The Fundamentals of SEO in 2019
SEO is a forever changing game and in 2019, it’s taking another change of direction.
As Google and its algorithm are in total control of what factors dictate SEO, all we can do is keep up with the changes and implement them the best we can to get optimum results.
In fact, according to Moz, Google updates its algorithm up to hundreds of times per year. However, a lot of these are only small changes that don’t need much attention. (If you’d like to dig deeper and find all Google updates in one single resource, look no further; check out this ultimate guide created by MediaSkyscraper).
In this post, we will be going through the three fundamentals of SEO in 2019. Many factors contributing to SEO results.
However, if you stick to and implement these three BIG factors, you’re bound to see success with your marketing efforts.
Let’s dig in…
1. Mobile Usage – Look for Optimisation!
Mobile usage and optimisation in 2019 are one of the biggest factors for SEO. In fact, according to SEOTribunal, over 63% of users are now accessing the internet regularly from their phone.
This shows a credible shift from a few years ago where desktop views we’re dominating SEO.
But what does this mean for SEO and how can we make sure we’re optimising our posts and sales pages to gain the most amount of views and searches?
a) Check if Your Site is User-Friendly
To do this, simply copy and paste your URL into the Mobile-Friendly Test. After the mobile-friendly test has scanned your URL, it will then tell you if your page is mobile-friendly or not. If it isn’t, it will show you ways to solve this issue, and display all pages that you can change.
b) Optimise Your Images
To do this, simply use GT Metrix and scan your URL. Once it’s scanned, it will show you the images that need optimising or serving to the right scale. Simply grab the ‘’optimised version’’ and re-upload it to where the existing image is in on the specific page. In some instances, you may need to resize your images to fit the page.
“On-page SEO is another massive contributing factor if you want to achieve good SEO results. “
2. Focus on User Experience
You may not think the user experience has an effect on SEO but it’s actually on the rise for an SEO ranking factor. User experience is an umbrella term for people easily navigating the site, better page speed and unique, helpful content. Basically, user experience is all about making it as simple as possible for your visitors to get from A to B and convert them into a sale.
One of the main reasons why user experience is a strong SEO factor in 2019 is because Google takes note of the time spent on site. Therefore, if someone is visiting your site and bouncing straight back of it, they’ve had a bad user experience and Google will, therefore, trust your site less. This will, of course, affect your rankings.
Here are some actionable tips to improve the overall user experience:
a) Improve Page Speed – According to Moz, Google has confirmed that . page speed is now a legit ranking factor. It’s ideal to always try and keep your loading page speed below 4 seconds. To do this, go to GT Metrix and follow the step by step process.
b) Use Proper Headings – on each page you should follow this strategy of titles throughout:
Main Title – H1
Sub Heading 1 – H2
Sub Heading 2 – H2
Further Sub Headings – H3
The format of these titles is essential to rank well in Google. The ‘’H’’ tags are how Google interprets the meaning and importance of your keywords!
c.) Improve Site Navigation
Long menu navigation can have a significant negative impact on user
experience and therefore SEO. You want to make sure it’s as easy as
possible to get from A to B or this will increase your bounce rate (the number of people that leave your site quickly!
Here are some tips when arranging your menu navigation:
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- Add a ‘’search’’ tab – this allows users to quickly get through hundreds of blog posts (for example) and get to the one they need!
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- Make sure your navigation menu is on all pages – people won’t always land on your home page.
- Be descriptive, concise and clear – make sure your menu tabs are direct.
3. Follow The On-Page SEO Footprint
On-page SEO is another massive contributing factor if you want to achieve good SEO results. There are certain rules you have to follow to give yourself the best possible chance of ranking well for the keywords you’re targeting. For example purposes, let’s pretend you own a digital marketing company and you’re trying to sell ‘’website design’’.
In the landing page, you create for this keyword, there are certain attributes that you need to follow to rank well. Here’s how you optimise the keyword below:
a) Write at least 500+ words of content around this idea
Make sure the content is useful, actionable and has a clear call to action. The reason why it’s important to have at least 500+ words is that it complies with Google’s SERP rules!
b) Use Keyword Density But Make it Natural
Keyword density is the number of times you mention your targeted keyword ‘’website design’’. I suggest you mention it at least 5-6 times. Once in the URL, once in the SEO titles and once in the main heading. The other three you should integrate naturally in your content!
c) Optimise Alt-Tags
People often forget this stage but try to remember it! With every image you create, you can apply an alt-tag to it. This allows Google to read the image and also rank your images, as well as text.
d) Submit to Google Console
After you’ve followed the other guidelines, make sure to submit your new post to Google Console. This will help speed up the ranking process and nudges Google to tell them you have a new page and you want them to rank it instantly.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found this post informative and you can take actionable tips
away to start better improving your SEO and online marketing.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and one of our experts will be happy to help. Start using our SEO techniques today!
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