Though SEO happens to be one of the newest marketing disciplines in the world wide web, it is also one of the fastest-paced ones. It is no longer the same as it used to be when internet marketing first got started with SEO.
While the fundamental principles of current SEO trends continue to be the same, which say that SEO is all about finding websites and understanding them, the tactics employed for this have become very different from what they used to be 15,10,5 or even one years back.
So, what are the latest SEO trends of 2021 that will help you in ranking your business high in the coming year? Here is what you need to know for 2021 along with the essential steps that you can take to take advantage of these trends.
Voice Search & Mobile SEO:
It is not yet clear as to how huge the voice search market is, but the mobile search is gaining a lot of traction. A lot of sources has substantiated this. Thus, mobile SEO is essential in this era as more than 50% of users are now browsing a website over their mobile.
This has led to Google switching its priorities as it introduced a Mobile-first index. This switch means that Google primarily makes use of the mobile page version for ranking and indexing.
As a result of this, if your page does not render correctly on a mobile device, or if there is lesser content on the mobile version, you will end up losing rankings not only on mobile but on the search results delivered to desktops as well.
Since users of mobile devices often make use of voice search to get answers while they are on the go, it can be safely assumed that voice search is gaining popularity, and there is a clear connection between these two trends:
- Both voice and mobile users are mostly searching for answers while they are in the middle of doing something and hence need quick, clear and concise answers.
- In both these cases, what matters is the top result. So, the competing is now about being the top result versus being in the top 5 results as was the case a couple of years back.
Intent Optimization & Semantic Search:
Google stepped away from keyword optimization based on exact matching years ago, yet most of the SEO industry has been slow in keeping up. Nowadays Google does not use the search box types actual strings. Instead, it works with the query context and delivers results based on the analyzed search intent that the user is possibly looking for.
Google understands the intent of the searcher and does not focus on single keyword strings because it is an old school method of content creation.
Making use of tools that help with semantic research is a good idea. SEO services like intent optimization platforms can help you in coming up with ideas that will expand your original copy so that you can provide better solutions that meet the needs of Google and its users.
Such tools will use semantic research to help you in building sentences that are based on standard existence analysis of the terms you choose to work.
Content Diversification & SERP Marketing:
For many years, Google has been working towards becoming a destination, not just a step towards discovery. With quick answers, knowledge graphs, and visual and interactive results, Google is turning into the ultimate resource to provide comprehensive solutions to various queries.
This is the whole point of SERP (Search Engine Results Page) marketing. You need to go beyond organic listings and begin optimizing for other kinds of search elements such as images, videos and sections for quick answers.
Content diversification brings in both opportunities and challenges. Though you will need to produce quality content in various formats continuously, it will help you in leveraging more mediums and trying out more tactics.
The content collaboration will solve many other issues and bring more benefits to your marketing, including, shares, natural backlinks and trusṭ.
Structured Data:
Your SEO agency can vouch for the fact that this year has seen considerable advances in semantic data as Google has updated its initial guidelines to add support for new kinds of structured data like FAQ page, fact check, etc.
Google is now clearly more interested in extracting useful data from your web pages and in exchange, providing publishers with more exposure.
The good thing about this is that it provides a competitive advantage to savvy SEOs over website owners who do not keep up with the new trends being followed by Google.
The world of SEO is evolving fast – and these are exciting times for the industry.
Right from the initial days, people who have been fast enough to “get it” in time have outpaced the slower competition. Use these trends to your advantage and get ahead of the pack in 2021 and beyond.