The year is almost at an end and with the dawn of a new one comes the prospect of Google’s raft of SEO changes that the company is ushering for 2019. Knowing what lies ahead is crucial if you’re in a cutthroat online business heavily reliant on SEO success and to help you out this regard, here is a compilation of 5 trends that Google will roll out for the new year:
1) Mobile to take first priority in Google indexing
If you haven’t received an email to this effect then you should know that Google is shifting its ranking algorithm to primarily focus on mobile-friendliness as the first indexing criteria. Desktop aspects will still be factored in, however, mobile will take the first precedence above all else with the former pushed down the pecking order. It is therefore non-negotiable that your site ought to toe the handheld-interface line lest your website is thrust into the abyss of obscurity. You can do the former by enlisting the services of useful software such as website auditor which lets you know where you’re missing the mark and what to do to remedy that.
2) Changes in page speed considerations
In a bid to bolster user experience of handheld devices, Google and its interwebs search dogs will consequently be moving away from judging page speed based on desktop loading time solely to doing so on mobile loading time as well. Technical criteria such as the optimization metric have long served as the measuring yard for years but now speed for both mobile and desktop has also been thrown into the consideration pot. While this won’t see you lose any SEO ranking ground, your website could be branded as slow’ which is sure to dwindle your traffic numbers. However, the good news is that Google lends you a hand on bettering optimization so you do not look any further than their recommendations list for help.
3) Brand mentions will play a vital role too
Expert voices from within Google’s team itself have hinted that the company is bound to revamp its algorithm so as to integrate unlinked brand mentions into the ranking parameters. Therefore, search engines will be sniffing out brand names to gauge your grasp of a particular niche and will also go by context and sentimental aspects (e.g. resolved complaints, advertising, reputation, and trust) to determine where you’ll be placed in the SEO ladder. Tactica , an SEO brand in New Jersey says “A good name and track record will, as a result, earn you a higher ranking while a bad reputation will attract the opposite”. To ensure that the latter is not the case, implore the use of linkless banks, throw your brand name into online conversations naturally and prioritize bolstering your rapport with clients.
4) GDPR is looming
Personal detail malpractice has rocked the online sphere in the last couple of years with large companies exploiting loopholes on various platforms for their own gain which has led to the General Data Protection Regulation policy. This policy passes down the ownership of data resulting from online interactions among users to the users themselves exclusively who can consequently bring to task corporations with regards to how any collected data is used. The EU-approved guideline will then trigger punishments if the company in question doesn’t comply with user demands and it will generally cover organizations operating within the European Union and international entities as well. Other expected changes also include delete-on-demand provisions and a shortened expiring period for affinity and demographic data spanning 26 months after the collection data.
5) Amazon search will also be a strong ranking factor
Amazon is undoubtedly the king of the eCommerce arena and its search is, therefore. becoming more popular as close to 60% of consumers go straight to the website to look up what they aim to buy bypassing Google search in the process. If your website relies on selling electronics, music, books etc. then one of your SEO pillars will need to be fashioning your website for optimum Amazon performance. Luckily, Amazon can help you out with that as the company avails a host of features such as Rank Tracker that’ll show you where and when to make changes for the better.
Google pulls no punches when seeking to provide the ultimate experience to its users and if you aim to stay above the suffocating waters of changes, getting a good SEO expert goes a long way. According to Outsource2EU, Europe has proved to be the go-to continent for topnotch services in recent years with big names looking to this side of the world for the best in the business. You should, therefore, outsource to Europe if first-rate SEO is what you’re looking for as you’ll have to settle for nothing less than perfection.