SEO is constantly growing and changing. You can’t just make a few posts, earn a ranking or two, and expect things to stick around. User behavior and interests change, then the algorithm follows. That means we have to keep up as marketers and business owners. We’re going to talk about some of the SEO trends you can expect to see in 2021, as well as some of the things that aren’t going anywhere.
Let’s take a look.
1. AI Will Emphasize Quality
Quality content has always been at the center of good SEO, but Google’s AI is now better at using context clues to analyze your writing.
That means we can’t force keywords into unnatural places. We also have to write things naturally in a way that users can piece through and understand.
Don’t ask us how artificial intelligence is able to understand human language so well. It’s kind of spooky.
That said, you have nothing to worry about if you’re creating content with the user in mind. Write things to be read and used, not just to increase your spot in the search rankings.
2. Voice Search Is On The Rise
More and more people are incorporating hands-free devices into their routines. Alexa and Google Assistant were just the beginning of the voice-activated search system.
Smart devices are everywhere, and people are using them more and more. The searches that a person makes with their voice are different from the ones they might make online, though.
Do some digging to identify voice search keywords in your niche and work them into your SEO campaign.
3. Behavioral Factors & On-Page SEO
On-page SEO includes things like keywords, links, word counts, and more. Whatever’s “on the page.”
Those factors are important and they always have been. That said, they might be losing some importance to behavioral factors like engagement, time spent on the site, and click-through rates.
Google’s starting to value how a user engages with your content more than the nature of the content itself. You can improve these metrics by working out kinks in your user experience, examining your user data, and making adjustments as needed.
4. Brand Identity
Another adjustment that Google’s algorithm is making is the importance of brand identity and popular opinion.
Google wants to have a clear idea of the people in your audience, your company’s purpose, the tone of your brand voice, and what people are saying about you. All of that is to say that Google’s starting to take note of the context clues that reflect your brand.
One way to optimize for this is to try and interweave different sites and accounts that your brand has. For example, work your YouTube page into your website’s blog content whenever possible.
5. Mobile Has Come to Stay
The importance of mobile SEO has increased a lot in recent years, but it’s finally time to place full importance on mobile.
Make sure that everything you do is optimized for mobile and desktop. If you’re in a pinch and you have to choose between one or the other, though, it might be time to lean toward mobile.
Want to Explore More SEO Trends?
Hopefully, the discussion of SEO trends for 2021 was helpful to you as you start to rework your digital marketing campaign. There’s a lot more to learn, though, and we’re here to help.
Explore our site or contact us for more insight into improving your digital marketing efforts.
