Google is constantly changing and updating its ranking algorithms to provide a better experience for its users. While Google continues to change, it’s imperative that SEO strategists change our tactics to keep up with these updates. Each year, there are new factors to consider, factors that lose importance, and factors that become much more important. We’ve compiled a list of the most important SEO trends to pay attention to in 2019 for a successful SEO strategy.

1. Mobile-First Indexing

For a long time, Google indexed desktop sites first to determine ranking. However, with more and more searches being performed via mobile device, Google now indexes mobile sites before desktop sites, making mobile sites more important than ever. For this reason, it’s essential to have a high quality and properly functioning mobile site. Your mobile site should be responsive, clear, and well organized. Because Google places so much importance on mobile sites, you should do the same and make sure your mobile site is top notch.

2. Your Brand Matters

Google has always taken links to your site into account. However, recently it has also begun considering sites that simply mention your brand without a link. For this reason, your brand’s online reputation matters more than ever. Not only does Google consider the amount of times your brand is mentioned on the web, but it also evaluates each site that mentions your brand. If a large number of sites mention your brand but they’re all bad quality sites, it won’t help your rank. Google wants to give high rankings to the must trustworthy and reputable sites, so it’s essential to establish a good online reputation and a strong presence.

3. User Intent

The way Google operates is changing as it alters its algorithms. Instead of trying to match searches word for word with content, Google now tries to understand searches. With new updates, Google attempts to understand user intent as well as the meaning of each web page it indexes. With these efforts, Google now tries to provide search results that match the user’s intent behind their search, rather than the exact words in the search. These changes mean that keyword stuffing is a thing of the past. Instead, you should focus on creating relevant, educational content that will answer questions your potential customers might be looking for. A great way to align your site with this emphasis on user intent is to organize your content into content pillars and topic clusters. Content pillars can help organize your content to better explain it to Google and topic clusters will help Google understand the topics that it should associate with your site. Smart SEO strategists are switching to this model to focus on user intent.

4. Voice Search

For the past few years, voice search has continued to increase in popularity. At this point, almost 1/3 of all Google searches are performed via voice search. By 2020, it’s predicted that over half of searches will be done this way. Voice search is becoming so popular that many people even consider it a necessity. In fact, 65% of Amazon Echo or Google Home owners say they can’t imagine going back to a day before they had them. To be successful in the age of voice search, smart SEO strategists will reorganize their content to be well suited for this unique type of search. For more tips on optimizing your content for voice search, click here. To be successful in 2019, it’s essential to consider voice search and how it will impact your business.

5. Loading Speed

The loading speed of your desktop site has been a factor in Google’s ranking for a long time. However, Google has recently taken the loading speed of your mobile site into account as well. Because Google’s focus is shifting to an emphasis on mobile, it’s more important than ever to have a quality mobile site. It’s important to make sure your mobile site is responsive and loads as quickly as possible. Free your site of extraneous plugins and content that reduce the load speed. You might even consider accelerated mobile pages (AMP), which are usually composed solely of text to ensure the fastest possible load time. To maximize your ranking on Google, make sure your desktop and mobile sites both load as quickly as possible when users navigate to them from Google.

ImageWorks, LLC | CT Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

While professional SEO services can offer many opportunities to your business, you should never depend on SEO alone for the growth of your business. The companies that thrive on the online world have a comprehensive approach and utilize both online and offline marketing strategies. SEO can be a big piece; however, it is only one slice of the marketing pie.

By integrating all of today's Web tools such as SEO, social media, pay per click, and blogs, ImageWorks, LLC can turn your site into a lead generation tool.