Insights into some SEO trends for 2021

If you are running a website or a blog, then staying up to date with the latest trends and developments in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential to drive more traffic to your website. SEO can be a challenging task, but if you stay informed and prepared, you can climb the ladder of success with ease. In this article, we will discuss some SEO trends to look out for in 2021. These trends can act as your guide towards achieving your SEO goals.

Artificial Intelligence Will Decide The Rankings

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic for a while now. Google’s AI algorithm, RankBrain, is becoming increasingly important when it comes to ranking in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). RankBrain helps Google interpret queries by finding pages that are relevant to a user’s search, even if the page doesn’t have the exact keywords used in the query. So, how can you optimize your SEO for RankBrain? One of the best ways is by organizing your content, so it is easy to read and understand.

Google’s Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) algorithm is another AI system that helps Google understand the intent behind a user’s search query. BERT is expected to impact 10% of searches, which means there is a high chance it will affect your brand’s visibility. To optimize for BERT, create great content that matches the intent behind the search queries.

Google’s AI-driven tool, Discover, identifies user behavioral patterns and learns their habits. The data collected is used to find the most accurate content that the users will be interested in. There is nothing you can do to get your content in Discover, but if Google indexes your page, your content will be included.

The Shift To Mobile-First Indexing

With the increasing use of smartphones, Google has officially shifted to mobile-first indexing. This means that Google predominantly uses the mobile version of your website content for indexing and ranking. To ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, use the Mobile-Friendly Test Tool offered by Google.

Content Strategy Tips

Creating quality content is essential for any business. To ensure that your content strategy is on point, follow the EAT principle, which stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This principle helps build a positive online presence and ensures that users are protected from fraud and low-quality content.

To rank higher in Google and keep your users engaged, focus on quality long-form content (3000+ words). Break the content into sections, add headings and sub-headings, research the topic in-depth, create a content outline, and incorporate other relevant multimedia to make your content more engaging.

Local SEO Gains Importance

Local SEO is becoming more important due to the rise of zero-click searches. Zero-click searches are results that are shown at the top of Google’s first page, so users don’t have to open a link. To get started with local SEO, create a Google My Business (GMB) page.

Featured snippets are an effective way to rank on the first page of the search results. They aim to answer a search query and are located at or near the top of a Google SERP. Having a presence inside the People Also Ask (PAA) box is also an effective way to rank on the first page of the search results.

Focus On User Search Intent

Semantic Search is gaining importance as Google now analyzes the query context and tries to understand a user’s search intent to provide more relevant information. To optimize for Semantic Search, create content that answers a question that your potential customers would pose.

Google urges proper labeling and optimization of images. This is the right time to optimize or recheck the images on your website. Use good quality and relevant images, and customize the file name, and label the photos properly so that they are in line with the content on the page.

Other Ways To Optimize Keywords

Voice Search Technology is gaining popularity, making it an important ranking factor. Using keywords that consumers commonly use for voice search can be useful in driving traffic to your site.

YouTube has millions of users, making it an excellent platform to reach out to potential customers. To get started, type your video’s topic and study the results that appear. This will give you a list of keywords and tell you precisely what people on YouTube are looking for.

Being data-driven is essential in understanding your buyers and creating targeted messages. Analytics can help you verify which URLs are getting crawled, check page loading time, indexing, response errors, and more. Staying updated with the data and analytics related to your business gives you an edge over your competitors.

The right SEO tools can guide you in preparing a smart SEO strategy and help you stay on top of the rankings. If you are looking for SEO services for your website or clients, our experts can assist you. Just connect with us, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Conclusion

Staying updated with the latest SEO trends is essential for your website’s success. From AI and mobile-first indexing to content strategy and local SEO, understanding these trends and optimizing for them can help you stay ahead of the competition. To summarize, focus on creating quality long-form content that follows the EAT principle, optimize your images, and pay attention to user search intent. Also, don’t forget to utilize the power of voice search, YouTube, and data analytics to create a targeted SEO strategy that works best for your business.

FAQs

Why is AI important for SEO?
Artificial Intelligence, such as RankBrain and BERT, helps Google understand user intent behind their search queries, and helps to provide more relevant search results.

What is mobile-first indexing?
Mobile-first indexing is a shift towards using the mobile version of your website content for indexing and ranking.

How can I optimize my content for local SEO?
Creating a Google My Business page is a good place to start with local SEO.

How can I rank higher in Google?
Focus on creating quality long-form content, breaking it into sections, adding headings and sub-headings, and researching the topic in-depth.

What are some SEO tools I can use?
Tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you analyze your website’s data and improve your SEO strategy.