Top SEO Trends to Look Out For in 2019
There is never a better time than right now to prepare for the future. 2019 might very well be the biggest year for SEO yet. Between augmented reality and virtual reality, or artificial intelligence and blockchain, we could find massive changes in the way we, as searching sentient beings, do business.
Below are three predictions of what’s to come in the year ahead from three industry superstars.
AI Will Change the Manner in Which We Do Keyword Research
Jana Garanko, head of PR at the famous marketing application SEMrush, says that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the way in which we conduct keyword research, and rankings will greatly depend on private demographic data far greater than they already do.
She believes that AI will become ubiquitous in the business world, and therefore SEO specialists will have to find a way to grasp firsthand the knowledge on automation and machine learning.
Garanko believes larger numbers of people will stick to voice search, and therefore SEO specialists will also have to adjust to this new method of searching - “Since voice requests are different from normal queries, the keyword research process is likely to change.”
When it comes to virtual technologies, however, Garanko believes the process towards its integration into SEO may take some time. “While virtual reality technologies start bringing sci-fi movies to real life, I doubt that VR and AR (Augmented Reality) will have a great impact on SEO anytime soon. This is a matter of years, though, and my guess is that in some 5-10 years this kind of SEO will become more common.”
Voice Search and Amazon Search Will Impede on Your Site’s Impressions
Kent Lewis, Founder and President of Portland-based performance firm, Anvil, predicts that both voice search and Amazon search will become trends in 2019 - “My prediction is that the biggest SEO trend in 2019 will be Amazon search. 56% of consumers begin searches around products on Amazon (not Google), according to a Kenshoo study. This is a huge shift that we’re seeing and Amazon search cannot be neglected. Amazon really could be the new Google.”
Additionally, he believes that voice search will be an important trend in the way consumers search for products and services in 2019, but concedes that the shift won’t be without its challenges.
“When consumers search vocally, their queries are hugely different from how they write them out. The most noticeable aspect of this is that voice search produces many long-tail keyword queries. It will be a challenge optimising these terms. Do we create new pages to address each long-tail variation? Do we create a hub page?
AR and VR Will Have Their Own Sections in Organic Search
Yogesh Jain, founder of India-based digital marketing agency Concept Allies, says that AR and VR will dramatically influence Google’s organic search algorithms - “Both virtual reality and augmented reality are promising technologies for search engine marketing (both paid and organic). By 2019, the way we search might not change completely, but these new technologies will definitely change the way we build links, engage users, and generate leads through content marketing.”
He also believes that content strategists will make great attempts to incorporate the use of video into their strategies, and this will also be influenced by the use of AR and VR.
“Content strategists are making dramatic efforts to incorporate video into their plans. With AR and VR in the picture, they will surely figure out ways to leverage these. AR and VR content can also replace the role of infographics in SEO.''
“Also, Google already favours mobile-friendly websites. Since AR and VR are becoming mainstream, Google may tweak their algorithm to favor sites with more mobile engagement or maybe come up with a new search engine section focused only on AR/VR – just like what they have for images.”