Stay on top of SEO efforts in the new year
It’s more important than ever for business websites to keep on top of SEO trends. Search engine algorithms not only work to rank websites with effective keywords, they penalize websites that contain poor content. Advances in technology are greatly influencing the way people use searches to find website content. Here are 5 trends for 2019 that you should look to incorporate into your website.
Voice search
With the rise of Siri on smartphones and smart devices such as Apple’s HomePod, Amazon’s Alexa and others, people have become accustomed to simply speaking requests or questions and getting results via voice. Businesses have to recognize this as more than a passing fad and jump on the trend of optimizing for voice technology. Experts predict that in just one year, 50 percent of all searches will be done by voice.
Mobile friendly
Smartphones are advancing and the number of users grows every year. The number of mobile search users is expected to increase to 221 million by 2021. Just two years ago, only 34 percent of organic search engine visits came from mobile devices. That number is now 50 percent. As more people access websites via mobile devices, it is vital for businesses to not only craft SEO, but to have a responsive website design to accommodate this traffic when visitors arrive.
Blockchain
While still a complex concept for some, blockchain has not only laid the groundwork for cryptocurrency, but experts believe it will impact SEO soon. This is because blockchain can be programmed to record any type of data, not just transactions. Those pieces of data (blocks) transmit across a network in a tamper-proof way. Right now, search engines act like middlemen between websites and advertisers. As blockchain works to guarantee identity and security, it’s more likely that the middleman will disappear and people and companies will do business more directly via Internet. Thus, it will be more and more important for business websites to use SEO to get found by their target audience.
Video
While some may argue that this isn’t necessarily a new trend, there is a shift for search engines to go beyond text. It’s expected that algorithms will crawl video content in the same way they crawl text today. Research shows that in 2019, online video will be responsible for 80 percent of global Internet traffic. In the United States, it will be 85 percent. As businesses add helpful video such as tutorials, brand documentaries and company culture reels, it will be more and more important to provide video metadata for search engines.
Going local
People seek things close to them. More than 70 percent of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles and 30 percent of mobile searches are related to a location. Of those who found the brick-and-mortar business they searched for, 28 percent purchased something when they arrived. This means businesses need to have a strong local presence in search results. SEO should not only focus on city and state, but also consider keywords for neighborhoods.
Stay on top of SEO trends
Search engine algorithms are ever-changing, but a business that invests in a website should utilize SEO so their target audience can find them. At Talent Evolution, our team stays ahead of SEO trends to not only help get websites found, but get the website to be a benefit for your business and better your bottom line. Contact us to discuss how TE can help your SEO.
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