Every year new “hot” strategies and tactics emerge to arm business owners with options to get a leg over the competition. 2019 is no different. But what should we pay attention and what should we ignore? After all, the foundations of SEO, and web marketing for that matter, remain the same. Great content coupled with a strategy to ensure quality and relevant income weblinks still reigns supreme. Yet as the web, and the way customers search, continues to evolve, there are certain areas to pay attention to.

SEJ posted a good article on four primary areas, of which, I’d argue the continued evolution of Google’s local business tools should be your main focus.

That includes these highlights from the post:

  • Everyone should be targeting answer boxes.
  • If you have brick and mortar locations manage your locations and ensure your NAP information is consistent.
  • Make video content and market it well.
  • If you are a publisher, use AMP. If you aren’t a publisher try AMP on your blog/articles.
  • Leverage and control the knowledge graph for your brand.
  • Run a local business? Use Google Posts.

Google is trying to provide the searcher ways to get their answer without every having to visit a web page (such as your website). How customers locate information is changing, and there’s not much you can do but go along for the ride. Ensuring your business is present when searches (which come often in the form of questions) are made is key.

How to ensure you’re in all of the right places is relatively easy to execute, assuming you know how and where to apply. The work itself may not be particularly complex (anybody can do it), but knowing where to look and what to focus on may encourage business owners to hire a marketing professional to execute the changes.