo’s index depends on Microsoft for 51% of its search results and ads.

  So, it should be taken into account. If you optimize for Bing, automatically you’ll optimize for Yahoo, too, in a smaller percentage though. And you’ll have a higher chance to get traffic for Yahoo. It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

  For the rest of 49% listings and ads, Yahoo uses Google to provide for some of the desktop search queries where it doesn’t have to use Microsoft. And that covers the whole search for Yahoo. Let’s put it this way: you’d be covered on all major search engines.

  2. Find out How Bing Converts Better than Google

  Bing can bring a lot of traffic due to the fact that users spend more time on site, visit more pages, subscribe more to newsletters and so on. Bing can face lower competition than Google since a significant number of businesses are targeting the latter. Lots of experts tested Bing and there are many case studies on this topic.

  Matthew Woodward, expert and award-winning internet marketer, did a case study on the matter and saw that Bing traffic is quite significant. If you take a look at the screenshot below, you can see that Bing traffic is almost the same as Google traffic. On top of that, he also experienced a lower bounce rate for Bing users and more clicks for affiliate links.

    Another case study by Tony Edward, Senior SEO Manager at Elite SEM, shows that Bing is the second-highest source of traffic after Google by checking Q1 2016 performance year over year. Below you can see the screenshot with his findings.

    Bing can get you a larger audience and more targeted web traffic than you will see on Google. Take the following situation, for example. Masha Maksimava, VP Product & Marketing at Awario, saw that Bing traffic generally has a better conversion rate than that from Google. After a deeper analysis made for one of their websites, in Google Analytics she could see that Bing traffic had a conversion rate of 19.66% and Google traffic only 16.47%. Below is a screenshot with the results.

Did You Know

Bing is much more transparent than Google when it comes to ranking factors. Also, many optimization steps meant for Google also fit into the Bing world.

You should start tracking your SERP positions on Bing for all the keywords that matter for you.

Tracking your rankings on Bing might not be a popular choice, but it’s for sure a must SEO task. You can easily and accurately track your Bing rankings with cognitiveSEO’s Rank Tracker. This way, you’ll get an overview of your position on the Bing market, and you’ll have a great starting point for your SEO strategy. 

  3. How to Optimize Your Website for Bing

  3.1 Make a Strategy for Building Non-Spammy Links

  Links are a trust signal in Bing’s eyes as well, so getting links is a good way to gain popularity. Bing supports the idea of quantity, so the more links you have, the more authority you’ll get. Websites that link to you mean that your content is good, and send signals to the search engines that your website should be trusted. But that doesn’t mean quality should be ignored. Both quality and quantity are important in this case.

  Bing rewards links that have grown organically, that is, that have been added over time by content creators on other trusted, relevant websites made to drive real users from their site to your site.   Bing Webmaster Guidelines      

Bing encourages websites to build links while respecting the Bing Webmaster Guidelines. Abusive tactics for getting spammy links, such as links buying, participating in link schemes (link farms, link spamming and excessive link manipulation) can exclude your website from Bing’s index.

  When deciding on the right strategy and the steps for building links on Bing focus more on the following tactics:

target high authority domains and well-established sites to build links.

links on .gov, .edu, and .org domains weigh more.

select older domains, because Bing places greater emphasis on domain age.

drive social media links. According to a Searchmetrics, social signals have a strong correlation with better rankings in Bing.

set a limit of 20 backlinks a month.

use keywords as anchor texts.

  Even though Bing’s ranking factors are different and acquiring links can be done easily, we shouldn’t forget that every change we make can influence the rankings on the other search engines. That’s why creating link-worthy content is the best type of link building. Which points us to another way to optimize your website for Bing.

  3.2 Focus on Optimizing Your Content for Bing

  When we talk about optimized content for Bing, we talk about quality. The gold rule is that you provide clean, free-of ads content to have a chance to get indexed and Bing shows your website in search results. Don’t block your main content, avoid having spammy poping ads and just make your content easy to find.

  Another important metric or information that you need to keep in mind and follow rigorously is the length of blog posts. A research on content length from Buffer shows that each blog post should have approximately 1,600 words of quality content to maximize your chances to rank on Bing and Yahoo.

  The average total seconds rises for longer posts, peaks at 7 minutes, and then declines.   MEDIUM  

  Fresh and unique content makes Bing crawlers love your website even more so make sure you have a content marketing plan that allows you to publish articles regularly.

  3.3 Use Relevant Keywords in Proper Context

  Bing recommends content writers to use relevant keywords and perform quality keyword research for every piece of content. Numerous studies on the topic showed that using relevant keywords is an important search ranking factor in SERP, including Bing.

  Same as in Google, relevant and contextual keywords are vital in Bing. Below you can see a comparison between Google and Bing when it comes to keywords:

    Add proximity keywords in your post, if possible. They can increase your chances to get traffic for local SEO. Keywords are extracted from context. Make sure you don’t get spammy.

  3.4 Tag Your Website

  Using tags and categories is your key for getting your website discovered and indexed by any search engine. There are a lot of content management systems, like WordPress, that allow you to easily manage tags and categories on your website.

    By tagging your content you let Bing crawlers, as well as manual or robotic Bing algorithms know what to expect from the post and what it is about. More than that, similar blog posts can be tagged using similar words and placed automatically in the same category. 

  Tags and categories also improve user experience by allowing visitors to quickly find the content they’re searching for and make it easier for you to manage all of your website content Kristen Baker Content Strategist at HubSpot /@KBakes2226

  Some of the studies made along the years show that 5% of the visitors are referred to by tag pages listed in search engines, out of the 250,000 unique visitors per month. That is something! You can attract even a slight slice of that audience if you grasp the category and tagging opportunity when blogging.

  3.5 Optimize Your On-Site SEO Elements

  On-site SEO should be the top priority for any webmaster and it is even more important than off-site SEO for Bing. Two of the most important elements of on-site are internal links and sitemap.

  The easiest way to find out if your site has any on-site issues is to use a Site Audit tool. This way, you’ll find out all your website’s issues, prioritized by importance and you’ll also get recommendations on how to fix them. 

    Having a good linking architecture and adding XML Sitemaps can increase your search traffic from Bing, and not only. An experiment made by NinjaOutreach helped them boost their organic traffic by 40% with clever use of internal links. They started doing internal linking from the pages that were doing well to the lowest-performing pages.

  If you fix your website’s errors, you can get about 1k visits from organic search each month, just like Greg Kristan from TM Blast. After fixing and optimizing the on-site elements, he got about 30% of my organic clicks from Bing.

    3.6 Claim & Optimize Your Business’ Bing Local Listing

  Every business owner wants more and more visitors, on the website, at the store, on the social platform, generating engagement and on every possible platform where the brand is available.

  When we’re talking about optimization for local SEO, you need to visit Bing Places for Business and claim ownership for your business listing. Once you go to the site, you can follow the same steps as in Google My Business, and import the data or add your business information from scratch.

    Local content that is optimized correctly can bring online purchases. A research on “Local Search Unleashing Opportunities for National Advertisers” by IDC and YP showed that:

  Nearly half (49%) of consumers looking locally for national products and services conducted four or more search activities, and nearly one in four (24%) did six or more.

  The information needs to be on sight and that’s because, according to the same study, people are taking the decision to buy in less than an hour. 63% of the survey respondents completed their searches in under an hour.

  On top of that, more and more users are using not just one device, but several of them. Which, in terms of local SEO, can trigger lots of benefits if you have your business listed on Bing places. It will be easier to find your website since all the local results are above Bing search results.

  Device Usage Among Local Searchers Source: IDC (2016)

  For more exposure, use local listings such as Yelp, Foursquare to help Bing locate and index your website correctly.

  Bing is a rich source of data and you should not overlook it. Otherwise, you’ll be losing almost 25% of new incoming traffic and potential clients. You can use it as an additional source of traffic to what you’re already targeting. 

  You should start thinking about Bing SEO only if you are doing something specific for Google’s crawlers that you aren’t doing for Bing. Or another option is to start doing things for Bing that are more particular and can be applied specifically on Bing. And if you’re still not convinced, here are some more good reasons to start doing SEO for Bing.

The post How to Do SEO for Bing and Increase Your Organic Traffic with 24.7% appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

from Marketing https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/22286/seo-bing/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[topdallaswebsitedesigningservice]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[dallaswebsitedesigningservice]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[topwebsitedesigningservicedallas]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! 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Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[besthireseocompany]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[topseoservicesdallas]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[bestseoservicesdallas]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.” Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Ebook ADVERTISEMENT Related Posts 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 10 Most Important PPC Trends You Need to Know in 2019 How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes How Important Is SEO in 2018? 4 Trends That Suggest Big Changes 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends 29 Experts on the Most Important 2018 Social Media Trends ADVERTISEMENT Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal Danny Goodwin is Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal. In addition to overseeing SEJ's editorial strategy and managing contributions from ... [Read full bio] ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! First Name* Last Name* Email* Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking Search Engine Reputation Management: How to Handle It with SE Ranking 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing Driving More Calls and Customers from AdWords and Bing International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis International SEO Considerations with Aledya Solis

[topseoservicesindallas]

Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to Know

It’s time to take our annual look at what’s ahead for SEO professionals in 2019. What SEO strategies and tactics will work and help you dominate in the SERPs and earn more revenue in 2019? Here are 10 important trends you need to know in 2019, according to 47 of today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience & User Intent Does your audience prefer text? Images? Video? Audio. Knowing this will all be more important than ever in 2019, according to our experts. “You need to understand what someone is expecting to find when they query a word or phrase and you need to give them the answer in the simplest way possible,” said Mindy Weinstein CEO of Market Mindshift. Motoko Hunt, president of AJPR, agreed, adding that the interests, tastes, and preferences of your audience can change more quickly than you think. “Even if your website content is perfectly written and optimized, if it’s done for a wrong audience, it won’t grow the business,” Hunt said. Tomorrow’s high-ranking website is all about the audience, said Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers. “If your site enhances your audience’s journey, you’ll be rewarded by Google and your visitor will invest in you,” McCoy said. This is especially important because rankings have been fluctuating over the past year to help fit the semantic intent of a user’s search query, said Jesse McDonald, SEO specialist and director of operations for TopHatRank.com. “It will be more critical than ever for SEOs and content specialists to focus heavily on the user intent of the keywords they are targeting while creating content,” McDonald said. Casie Gillette, senior director of digital marketing at KoMarketing, has also noticed Google’s shift in keyword intent. “We have to think more about the funnel and where we really want to spend our time,” Gillette said. “Do I want to spend time and money trying to rank for a broad term or should I instead shift my focus to terms further down the funnel, where buyers are more knowledgeable and more likely to be interested in what I’m selling?” To adjust to this shift in 2019, you may have to change the way you’ve been doing your keyword research, said Chuck Price, founder of Measurable SEO. “When doing keyword research in 2019, it’s imperative that you check the SERPs to see if websites like yours are ranking for a targeted phrase,” Price said. “If the top SERPs are filled with directories or review sites and your site isn’t one of those, then move on to another phrase.” The time is now to stop matching keyword phrases and start making sure that your content comprehensively answers questions your audience is asking via search, said Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. “Ideally, we should take our content a step further by anticipating and answering follow-up questions they may have once they receive the answer to their initial query,” Knauff said. 2. Go Beyond Google Search Could Amazon and Apple cut into Google’s search dominance? Eli Schwartz, director of SEO and growth for SurveyMonkey, believes so. “I think that 2019 will be the year that, once again, SEO will not just be about how to optimize for Google, but we will have to take into account these other ‘engines’ as well,” Schwartz said. As Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie, pointed out, SEO is about showing up wherever and however people are searching – not just getting the first blue link. So you must learn how to drive traffic and engagement for things other than just websites. “If potential customers are searching for apps, you need to rank in app stores. If they are searching for podcasts or videos, you need to rank where people search for those things,” Krum said. “Strong brands are becoming multi-faceted, ranking more than just websites. Strong SEOs need to do the same thing.” Jes Scholz, international digital director for Ringier AG, said she also sees the scope of SEO expanding to cover visibility on other platforms. “Think beyond driving users to your website by ranking number 1 in the SERPs,” Scholz said. “How can you get visibility for your content in featured snippets and thus conversational interfaces, with hosted articles, with content aggregators and other such opportunities to ensure your brand reaches your target audience?” In 2019, you also must at least consider optimizing for devices, said Kristine Schachinger, digital strategist and SEO consultant. “For those with products that can be sold or brands that can benefit from the exposure, being optimized for home assistant or audio-only devices can’t be ignored,” Schachinger said. Ultimately, this all requires the best content on the fastest platforms geared to meet the users wherever they’re coming from, according to Keith Goode, IBM’s senior SEO strategist, security intelligence. “The entire search experience is our domain of expertise and control, and our goal isn’t to just drive traffic,” Goode said. “It’s to ensure that we’ve optimized that search experience, whether web-based or app-based or [insert the next big technology]-based, to create the most efficient and engaging intersection of the user’s needs and the site’s offerings possible.” 3. Structured Data Markup Is Key Use structured data whenever possible, said Marcus Tandler, co-founder and managing director of Ryte. “With AI becoming increasingly important for Google, structured data is becoming more important as well,” Tandler said. “If Google wants to move from a mobile-first to an AI-first world, structured data is key. No matter how good your AI is, if it takes too long to ‘crawl’ the required information, it will never be great. AI requires a fast processing of contents and their relations to each other.” JP Sherman, enterprise search and findability expert at Red Hat, said you should start looking at and understanding structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors, and how they can connect to behaviors that signal intent so that the behavior of search becomes a much larger effort of findability. “Contextual relationships between topics and behaviors, supported by structured markup, is the critical trend we need to start understanding, testing, and implementing for 2019,” Sherman said. “Using information architecture, tags, metadata and more recently, structured markup, we’ve had the ability to give search engines signals to understand this topical and supportive content structure.��� Further, Jamie Alberico, SEO product owner for Arrow Electronics, said you should “leverage your existing content by integrating speakable and fact check structured data markup. These markups are a key link between factual reality and the screenless future.” And Bill Slawski, director of SEO research at Go Fish Digital added this tip: “[Understand] and [use] appropriate schema vocabulary on pages for products, offers, events, contact information, sameAs social and entity associations, organizational information, ratings, and speakable content.” 4. Create Exceptional Content Google algorithm updates in 2018 revealed that Google is intensifying its focus on evaluating content quality and at the depth and breadth of a website’s content, said Eric Enge, general manager of Perficient Digital. “We tracked the SEO performance of a number of different sites,” Enge said. “The sites that provided exceptional depth in quality content coverage literally soared in rankings throughout the year. Sites that were weaker in their content depth suffered in comparison.” Enge said he expects to see the trend of Google rewarding sites that provide the best in-depth experiences continuing in 2019. “Google was continually tuning their algorithms in this area throughout the year, and I believe there is still a lot more tuning for them to do,” Enge added. That means if you’re still creating content just to keep your blog alive, that won’t be good enough any longer, said Alexandra Tachalova, digital marketing consultant. 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Structured data, exceptional content, and machine learning are among the most important SEO trends to know about in 2019. Get your free ebook to learn more. DOWNLOAD NOW ADVERTISEMENT “The issue with this content is that it isn’t good enough to acquire links, so there’s a slim chance that it’ll rank on Google,” Tachalova said. “Think twice about publishing such posts, since they won’t pay off. It’s better to do one post that is properly distributed every few months than doing several per month that will only receive a few visits.” What you need to do is create content that solves a problem – content that moves, motivates, and connects with people, said Matt Siltala, president of Avalaunch Media. “If you can answer a question, get a lead, make a sale, help with SEO (link building), reputation management, social proof or community building purposes with a piece of content, then you win!” Siltala said. “Do your research, be the solution to the problem that people have, and provide something that is meant for people versus trying to ‘SEO’ the crap out of it and you will always do better in your efforts.” Shelley Walsh, director of ShellShock, expects to see the level of content quality rise in 2019. “Content strategy in SEO is not just about answering a query and getting users to the page. It must also use language to engage the user and guide the user to the next action,” Walsh said. “There are still far too few pages doing this well. More use of content maps and experience maps would help this.” 5. Increase Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness Establishing and growing your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness – better known as E-A-T in Google’s search quality rating guidelines – will be another key trend in 2019. “Although the E-A-T guidelines are written for Google’s algorithm raters, rather than Google’s algorithm itself, it helps us to understand where Google is heading in the short term,” said Dixon Jones, founder of DHJ Ventures. “I think this will help SEOs start to understand that ‘quality’ comes with context. You cannot rank so easily writing authoritative content unless you are already an authority on a given subject.” Grant Simmons, VP of search marketing at Homes.com, said you should look at content distribution and promotion from a reputation standpoint. “Hire experts to author, leverage data from known entities, and ensure credentials and credit is given to both, with appropriate affinity to the promoted brand,” Simmons said. “How can you get more of your employees to blog, write, and speak? How can you (the brand’s people) be the go-to source for journalists around your core topic expertise? Because that level of expertise is what Google is looking for to power their results.” Like Google, Bing also wants to reward E-A-T. “A major goal of our ranking team is to build an algorithm that would rank documents in the same order as humans would as they are following the guidelines,” said Frédéric Dubut, Microsoft’s senior program manager, Search & AI. “You can only do so at the scale of the web by generalizing your ranking algorithm as much as possible. It turns out that modern machine learning is very good at generalizing, so you can expect our core ranking algorithm to get closer to that ideal Intelligent Search product view that we hold internally and which we try to capture in our own guidelines.” 6. Invest in Technical SEO Websites continue to grow in complexity every year, making technical SEO a major area of investment in 2019 and beyond. Some key areas of focus on the technical side of SEO will be: Speed: “Sites will finally start to become simpler and faster as SEOs discover that Google is rewarding sites more than once thought for [first meaningful paint] speed,” according to Jon Henshaw, founder of Coywolf Marketing and senior SEO analyst at CBS Interactive. [removed] “A new year means that even more of the websites you encounter will be heavily JavaScript driven (likely one of the big frameworks, such as React, Vue.js, and Angular). That means it’s time to familiarize yourself with at least a little JavaScript, and how the major search engines play best with JavaScript-driven websites,” said Paul Shapiro, director of strategy and innovation for Catalyst. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): “For 2019, you should start thinking about how your website could live on as a PWA in the future. How can your PWA become a keepable experience your users would like to put on their home screen?” Tandler said. 7. Win with On-page Optimization On-page optimization will continue to be important in 2019, said Tony Wright, CEO and founder of WrightIMC. “We are still seeing incredible results from nothing more than on-page SEO tactics for many companies that come in the door,” Wright said. “Links are still very important, but the biggest bang for most companies’ SEO bucks is ongoing on-page optimization. Because on-page SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic.” Alexis Sanders, technical SEO manager at Merkle, also shared some key website optimizations: Content that answers common user questions. Ensuring internal site search is providing relevant results. Shortening conversion process. Ensure that repeat customers can restock commonly purchased items simply. Customer support responds to questions related to the business. Consider use of chatbots to lighten the load for basic, common questions and procedural tasks. Users are easily able to navigate to physical locations. Providing users with their stage in fulfillment funnel (think: clear, visual process forms). 8. Get Ready for Voice Search Last decade, “the year of mobile” became a kind of running joke. Every year, the experts predicted that this, finally, would be the year of mobile. Year after year. Until hype finally matched reality around 2015. Well, is this year the year of voice search? Once again, not quite. As Wright put it: “In my opinion, the ‘juice isn’t worth the squeeze’ yet for most companies when it comes to showing up in voice queries,” Wright said. “However, I think more companies will look into a voice optimization strategy next year. As I said last year, voice search is coming, it still just isn’t quite there yet.” Although voice search got lots of attention in 2018, Aleyda Solis, international SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, said voice search is just a piece of a bigger shift, from specific “results” to “answers” as part of a longer “conversational search journey.” “This will only gain more prominence and importance in 2019 – and the shift has already started,” Solis said. “While ‘voice’ might be an easier way to request answers in some scenarios, it certainly isn’t the ideal format to fulfill the intent in more complex answers (e.g., when comparing services or products).” All that said, Michael Bonfils, managing director of SEM International, said voice search is a game changer for multinational and multilingual websites. “Hopefully, marketers will realize in 2019 that the effective use of voice response can’t be done by translators (machine or human). The use of voice is, and can be, very different from country to country, region to region, dialect to dialect, social class to social class, etc.,” Bonfils said. 9. Watch Machine Learning Dave Davies, CEO of Beanstalk Internet Marketing, said machine learning is about to explode in 2019. “While we’ve seen machine learning in search with RankBrain, Google News groupings, etc. we haven’t really experienced the true power of what it can be. This is the year that changes,” Davies said. “We can see the prep work coming with some of the layout changes the engines are pushing out and their drive to answer intents rather than questions. This is the root of machine learning’s impact on search.” But machine learning won’t just be something to watch on Google and the search engines, said Jenn Mathews of Jenn Mathews Consulting. “Companies need to adopt machine learning to develop unique content for SEO, beginning with a set of data based on specific variables,” Mathews said. “Machine learning, coupled with the need for analysis and reporting, as testing new strategies and implementation is imperative to understanding successes and failures.” 10. Optimize for Featured Snippets & Other Google SERP Features In addition to optimizing for your own website, you must also optimize for the Google search experience in 2019. “Answer boxes, recipes, the knowledge graph, carousels, and who-knows-what-else will take an even bigger bite out of organic traffic,” said Ian Lurie, CEO and founder of Portent. “That makes SEO even more important, because exposure is as much about visibility in the SERPs as it is about clicks.” That means optimizing for featured snippets (a.k.a., position zero) and other Google search features will continue to be an important trend – and more important than ever – in 2019. “We have been able to achieve many answer boxes for our own site and client websites,” said Jim Bader, senior director of SEO at Vertical Measures. “Every time this happens, it results in a significant spike in organic traffic.” Get More 2019 SEO Trends & Insights We’ve only scratched the surface so far. Our experts also discuss the importance of links, video, localization, and more in our ebook: Click here to download 47 Experts on the 2019 SEO Trends That Really Matter Go in-depth with more uncensored and unfiltered insights and tips straight from these experts on how to dominate SEO in 2019: Jamie AlbericoJamie Alberico Arrow Electronics Dawn AndersonDawn Anderson Move It Marketing Jim BaderJim Bader Vertical Measures Andy BettsAndy Betts Advisor Michael BonfilsMichael Bonfils SEM International Doc SheldonDoc Sheldon Campbell Intrinsic Value SEO 10 Important 2019 SEO Trends You Need to KnowCatfish Comstock BusinessOnLine Dave DaviesDave Davies Beanstalk Internet Marketing Frederic DubutFrédéric Dubut Microsoft Eric EngeEric Enge Perficient Digital Shelly FaginShelly Fagin SEMrush Casie GilletteCasie Gillette KoMarketing Keith GoodeKeith Goode IBM Brian HarnishBrian Harnish The Torkzadeh Law Firm Jim HedgerJim Hedger Digital Always Media Jon HenshawJon Henshaw CBS Interactive Sam HollingsworthSam Hollingsworth Elevation Ten Thousand Motoko HuntMotoko Hunt AJPR Mark JacksonMark Jackson Vizion Interactive Dixon JonesDixon Jones DHJ Ventures Ryan JonesRyan Jones SapientRazorfish Jeremy KnauffJeremy Knauff Spartan Media Cindy KrumCindy Krum MobileMoxie Ian LurieIan Lurie Portent Jenn MathewsJenn Mathews Jenn Mathews Marketing Consulting Julia McCoyJulia McCoy Express Writers Jesse McDonaldJesse McDonald TopHatRank.com Corey MorrisCorey Morris Voltage Chuck PriceChuck Price Measurable SEO Arsen RabinovichArsen Rabinovich TopHatRank.com Adam RiemerAdam Riemer Adam Riemer Marketing Alexis SandersAlexis Sanders Merkle Kristine SchachingerKristine Schachinger SEO Consultant Jes ScholzJes Scholz Ringier AG Eli SchwartzEli Schwartz SurveyMonkey Paul ShapiroPaul Shapiro Catalyst JP ShermanJP Sherman Red Hat Matt SiltalaMatt Siltala Avalaunch Media Grant SimmonsGrant Simmons Homes.com Bill SlawskiBill Slawski Go Fish Digital Aleyda SolisAleyda Solis Orainti Alexandra TachalovaAlexandra Tachalova Digital Marketing Consultant Marcus TandlerMarcus Tandler Ryte Shelley WalshShelley Walsh ShellShock Frank WatsonFrank Watson Kangamurra Media Mindy WeinsteinMindy Weinstein Market Mindshift Tony WrightTony Wright WrightIMC Download SEO Trends 2019 Now Past Editions of SEO Trends: SEO Trends 2018 SEO Trends 2017 Image Credits Featured Image: Paulo Bobita CATEGORYSEO Subscribe to SEJ Get our daily newsletter from SEJ's Founder Loren Baker about the latest news in the industry! 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