They weren’t lying when they said time flies when you’re having fun. 2018 has been a fun year at Snap and we’re getting an early start on 2019 by reevaluating everything we know about SEO. Exciting right? But don’t worry, we do this every year. We take pride in always being as up-to-date as possible on all of the most current digital marketing trends and strategies. From web design to social media management, each new year presents a new and unique challenge.
While we’re constantly researching and expanding our field of view to ensure that we stay on the cutting edge of all things digital marketing, the period of time right after the new year begins is a special time for us. In the past few weeks, with the publication of consumer studies and digital trend research from 2018, we’ve been able to compare what we’ve learned throughout the year with the year-end conclusions of fellow industry experts to create our SEO predictions for 2019.
The Dos and Don’ts of 2019 SEO Strategy
Being a top provider of SEO services in Minneapolis and beyond is a driving desire of ours; it is what enabled us to compile this list of eight questions that companies should be asking their own search engine optimization service providers in 2019. These questions should help you determine if you’re using the best digital strategy possible for 2019.
1. Do we exchange links with the same sites regularly?
We’re not saying that linking to other websites is a bad idea; linking to authorities in your field within your content is a great idea. But if you set up a scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours system with another site Google will catch on quickly and penalize you for it. Linking repeatedly to the same site over and over again while that same site links back to you isn’t recommended. There are much more effective ways to build your linking portfolio.
What you can do is aggregate a list of industry experts that are reliable sources of information. Frequently referring to a pool of 10-20 high-value domains is just fine in Google’s eye. Try using free resources like the Moz Pro or SEO Review Tools website authority checkers to evaluate the quality of a domain.
2. Was our website’s URL chosen only to include our business’ primary keyword?
Examples of this would be Minneapolisarchitect.com or Chicagoplumbingspecialist.com. While we get what you were going for, and years ago this would have made you rank first for Minneapolis architects and Chicago plumbing specialists, Google has grown wiser and now identifies these types of URLs as risky.
The best URL for your business is one that includes your business name. It’s as simple as that. You can use online tools like GoDaddy to find available domain names that fit your business.
3. Will user experience matter for my search rankings?
A lot of signs point to yes on user experience being an even bigger factor for your SEO in the coming months. Google, in particular, continues to emphasize that they want to create more personalized search results. That means you’ll want to make sure that your site functions well, especially when it comes to its speed and efficiency. You’re also going to want to make sure you create content that engages your users and keeps them on your website for sustained periods of time.
4. Should we invest more in our content marketing?
Content marketing has really taken off in the last few years and we expect it to continue its rise in popularity. That means that it is likely your competition will continue to put more time and resources into their own content marketing. So, you should as well. Not only is your audience more receptive to content over traditional ads, but a strong content marketing presence can do wonders for your search engine optimization.
If you’re serious about upping your content marketing game, there are plenty of helpful online resources out there, like the Content Marketing Institute’s Blog.
5. Do we buy links for our website?
Buying a surplus of links from a website that says something along the lines of “click here to buy 100 high-quality links for only $60” is a bad idea. There’s a difference between aggregating links from industry experts or respected sources and bulk-purchasing low-quality links online. If Google finds that you suddenly have 100 new links coming to your site from one domain across the globe, it’s going to know exactly what you’re doing.
Instead of purchasing links, you can reach out to influencers in your industry to see if they would be interested in promoting your services or products through a partnership. NinjaOutreach has some great templates for influencer outreach messages that can be found here.
6. Are we using a short tail or long tail keyword strategy?
The nature of keywords has changed drastically in the last year alone. While it used to be popular to utilize multiple short tail keywords in your SEO strategy, with the evolution of RankBrain, such is no longer the case. Intent-based long tail keywords now hold much more value than traditional short tail keywords.
To make a long story short, due to the RankBrain algorithm, which has a large impact on how Google ranks content, Google now cares more about the user behind the search than the actual search itself. Using sites like ahrefs to find fitting long tail keywords can greatly increase your SEO success in 2019.
Start prepping for the New Year with Snap
Do you feel ready to fully assess your digital marketing and search engine optimization capabilities for 2019? If you’re still struggling a bit, that’s perfectly understandable. Knowing all there is to know about digital marketing is our job, not yours. So if you’d like to talk about anything from search engine optimization to web design, or social media, our talented team would be more than happy to help.
from Snap Agency https://www.snapagency.com/blog/6-questions-ask-search-engine-optimization-service-provider-2018
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