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SEOTRENDSTOWATCHIN2019Every t imeGoogle updates their a lgor i thm, SEObest pract ices must be examinedandupdated. Manytechnologica l advances th is year prompted a response f romGoogle andother searchengines, sending SEOprofess ionals into a f renzy.

INTHIS GUIDE, LEARNTHEMOST POPULARSEOTRENDSOF2019AND HOWCOMPANIESWHOOPTIMIZEWILL POSITIONTHEMSELVESTOWIN IN2019.

OF ONLINE EXPERIENCES BEGIN WITH A SEARCH

ENGINE.

Forrester

93%

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SEOTRENDSTOWATCHIN2019

1 Page Speed

Voice Search

Mobile-First Indexing

GDPR’s Effects

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3

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Explore these SEO Trends to be sure your website ranks well on search engines:

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PAGESPEED

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PAGESPEEDRank Better with Faster Loading Pages In August 2018, Google made an update placing greater emphasis on page speed to determine how they rank sites on the first page of search engine results. If a site wants to rank well, they must boost the speed of their site. Page speed also affects the onsite user experience, as the slower the page loads the more likely a visitor will leave your site without converting by making a purchase or completing a form.

How does this affect SEO Trends in 2019?

1.  A Focus on User Experience Metrics Webmasters will pay more attention to user experience metrics including time on site, pages per session and bounce rate to determine if page speed is affecting user experience.

2.  A Look at Website Hosting Options Organizations may want to research hosting options more in depth as choosing the right hosting option could help reduce the time it takes to load your website. For example, certain hosting options can preserve your own dedicated portion of the server’s resources to power your site.

3.  External Content Hosting Options Page load speed can be boosted if you utilize external hosting options or a content delivery network (CDN) for certain content. External hosts are commonly used to host video content.

4.  Compressing and Reducing File Sizes Other ways webmasters boost page speed is by enabling compression, enabling browser caching, optimizing images, reducing redirects and by reducing HTML, CSS and JavaScript file requests.

of consumers expect a site to load in two seconds or less.

will abandon a page that takes three or more seconds to load.

47%

40%

Neil Patel

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VOICESEARCH

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VOICESEARCHA Rise in Popularity of Voice Searches Voice Search is when users browse the web without typing anything into a device to generate results. In Voice Search, people speak their searches to virtual assistants (like Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana or Apple’s Siri) into a device like a smartphone or Google Home, Amazon Echo, or Apple HomePod. Voice Search improves user experience as it helps people find the most accurate information in the quickest manner possible.

How does this affect SEO Trends in 2019?

By 2020, 50% of web searches will be conducted via voice. Andrew Ng, Chief Scientist at Baidu

Because voice search queries are becoming more common, Google has increased the importance of voice search optimization in how they rank websites. Sites who optimize for Voice Search will have a leg up on their lagging competition, boosting online purchases and brand awareness as voice searchers access their content. Optimizing for voice search also improves SEO in other areas.

Some ways to optimize for voice search include: •  Speeding up the time it takes to load a webpage or website •  Writing content in the same way that you would speak (for example, “what is

the most played song on spotify for 2019?” instead of “top spotify song 2018”) •  Using featured snippets within your content •  Creating location-based content

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MOBILE-FIRSTINDEXING

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Every 3 out of 5 searches occur on mobile devices.

Every 9 out of 10 mobile search users take action as a result of a mobile search, with over half leading to a purchase.

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MOBILE-FIRSTINDEXINGSearch Engines Show Preference to Mobile In 2016, mobile website usage surpassed desktop usage and has been growing ever since. At that point, many people were using search engines on their mobile devices but Google’s system was still based on the desktop. In response, Google now uses the mobile versions of sites for indexing and ranking, showing preference for sites that optimize their mobile versions.

How does this affect SEO Trends in 2019?

NeilPatel

Google

To remain competitive, websites must optimize for mobile visitors. A website should be responsive – showing the same content on desktop and mobile while being designed in a way that renders properly on any device. Webmasters and Marketers should also examine the page speed of their mobile site version and pay attention to how a mobile site is crawled by search engines to be sure they deliver the best user experience possible on any device and rank as high as possible on the first page of search engine results.

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GDPR’SEFFECTS

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GDPR’SEFFECTSRestricted Data Access Boosts Organic Efforts The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of measures put in place to protect the data privacy of consumers located in Europe. While it only applies to EU consumers, websites must be up-to-date to avoid hefty fines for non-compliance with the GDPR.

To Comply, Organizations Must: •  Restructure their digital strategy for all consumers •  Limit tracking of personal data and online activity •  Enable consumers to restrict how they’re tracked

How does this affect SEO Trends in 2019? GDPR restricts how organizations can track website visitors and handle their content. These restrictions hinder the effectiveness of paid marketing efforts to target consumers and serve advertisements. They also restrict the collection of attribution data to prove the success of your marketing efforts.

To respond to these changes, marketers will shift their focus (and also their budgets) to strengthen their SEO efforts. They will aim to boost search engine ranking for organic terms relating to their company and the products and services they offer in order to be on the first page of search engine results when a consumer is ready to make a search query. Sites that optimize for broader search terms will benefit as well as sites that provide content that is informative and naturally meets consumer needs.

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SEOTrendstoWatchin2019

Commerce is shifting online more and more every year over traditional retail. In this way, websites are becoming just as important as brick-and-mortar locations.

Organizations must ensure that they are easily found online by customers looking for their products and services. They must prioritize proper maintenance of their websites to do so.

Organizations that implement a plan for Search Engine Optimization and stay ahead of SEO trends will be rewarded with more qualified leads organically visiting their

website as they browse the internet.

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