Digital marketing has changed drastically in the years. Increased competition is undoubtedly one of the primary reasons, but apart from competitors it is the way audience and search engines are looking at you.

There are more than 1805,260,010 websites on the web for a vast audience. The web space is getting saturated with the increasing number of sites. Digital marketing is getting more and more difficult with the adoption of new technologies. There is one website for every 7 people in this world after eliminating all the dormant sites. Here, are few of the changes.

1. SEO is not the same

SEO is slowly moving to voice search. You may not like the fact that SEO is moving to voice search. But the voice is the future. Data suggests that 2 out of 5 use voice search.  Assuming that by 2020 more than 50 % searches will be voice searches.

There is a vast population who is already opting for voice search. Anything they want to search they will just ask Alexa or Google about it. This shows most of the searches are done without a screen. Voice search may not entice you now, but it is the future.

One of the drawbacks in voice search is that people won’t be visiting your site. Google will give them the answer. Your ranking will not make a difference as far as voice search is concerned.

2. More complex algorithm updates

As an SEO you must have noticed there are many algorithm updates initiated by Google every year.  Moz suggests that there were 12 updated in 2018.

If you remember the Panda 4.2 update, Google got rid of all spammy sites. They did not want sites with duplicate content of 300 words.

The Penguin 4.0 update was all about devaluating spammy links. The latest algorithm update like the media update has become more complex as technology has evolved with time.

Google no longer just looks at content and backlinks to rank your site. They will look into other factors. –

  • Are users spending more time on your site instead of ranked sites on Google?
  • Is the bounce back audience heading back to Google listing page
  • Did the brand queries increase over time or do people not see as a brand.
  • Is your site more appealing or is the click-through rate higher.

Google has only one goal to rank sites that are loved by users. Sites that make people come back to their site again and again.

The first step in doing this is that to realize that someone performs a keyword search means they are looking for a solution. You can do that by creating the best experience, the best product or even the best service people deserve.

3. You cannot build a company through one channel

The era of marketing through one channel like mails sending requests to subscribe to your channel is or inviting someone to download your mobile app are long gone.

If you remember Facebook used your contact info through emails and other platforms to invite them to join Facebook. This is how Facebook became a huge giant. But if today you get an email about a friend inviting you to join any social network, you will ignore it.

The most popular marketing channels get saturated fast and you will see many competitors marketing on the same platform. Hence, it is the era to leverage all marketing channels ranging from content marketing, paid ads, social media marketing and SEO.

This way a small algorithm change may not affect your whole business.

4. Blogging won’t work that well

As I mentioned earlier, there are many websites registered and most of them are blogging their way to capture the market. There is one blog for 5 people on the internet. That is a lot of data floating online. Most of these people may not even be readers.

Google is sure to love content. Content is the king is the slogan. But only content will not really help you to have a futuristic approach. As there is a bulk of material available online, Google can get very selective as to which page it will choose to rank. Google will decide what is best for end-user.

You can write the bulk of articles to get that desired ranking, but it will take a lot of time to do so. Content marketing is changing drastically in 2019. You surely need to update your old blogs to get that desired ranking. Writing unique content and updating the older ones as per the latest updates might get your blogging strategy right. If you are a new blogger, you don’t have to spend much time in updating your articles.

5. Focus on other search engines

Text-based content will soon reach a full point. Ranking on Google means investing a  lot of time in doing the SEO with content, following the traditional methods. The search engines are soon fading its charm.

You can focus on YouTube along with blogging. YouTube can generate more than 100,000 views every month to your brand.

Google is not the only place you should focus on. Try to focus on less full content forms like audio or video. Uploading videos not just on YouTube but on Instagram TV (IG TV) or Facebook will give you the leverage of attracting a huge audience. e.g., If you are running a Fashion and Travel website, you can upload DIY’s, Tutorials or real traveling videos. People love to see the truth rather than your photo studio quality videos. So just remove your iPhone and start shooting for the video.

There is no need for big marketing budgets to work on these channels.

A podcast is an excellent way to start your 2019 digital marketing strategy. There are more podcast listeners with an income of $75,000.

With technological developments like machine learning and artificial intelligence, we are going to be on a crazy rollercoaster ride.

Note down these concepts and start working on them. You will be able to form your digital marketing strategy right.