We are closing in on 2019 now and many companies are checking the trends that are going to make a difference to them with the close of 2018 looming. To be on top of your game in the SEO world, you need to think about your SEO strategy before you need it. You’re currently working on the strategy for 2018, but 2019 is a mere six weeks away.

One of the biggest shortcuts for success is getting to know the trends that are ahead for your business. In 2018, Google did the thing that Google does and shook up the world, except this time it did it with the mobile and speed related efforts that it put in for the year. This means that most of the SEO efforts next year are going to be in this direction. Some of the game-changers that don’t surround Google are worth noting, though, and these will still influence you and the way that you build your SEO campaign for the year. Below, you’ll find three SEO trends that are looking to matter the most in 2019.

Indexing & Ranking For Mobile

Loosely translated, this means that mobile-first indexing will use the mobile version of your business webpage for indexing and ranking. Search Console may have already notified you about the fact that Google began the process of migrating all sites to a mobile-first index back in March 2018, but it should be noted that a mobile-first index doesn’t mean that you will use mobile-only. It just means that Google will use the mobile versions of ranking when the sites have migrated.

Page Speed

One of the biggest considerations for user experience is the fast delivery of any website, and the loading time of your desktop page has been a ranking factor for some time now. In July, it became apparent that mobile page speeds became a popular ranking factor for mobile, too. This means that there needs to be an understanding which of the metrics matter the most for Google when it comes to page speed evaluation. For optimization, you need to control it by fixing any issues that prevent your website from loading quickly.

Your Brand

Google uses online brand mentions in the search algorithm, and there are a couple of ways that it can be used as a brand ranking signal:

● Unlinked brand mentions means that the search engine learns your brand is an entity.

● Sentiment and content matters. With context, Google can tell the good from the bad.

Backlinks count massively, so they have to be strong whether you are a white-hat business or not. You need to cater to your reputation and address the customer with your brand.

There are, of course, more than three ahead for businesses, but while things in the mobile world are accelerating at a rapid rate, we have to look at what Amazon and the consequences of GDPR. Map your SEO strategy now, and you can be set and ready for 2019!