SEO in 2019 and How Content Fits Into This

SEO in 2019

In 2018, Google made 3,234 updates or about nine changes a day, which is about eight times the number of Google updates in the year 2009. Google makes changes to the search algorithm every year.

While most updates are minor, major updates significantly changed SEO, especially the Panda and Penguin Google updates. So, how’s SEO in 2019, and how can you create content that can fit into the latest SEO updates? Learn more by continuing to read below. 

Take Advantage of Guest Posting

Guest posting is not new to SEO anymore, and SEO in 2019 still considers this technique as an effective way to gain authority and quality links. However, before other website owners and publishers will trust your site, you have to focus on content quality.

Here are the benefits of guest posting when it comes to SEO:

  • Build authority and trust in your business
  • Helps to build quality links
  • Establish long-lasting connections and partnerships
  • Increases your ranking and brand awareness

Focus On Content Quality

John Mueller, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, cleared out the difference between Google penalization and a website that isn’t ranking. Sometimes publishers are complaining about getting penalized by Google. But the reason for this is that their web pages aren’t ranking because of a quality issue with the content.

Web content that’s not relevant to search queries usually fails to rank, but not necessarily a result of penalization. For instance, many SEO specialists and digital marketing experts use the terms “Duplicate Content Penalty” and “Content Cannibalization Penalty”, which are not actually penalties but the inability to rank due to content issues or poor content quality.

You can fix the problem with low rankings by focusing on content quality. Once you start implementing the right SEO strategies with quality content, you’ll gain long-term benefits. It means that you’ll see positive results in your ranking in search engines and gain higher organic traffic.

Here are some tips when creating quality content:

  • Write for your target audience and not mainly for SEO. While SEO is important, your primary objective is to produce high-quality content. Once you have produced one, check the SEO elements for the best output.
  • Avoid keyword stuffing because it can kill your SEO and affect content quality. It means that you need to avoid unnecessarily repeating and adding words or phrases that are out of context. Always use keywords relevant to the topic and never insert the same keyword blocks.
  • Use online tools, such as Keyword Finder and Google Insights, to know what topics your target audience is interested in and what keywords are suitable for a specific topic.
seo goals

Know the Essential Elements of an Optimized Page

Optimized web pages tend to rank high in search engines. That’s why you have to identify if your web pages have the essential SEO elements. It’s crucial to have targeted keywords, search engine friendly URL, optimized title tag and meta description, and more.

Here are the essential elements and a simple checklist you can follow for your SEO:

  • Targeted Keywords: Your starting point when you’re writing should always be keyword research so you can create cornerstone or pillar content. Your target keyword should be found in the first paragraph or the first 100 words of your web page.
  • Keyword Support: Your keywords should support the topic content with relevant links. Moz’s Keyword Explorer or Google’s Keyword Planner can help you determine what keywords users type in search engines around your topic, using them as a basis in creating your content.
  • Uniqueness: Research about the topic thoroughly and create unique content based on your expertise, customer testimonials, and your company story.
  • Search Engine Friendly URL: When creating a search engine friendly URL use three to five easy-to-understand words. Avoid confusing and complex URL, and opt for keyword-optimized and shorter URL.
  • Optimized Title Tag: Place the main keyword at the beginning of the title tag, keep it under 60 characters.
  • Optimized Meta Description: If you have a well-written meta description (with 160 characters or less), your page has a higher chance of getting clicked (click-through rate).
  • Variations in Subheadings: Create relevant, clear, and logical subheadings to support your title and content.
  • Semantically-Related Keywords: Using semantically-related keywords demonstrate relevancy. It means that your content should be written as naturally as possible without misplaced or irrelevant keywords inserted just for the sake of SEO.

Implement Voice Search Optimization

With the emergence of artificial intelligence, voice search is now in-demand. It’s quickly dominating the online world because of digital technology, involving the use of smartphones and wearable devices that use AI technology.

Voice search is drastically improving user experience. That’s why fifty percent of all online searches will be voice search by the year 2020. As early as now, you should emphasize creating content that is geared towards voice search optimization, like writing how a human speaks to be compatible with voice search.

Conclusion

With the latest updates in SEO, it’s important to point out that content quality and identifying the essential SEO elements are crucial in ranking your web pages. If you have high-quality content, the other SEO metrics will follow, such as your site traffic or number of website visitors, lead generation rate, conversion rate, and your sales.