4 SEO Trends to Look Forward to in 2021

The goal of every blogger and Internet marketer is to generate a steady stream of converting traffic. Even in 2021, Google is still the most dependable traffic source. According to Impact Plus, Google accounts for roughly 75% of all desktop search engine traffic. Since search traffic converts considerably better than social and referral traffic, marketers should prioritize their search engine optimization strategies.

SEO strategies have evolved significantly over the years. Google and other major search engines are constantly updating their algorithms, which render some old SEO strategies obsolete. Some elements of SEO are evergreen, such as building high-quality links and creating high-quality content. Other aspects of SEO campaigns are constantly changing.

If you are trying to create an SEO strategy in 2021, then you must understand how are the rules are changing. You will be more likely to rank higher in Google if you follow the best practices and keep up with new algorithm changes.

Understanding Important Changes to Make with Your SEO Strategy for the New Year

Last year has finally come to an end, and 2021 has arrived. It may have been a challenging few months for marketers, but there’s always something to look forward to in the field of digital marketing. Of course, it’s critical to account for the changes this year has brought. Will the same techniques work in the coming year? Let’s find out more about the predicted SEO trends for 2021 and how this might impact your ongoing strategies.

User experience optimization is a core focus

Google started paying close attention to user experiences about a decade ago when the Google Panda algorithm was rolled out. The search engine has been placing even more weight on the importance of user behavior in recent years. You need to make UX a core focus of your SEO strategy moving forward. This isn’t just important for boosting conversion rates, but also for increasing your traffic volume as well. 

It’s been a long time coming, but Google has been hinting at the importance of user experience for years now. All the algorithm updates of this search engine giant have been heading in this particular direction. According to Ocere.com, you can expect more focus on key SEO metrics such as page loading time. Any aspect of SEO that directly impacts the user experience will be an essential consideration for the coming year. As such, marketers need to advise their clients to ensure that their websites are user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and fast.

There are a variety of metrics that bloggers should pay attention to when conducting user experience optimization. The average time on site and pages per visit are two of the most important metrics to evaluate.

Voice search is gaining steady popularity

SEO experts predict that voice search will continue to gain popularity, hence impacting search results and rankings significantly. Voice-operated devices such as Alexa, Google assistance, and Siri should be a major component of any SEO strategy. Optimizing for voice search typically involves using long-tail keywords and phrases that people use in ordinary conversation.

Mobile searches get indexed first

Google is still the primary search tool and will likely remain so in the coming years. Last year, Google introduced mobile-first indexing, where the rankings gave priority to mobile versions of web pages. This change correlates with the steady rise of mobile use among users around the world. Therefore, any marketing expert will tell you that for SEO to succeed in 2021, websites should be optimized for mobile phone use. The good thing is, Google has also provided a free resource where businesses can test if their website is mobile-friendly.

There are a number of things that you should do to make sure that your site is properly optimized for mobile devices. Neil Patel has some great tips on this page. Since mobile users are looking at your site on much smaller screens, you should make sure that the mobile versions provide much more succinct content. You should remove any extraneous details that are not absolutely necessary. It is also important to provide scrolling menu bars end check boxes to make it as easy to provide input as possible. Finally, you should make sure that the text is large and images are highly visible.

Local businesses will be the main focus

In a post-COVID economy, local businesses will be given the main focus. Those economies heavily impacted by the pandemic will likely make an effort to help local businesses thrive. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, local SEO is the key. And as more people aim to help businesses within their community, you need to make sure that your products and services are visible on local searches. One way to do it is to have your business added to Google’s “My Business” listing.

You should also learn more about the different ranking factors that are specific to local SEO. Co-citations are especially important for local SEO. In order to use them properly, it is important to make sure that any local information on your website is accurate, including your full address and phone number. This information has to closely match the information that you share across Yelp, Google Places and other directories and local listings across the web. 

The Future of SEO and Where We are Headed

The trends mentioned above are only a few of what you can expect in 2021. However, SEO is constantly changing, and there may be new techniques to try in the next few months. There is indeed some uncertainly caused by the pandemic, which is why the best marketers are always on the lookout for the latest trends. By making sure that you stay on top of what’s happening in the world of SEO, you can ensure that you’re always at the forefront of innovation and ensure that your strategies for the coming year will yield favorable results.

You will see a lot more changes with Google in the coming year. It is important to keep up with new algorithm updates and trends, so that your SEO strategy will be more likely to succeed.