It was an interesting read to see Sean O’Keefe’s blog article “Inside Google Marketing: 3 ways we think about SEO” which had me wondering about quite a few things that were said there and in some other articles I have read lately. SEO seems to me to be less about what we know and more about what we feel because what we know changes every day and even Google contradicts itself on a regular basis and even in the same article sometimes. To me, it seems to be better for us be like actors and put ourselves in the Google matrix and become some kind of Neo Google Ninja.
Another staggering thing I come across on a regular basis is how SEO experts miss things all the time. (Nobody is perfect least of all me), but gosh we have a list of 200 things at least that we need to get right and I think sometimes we focus too much on the wrong ones and along the way, some of the basics get forgotten. The Neo’s that are consistent will rule the roost in this ever-changing SEO landscape, and I think 2019 is going to see some major upheavals. I am predicting a Google war with China among other things. To some degree, it has already happened, but with Trump’s trade wars on China, they are going to be looking for a way to get back at the US. Cyberops has always been one of the tools they use. Messing with SEO could just be a very targeted way to cause some trouble and Google vs PLA Unit 61398 (Chinese Military hackers) could get messy. I would be worried if was working SEO for any Fortune 500 companies and go and get me a copy of Hacking for Dummies on my Kindle, just so they can get some idea of what is coming at them.
It’s not all doom and gloom, its good news if your not a major US corporation because the focus is going to be elsewhere, so we won’t have any more cuddly bear updates killing our rankings in the SERPs for most of 2019. I have yet to see what exactly they are doing in this January update, there have been some utterances, but I guess most of the researchers are still taking a well-deserved break. It does seem Google is after more quality content … surprise surprise. But this update is a wake-up call because for too long supposed white hat SEO experts have been getting away with a lot. I continue to be surprised when looking at even their own Websites what goes on and what has worked for them, and yes I guess I may also be pushing the boundaries cautiously as well, as I said nobody is perfect. But I think caution is something we must heed, the bigger the SEO firm the harder it will fall when 300 client websites need an overnight update. And yes I said we may get a break due to China, but that’s only from about March. Perhaps I am wrong, but it’s an interesting scenario none the less.
Here is the latest Magic Google formula:
Content + keywords + Tags + H1&2’s + SSL + robots.txt + sitemap + html validation + decent inbound links + decent outbound links + CTR = $2019 SEO Success.
Happy 2019!
SEO Luna Tick
Anthony is a Digital Marketing and SEO Expert with extensive experience. He has worked for financial services companies and web hosting business and in those roles has created many very successful online business and brands. He has a wide range of Business, Marketing, Financial and IT experience.