As the year draws to a close, tips for the coming year start flashing up everywhere in the media again.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization), however, is subject to constant change, so a regular update makes good sense. And what better moment than the turn of the year. So here, gathered from experience and various sources, are the ultimate SEO tips for 2019:
Naming keywords and, at the same time, keeping the text fluent and easy to read is not a contradiction. Both have to be considered for good SEO. Write so that there is enough content for the reader, content that is also interesting and has “news value”. Writing texts only for the sake of keywords makes no sense. The text also has to be something people want to enjoy reading. We have actually known that for a long time, but since the major Google update in mid-2018 it matters more than ever. Whoever has the best content wins!
Unfortunately, we keep finding that many website operators have not yet switched to HTTPS. Since 2014 this has been a ranking factor clearly communicated by Google, and it absolutely has to be implemented.
Another point we keep seeing: keywords are not chosen properly. It is not about what you yourself think the right keywords might be. You have to analyse and compare precisely which terms will achieve the best ranking. That includes competitor analysis as well as search-volume analysis. Use various tools such as Google Trends, AnswerThePublic or your Google Search Console.
The loading time of your website is a direct ranking factor for Google. So remove, for example, too many or overly large images as well as unnecessarily loaded JavaScript or CSS files. Slowly loading websites will always be at a disadvantage in Google search results, because the user signals will decline as well.
This point is actually one of the absolute basics of SEO. Yet we keep seeing far too long, complicated permalinks.
The URLs should be short and “descriptive”. That is, they should show what the reader can expect.
So not https://www.solutioo.de/2128403_web/blog/post23112018/related/die-besten-seo-tipps-fuer-2019/alleswasmanwissenmussundnochvielmehr.de
but https://www.solutioo.de/seotipps/
File names and alt tags for images are also important for good SEO. Just as with permalinks, they should be short and descriptive. That applies to embedded images as well as to featured images. Here too you can, first, place keywords and, second, increase relevance for Google. That way you can also win readers through Google image search.
Sources: www.blogmojo.de, www.linkresearchtools.com, www.derdigitaleunternehmer.de,
Image source: Shutterstock
For some readers here, these tips may not be anything new. But it never hurts to be reminded of them again 😉