In the midst of the daily grind, it’s easy to forget how important content marketing actually is. But now, especially entering into 2019, with Google’s ever-changing algorithms and SEO best practise changing like the wind, it’s important not to underestimate the power of how content marketing can affect your business.
So, what are the main content trends to watch out for in 2019?
1. Content Strategy
Although content itself is important, having a method behind the madness is key. The trick to making your content marketing enhance your business goals is using it strategically. So, what should you consider?
- Secure audience engagement – know your audience, and use analytics to understand what works, and what doesn’t. Tailoring your content to your audience will allow you to expand on areas of knowledge easily, while still retaining the crucial audience you’ve built up. Got a blog that’s worked really well? Create a follow up blog – or even a series.
- Solidify your goals – knowing exactly what you want to gain out of your content is crucial. Are you offering advice? Providing information that should lead to a conversion? Or persuading someone to buy your product? Have this in mind before writing any content, and ensure you keep your goals at the forefront throughout.
2. Relevant content
Having content that is relevant on your site is arguably one of the most important things to consider in your marketing strategy. And 2019 trends in content all point towards relevancy being heavily relied on, as Google deems relevancy as a ranking factor in the SERPS. But how can you make sure your content is relevant?
- Avoid click bait articles – steer clear of creating articles with hyperbole statements and exaggerations that are merely to entice the reader to click into them. Although these pieces may have a CTR, if the content is not relevant, Google will penalise the page and rank it lower in the SERPs.
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Answering questions – search terms are becoming increasingly more dominated by questions, to the point where Google has created Quick Answers in the SERPs. For example:
To appear in Quick Answers – also known as “position 0” – the content will be deemed as wholly relevant to the user and the specific search term inputted. Attempting to answer questions in a clear coherent format will show to Google your page is Quick Answer worthy.
- Original content – creating your own ideas for blogs will increase your presence in the search landscape. There is little benefit in re-writing articles competitors are already ranking highly for. Instead, find a way to spin the topic in another direction, targeting more search times while approaching the blog from a different angle
3. Consideration of voice search
Voice search is fast becoming the most efficient way of searching for information in search engines. Most content marketers have had years to consider the best way to phrase their content, tailoring it to how people would expectedly type in and phrases their queries.
Now, we know big changes are on the horizon for the way voice search is accounted for in search engines. So how can we account for it in our content, too?
- Phrasing – considering the way people would realistically speak a phrase as opposed to typing out a phrase is a key factor in incorporating voice search into your content marketing strategy. Incorporating this into your content will attempt to target not only the typist, but the speaker, too.
- Mobile optimisation – as voice search is predominantly used through devices and tablets, ensuring the site and your content is mobile-friendly is incredibly important when ranking for voice search related queries. If users come to a page that is not formatted in a way that’s mobile-friendly, they will bounce straight away to another page that is.
4. Topic Clusters
Topic clusters, or content hubs, refer to a selection of articles that are all based around the same topic – all offering a different perspective and giving all-round detailed information about the topic. Having that hub of knowledge on your page indicates you’re the expert in the field – Google is now placing a higher importance on these topic clusters, and it’s thought its algorithms will deem this as more relevant and rank it higher.
So, if your content is of high quality, over 1000 words in length, well structured and answers the question it sets out to discuss, your content could be classed as part of a content cluster. Considering this approach when creating your content marketing plan could lead to a higher success in the SERPs!
5. Micro Moments
As search engines develop and our dependency upon the internet grows, the average user is becoming increasingly more demanding for quick information – which is demonstrated through the search terms. Google has characterized this search behaviour into micro moments.
What are micro-moments?
Incorporating these moments into each piece of content you deliver, and deciding which micro-moment it will adhere to, will keep you ahead of the game for 2019 content trends. But remember to keep the content short and to the point – these micro-moments are designed to fulfil the needs of the user quickly and efficiently, putting you as a trustworthy source of information that they may return to at a later date.
Content marketing trends are interesting as there’s always something new that people can try – especially with the ever-changing search landscape. See what works best for your business, and remember to keep in mind these key trends when developing your 2019 content this year.
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