How to Hack SEO in 2019

The only real constant with SEO is that the rules change regularly. Search engines are getting more advanced and better able to understand the context of queries, rather than just the words used.

Also, with technological advances like improved voice queries and the underlying tech, we can expect even more upheavals in the future.

With that in mind, we’ve composed this post to go over how to hack SEO for 2019. We’ll focus on ranking well on Google because 92,59% of mobile searches and 72.87% of desktop searches are conducted via Google. (This is according to the SEO Stats infographic first published on SEO Tribunal).

You can check out the actual infographic straight after reading through this text. It contains a lot of statistics and information that we found fascinating. But before you head off and check that out, are you ready to learn where to focus your SEO efforts in 2019? Okay then, let’s go.

Use Featured Snippets

There is a lot of competition for the top spot of search engine results. Unfortunately, you now also have to compete with:

Ads in both picture and text format;
Local packs;
The Knowledge Graph;
Google images and news;
Videos;
“People Also Ask” entries.

And all of that before the person even looks at the search result. It’s no longer enough to get the top spot in terms of SERP, you also need to work on getting Google to feature a snippet from your site.

To do this, it’s a good idea to start putting in a question and answer section on your page. Google is more likely to feature snippets that have been properly structured.

To get the best possible results, you need to really focus on what kind of information your target market will go online to look for. Then use this information to create your content. If you can answer a question they frequently ask, you have a good chance of getting a featured snippet in the search results.

Data Needs To Be More Structured

You need to create your content so that it reads well for people. That’s been drummed into us over the last few years. But that doesn’t mean forgetting the search engines completely. You want Google to be able to read your site quickly and easily so that it can draw information to create rich snippets.

You need to mark up your content properly so that the search engines can read it. You can learn more about how to do this through Schema.org.

Create A Flawless User Experience

In the early days, search engines were not all that complex. The only real way that they could evaluate which sites should be included in the results were to check for those with the most matching keywords. Things have changed a lot since then. Now it’s also important to make sure that the user experience on your site is great.

Going forward into 2019, do ensure that:

Your site loads as fast as possible. Work towards three seconds at the outside. Google says that 53% of sites are abandoned by mobile visitors if they take more than three seconds to load.
Your site is absolutely flawless. Users do not forgive if a site doesn’t load as it should. Make sure that it works flawlessly for all users, even those with older devices. So, steer clear of Adobe Flash apps on your site, for example, because these don’t play well on all devices.
Your site is optimized for mobile if it hasn’t been already. With phones becoming a lot more advanced, people will use them even more for online searches, buying, etc. Make sure that your site is ready or get left in the dust.

Make Use of Tools to Make Your Page Even Faster on Mobile

Accelerated mobile pages (AMP), together with progressive web apps (PWA), are ways to make your page load even faster on mobile. AMP is going to be a big thing on the scene in 2019. But before you head off to have one created for you, make sure it will work for your site.

These pages load fast because they are tiny files. To cut back on file size, they’re usually very plain and have very few images. That’s not the look that every webmaster wants.

Contextual Content

You already know that content is extremely important. You need to ensure that you have great quality content on your site to keep users interested. But more than that, you also need enough text so that Google gets a good idea of the context of your site.

Tech like RankBrain is helping Google better understand the context of the content, so get ahead of the game and get prepared now. RankBrain is still in its formative stages, but learning fast. We can expect a big leap forward in efficiency in 2019.

Aim to create the best resource online for your chosen topic, and make sure that the content quality matches.

Put Mobile First

It’s no secret that search engines have been focusing more attention on mobile users over the past few years. We saw the implementation of the first “Mobile-First Index” this year, and this will gain greater importance over the next few years.

This means that if your site is not optimized for mobile, you could well see a significant drop in traffic.

To Link or Not to Link?

Every single year, there are those that claim that SEO is officially over. That you’re not going to be able to game the system anymore. Now, it’s true that it’s becoming harder to figure SEO out, but some of the older tricks do still work.

The quantity of high-quality links to a site is still an extremely important ranking factor for the site itself. So, ignore the naysayers and carry on building links. But do this by creating top-notch content that will pass muster at the more reputable sites so that the links are worthwhile.

Overall, 2019 should be an interesting year for SEO. There are not many massive changes, but there are significant ones that can have far-reaching effects. Start preparing now so you aren’t caught unawares later.