We may only be the start of April 2019 but once again we are seeing signs of volatility throughout the search engine result pages. After the mayhem that was March and Google announcing a core algorithm update as of the 12th March it is safe to say 2019 has seen a hectic start from an SEO perspective.
It may only be the start of March but we are already seeing significant positional changes and keyword shifts throughout. This is also consistent with various volatility sensors, such as SEMrush. So far for March 2019 it has already recorded scores of 8.1 and 5.9 in the UK for desktop viewports on the 2nd and 5th respectively.
There appears to be chatter of a potential February Google Algorithm Update in the SEO world in 2019. The signs also support this. Our trusted sensor over at SEMrush is showing us a score of 7.6/10 for Thursday 7th February in the UK. This also appears to be consistent throughout various other locations in Europe. As the past few weeks have been rather quiet relatively speaking it will be interesting to note the consequences of this latest update. Google frequently tells us to focus on the quality of content. The importance of content marketing can not be underestimated. As Google rarely informs us of any incoming updates it is crucial we ensure our content is of a high quality and give no reasons to be penalized.
As we have covered in previous posts, Google loves a Google Algorithm update. It is estimated there are hundreds a year. Throughout the SEO world there has been positive talk of a potential Google Algorithm update around the start of January 2019. Evidence certainly seems to support this. Our trusty rankings tracker SEMrush sensor recorded a SERP volatility score of 7.4 for Monday 7th in the UK and this appears to be ongoing throughout the week. This may not seem particularly high but the general consensus seems to be noticeable shifts in rankings. We are seeing positive ranking shifts right across the board. It will be interesting to note the effects this will have upon traffic once the changes settle down.
We can safely say that in 2018 we saw many Google Algorithm tweaks, leading to search results being more volatile than we have seen before. Every month the SEO forums and blogs lit up like a firework with people discussing ranking fluctuations and traffic drops and increases.
Over the year we learnt a few SEO trends to adopt moving into 2019. Some are the same trends we have seen for years, whilst some SEO trends look at new angles to add to your SEO strategy.
We will look at the main 4 areas where you should be investing your time for 2019.
Moving domains without taking your SEO into consideration can cause a catastrophic aftermath for your rankings, traffic, and most importantly your business. Below are some practical tips on things that you need to check off before, during and after a switch.
1. Testing
You will need a test server so that you can fully test the site, and confirm that the redirects work properly, and all links are present and correct. Doing it live without the use of a test server is a disaster waiting to happen.
In the digital world there is a wide range of possibilities when it comes to driving traffic to your site. Be it organic traffic, paid means or social media there is a variety of traffic sources available to use, each with differing levels of user quality and therefore success. One of the most, if not the most, successful drivers of high quality traffic is organic. Driving users to your site with a high user intent means said user is far more likely to convert. To be able to implement a successful organic traffic campaign requires a wide range of tactics to be implemented effectively, and the quality of your content plays a large role in this. Are you struggling with the idea of content marketing? If so then read on to find out more!
Websites revolve around keywords. They are how we determine a user’s search query and what to base our pages around. It would therefore make sense to have numerous pages based around a single strong keyword right? Wrong! When a site has more than one page focused on exactly the same keyword we refer to this as keyword cannibalisation.
Negative SEO involves using black hat SEO techniques to negatively affect a site or page. The aim is to get the chosen domain penalised by Google. They can pose a major problem for webmasters. Not only can a lot of the techniques be outside of your site so out of your control but they are also often hard to spot. It is different to conventional hacking in that it will not affect the look and feel of your site, the intention is to harm rankings and traffic.
When it comes to optimising a web page there are many different aspects that must be considered. Titles, H1 tags, H2 tags, keywords, images and Meta descriptions are just a few of these considerations. Meta descriptions can sometimes be under appreciated but they still have a large role to play in the SEO world. When you perform a search query on a search engine the short snippet of text beneath a website link is referred to as the Meta description. It effectively describes what will be included on that web page.