Things change. I remember having bought a new mobile phone that was once considered as expensive and brand new in 2006 – the Nokia NSeries Music Edition. My friends in high school considered me as a person who always changed her mobile phone the moment a new type came out. People always knew that this type (the NSeries Music Edition) was expensive. Now as time goes by, this is merely a memory of my past. I didn’t sell the phone but I stored it somewhere in my house and I don’t even remember where it is right now. Did someone steal it? Was it covered by my pile of unused books? Did it just crumble down into small pieces and disappear? Or did it just disappear without trace? Well, nobody knows. Setting aside that matter, I think it’s only natural for this to happen in this world. Why? As a person who works for a creative agency that provides SEO services for business, I have seen changes in the world of business. In the culinary business, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream used to be popular among kids, but now adults enjoy this new style of ice cream where there is smoke appearing thickly around the ice cream and the ice cream itself is thick in consistency and flavoured with new variants, such as Thai tea, green tea, taro, cranberry yoghurt, and some are even using wine or whiskey as one of the ingredients used for the ice cream. Simply put, changes are bound to happen sooner or later. Many clients of mine always ask me this question; “If things change in the business world, what would happen to SEO? Will SEO change too? Will there come a day where we don’t have to use SEO?” I laughed inside but I simply replied, “SEO will never die. In fact, the more things change, the faster SEO will change too.”
That conversation with my clients got me thinking; “What are the changes in SEO that we can see in 2019?” Well, that actually brought me here, writing this article to remind you that yes, in 2019 SEO changes too. What are the changes that we can see clearly? Find out in this article!
Voice search and home assistants
It is predicted that in 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches. Celebrities even start using this to help them with their activities. Homes are even equipped with voice assistants that can help users in almost anything they need. Want to play the music? Just use voice command and the music will play on its own (without you having to put your hands on your mobile phone or any device you use to play songs). Voice searches have the tendency to be longer than searches entered via a keyboard. For that reason, your SEO must focus on finding and using keywords that are seven-to-nine-words that people are apt to use in conversations. Start by writing down estimated question-based search queries, like the 5W 1H questions.
Mobile optimisation
This may sound so obvious but this is more serious than we can imagine. With mobile phone easily used and brought everywhere, searches will be often made on the go. Also, it is easier and quicker that way. Aside from that, 2019 is the year of Google mobile first index, so if you are not prepared, it will be difficult for you to keep up. For that reason, if you have your own website for business, make sure you prioritise the optimisation process of your website’s mobile version. Here’s how it works; with mobile first indexing, Google will, of course, start with your content’s mobile version in deciding where that content is placed in the SERPs. This method is practical for Google as it helps eliminate weak links in indexing content. However, if you prioritise desktop content, when Google is trying to index its content, it often leads to dragging down the mobile search results if there are some poor loading versions of desktop content. For that reason, mobile optimisation should be put as the priority when it comes to website optimisation.
Content is still king, but only the high quality one
Content will never die and can never will. Changes may happen in the business world, but content is still king because it is the one leading the change. No matter how high your product quality is, if your content is not engaging and not high in quality, your business cannot grow better. Content is not only about what your business is about, but it is also about how you care for your customers and potential customers, you care about helping them. For example, if your business is about skincare products, make sure you are not trying to sell your products. Instead, your content should be focused on helping your customers or potential customers find the right products for them that can help them fix their skin problems.
I know you are selling your products, but hate to break that to you, a business that focuses solely on profit is not the kind of business that people are fond of nowadays. That’s the harsh truth. For that reason, starting out a business even needs well-planned strategies where you can not only sell your products but you can also help people with their problems using your products. Work hard on content and find solutions for your customers or potential customers. That way, you can also get profits for your business in a better way.