5 Ways To Step Up Your SEO Game In 2019

The SEO landscape is constantly evolving and that’s why it’s important to stay informed in 2019. Below are some effective ways to step up your SEO game this year!

Finding Backlink Opportunities via Google Images

Businesses can consider using Google Reverse Image Search to discover backlink opportunities, which may be in the form of podcasts and guest posts. This search engine technology works by taking image files as input queries and returning results related to the images. The process, however, works best if the images are connected to active online content.

With that in mind, you may want to find an individual that actively publishes guest posts in your niche. Next, search for their social media accounts, e.g. LinkedIn. Grab their profile picture (or a headshot) and input it as a Google reverse image search query. The results should display what they have guest posted.

As mentioned, this process is also a great way to find interview opportunities such as podcasts. They are currently the most underrated link building strategy even though it is easier to get on one than pitching, writing, editing, and publishing a guest post.

Feature Content that Answers What Is Questions

If an individual searches for a high-level term, e.g. HVAC, chances are they are searching for a definition. Try searching this term on Google, you will notice that a number of results on the first page answered What Is questions, such as:

• What is HVAC?
• What Do HVAC Technicians Do?
• What Is An HVAC System?
• What Are the Different Types of HVAC Systems?

With that in mind, it is a good practice to include a What Is section in a blog post whenever you need to target definition keywords.

Publish Industry Insights

One should consider publishing an industry-focused report if he or she wants to get backlinks from news sites and/or authority blogs in a certain niche. It’s a great way to get featured in the press, attract social media shares, and boost site traffic. You don’t need to get too technical; simply cite credible industry data and research information in your blog posts. The goal is to provide other journalists and bloggers with data that they may have a hard time finding, thus making them link to your content.

Remove Zombie Pages

Zombie pages can creep into websites of local businesses and infect them with lifeless content. These pages tend to exist in the top-level navigation of affected websites, e.g. as product or service pages. If you spot them, they must be deleted without delay as they have no use to both search engines and human visitors. By doing so, you will be able to improve your rankings and attract more Google traffic. There’s a saying that one strong page is enough to defeat several smaller pages.

Optimize for the Google Hummingbird Algorithm

The algorithm gives more attention to content that features answers to a specific question. Such content must feature long-tail keywords that answers the questions (visitors’ search queries) in a conversational and natural manner. So, instead of using keywords such as summer t-shirts, one should use longer keywords like Banana Republic summer t-shirts size medium. Noticed how specific the keyword is? In addition to that, take note that many individuals today are also performing voice searches, with questions that contain How, Who, What, When, Why, and Where. Do target those queries with the right long-tailed keywords!