How to Optimize Your Content for Search Engines in 2019

Learning how to do SEO is crucial for any blogger or marketer. While many entrepreneurs think optimization is all about keywords, latest trends show that’s not true anymore. Considering the fact that search engines algorithms change all the time, you should keep up with the factors search engines take into account for indexing and ranking.

Keep reading, and you will learn about the trends of search engines which you can successfully use for your website to boost your traffic in 2019.

1. Create content for the users first.

Amidst the competition that grows every day, it’s hard to keep your audience’s attention. However, the reader’s engagement is the factor you have to aim your strategy toward.

In 2019 we should focus on content that will be easy for users to read and perceive. Google Guidelines prove this statement and recommend you create your content regarding not the search engines but the readers: “Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.”

Cluttering your text with lots of keywords won’t work. So, change your tactic if you still do it. Create content that sets you apart from other sites, improve the readability and make it serve the needs of your audience. Automatically generated content or plagiarized pages will have a manual spam action applied – the forced exclusion of the page from search results.

2. Work on the uniqueness and value of your content.

Content really matters, and the quality of it should be high in order to satisfy the needs of your audience and search engines.

Unique and in-depth content always gets more attention and backlinks without too much effort. If you create something worthy, it will be shared by many readers. Therefore, it will help you to not only increase traffic and domain authority but also get loyal customers and users.

No matter how much you try to optimize your site, it won’t work well without its base: content. That’s why you need to follow these simple rules when you create your content plan:

avoid thin content – include valuable and interesting information. The advised word count is about 1500 – 2000 words;
avoid content cluttered with keywords – they shouldn’t stand out and ruin the readability of the text
avoid duplicate and plagiarized content – if you struggle to write unique and meaningful text, get help from freelance writers from platforms like Freelancer, EssayTigers, Fiverr, etc.

3. Optimize for featured snippets.

Ranking the #0 spot is now the aim of many marketing strategies as it provides your site a place in the featured snippet.

When one types out a query, for example, “How to make papier-mache,” Google gives a list of search results with the briefest and fullest description of the process in the top and similar questions in the bar “People also ask.”

Take a closer look at the featured snippets, and you will see that they are structured in a similar way – bullet points, laconic description, brief and useful information. Follow the same technique, and you will be able to optimize your content for featured snippets.

Include a question in your text
Provide a brief answer or short step-by-step guide right after the question
Develop a topic in a more detailed manner further in the text

4. Make your content visually attractive

Due to the fast tempo of life, it’s not surprising that people perceive information that is visually appealing as better. Posts with pictures and infographics are more popular than those that are not supported by any visual material.

However, adding pictures and videos to your content might be more challenging than you think. First, adding files of large size usually tends to slow down the loading speed of your page. You should always make sure to compress your images before loading them to your site.

Secondly, don’t forget to add alternative text. Search engine bots can’t look at the picture, but they can analyze what it is about by the brief description you give. This way a bot can categorize the picture and add it to the search results by the query.

5. Get ready for a mobile-first index.

Nowadays mobile devices are more popular than ever before. This means that you need to adjust to the new trends and change your content to match. When analyzing your site, a Googlebot also checks if it is optimized for tablets and smartphones. If everything is OK, it will pick up your site in the rank.

How to do it? Use responsive design for your site, mobile subdomains, or CMS. Also periodically check what your content looks on different devices. Is it convenient to read or scroll through? Are your images and posts displaying correctly? Make sure to optimize your site and content for a mobile version.

Final thoughts

SEO demands thinking through and planning ahead. That’s why you need to be aware of new search engine standards and pick the most suitable methods to include in your SEO strategy.

Get ready to meet 2019 and prepare your site with these easy tips that will help you to optimize your content.

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