If you’re willing to attract potential consumers to your website, you can align your online business as per Search Engine Optimization trends. However, you have to use it appropriately. As per the stats, around 3.5 Billion consumers search for products every day on Google. The Number one result in the organic search of Google can get a CTR of 31.7% on average. However, around 0.78 of searchers tend to click on the data obtained from the second page.
What do these stats entail?
You have to rank on SERP’s first page for generating organic traffic. Here, the role of SEO trends comes into the picture. However, SEO trends are constantly evolving. Let’s look at a breakdown of the Google and SEO trends that you must prioritize and adhere to in 2021.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Just like the other industries, AI influences the marketing and SEO industry on a large scale. AI can provide personalization services. For example, Google uses AI to predict the results searchers are looking for.
How can AI help you with SEO strategies?
- The search engine algorithms used by Google to rank pages are intricate. It can take several years to decipher the rank allotted to web pages. Consequently, the creation of strategies can consume a lot of resources and time.
Although SEO experts are familiar with such strategies, the use of machine learning and AI can prove to be a game-changer. For example, AI can decode the algorithms used by search engines efficiently and easily. Next, these can help companies to create favorable SEO strategies.
Numerous companies have come forward to provide AI-based solutions for helping companies with their SEO trends.
2. Core Web Vitals Demands Better UX
Google announced its three new metrics in May 2020, which is known as core web vitals. It can be used to measure user experience through
- visual stability,
- loading, and
- interactivity.
These three metrics are correlated to one factor: page speed. For example, the page speed indicates the stability of a page when it gets loaded, and the page’s loading time.
In May 2021, Core Web Vitals can be on top of Google’s ranking factors. So, if you want to appear on Google’s first page, you’ll have to pay close attention to it. For example, if two pages are there with similar content, the user experience metrics will allow search engines to decide which page can be ranked higher.
3. Voice Search is in trend these days.
From Google Assistant, Alexa, to Siri, there are several options related to voice search techniques. As this trend is becoming popular, your users can search by using the voice search tool. To optimize your content for users who are driving or busy, the hands-free search options are great.
Consequently, it would be best to go for long tail keywords or long conversational phrases that sound more natural to achieve this. For example, instead of a short phrase keyword like “top gadgets for 2021”, a hands-free searcher will spell out lines like “What are the top gadgets trending in 2021?”
4. Adapt to a mobile-friendly design
Most web admins and content developers are developing their websites via a desktop. However, around 73% of the users use their mobile devices to gain access to those sites.
So, the Google algorithm views smartphones as a major ranking version. You should note that Google won’t load content that has to be swiped or clicked. Besides, instead of infinite scrolling, you can switch to paginated loading.
5. Increase of intent optimization and semantic search
Previously, Google’s algorithm strictly focused on exact and matching keywords for ranking top content. However, the keyword stuffing factor that emerged due to these trends has never been Google’s first choice.
Most often, due to keyword stuffing factors, users often landed on pages that were filled with garbage and fluffy keywords.
Remember,
- Google, nowadays, places huge importance on matching the user’s search purpose with content intent.
- It entails using semantic searching skills and secondary keywords while writing along with an array of terms that can comply with the search’s intent.
- The best method to ensure this is to focus on subjects that your audience is exactly looking for.
- You should avoid merely focusing on the keywords; instead, you can enhance your content’s topics.
6. Covid-19 has a long-lasting effect.
In terms of Google ranking and contents, the major lesson we have to learn from Covid-19 is the value of accuracy. So, companies need to double-check their content’s accuracy while discarding outdated and incorrect content.
Besides, companies that haven’t adopted online ordering systems yet must consider integrating the automated booking and eCommerce systems. The businesses that have shared irrelevant and inaccurate facts have been penalized. The trend of ordering online kinds of stuff and stay-at-home deliveries during the pandemic caused a dramatic rise in online activities.
7. The popularity of local searches is rising rapidly.
Whenever you post your content online, you’re informing an audience globally. As more users are switching to search content through a mobile device, several users search for local content. For example, if you’re driving outside and suddenly make your mind up to run errands, your search results will include the local options available near you.
Similarly, the purpose of users who are visiting your site isn’t to explore the eCommerce factors only.
A user will end up searching for the grocery and local stores nearby, especially if they want to know about a local store’s operating hours. The search engine results page or SERP can consist of a list of store hours.
Consequently, the user can come up with an ideal plan even without clicking on a specific link. If the user is analyzing the options, they’ll be interested in examining how your Google review looks, or whether you are somewhere near a five-star rating.
Look for apt solutions like:
- To ensure the companies have a place reserved among the local results, they must develop a Google My Business page.
- It would be best if you considered focusing on local keywords that revolve around nearby departmental stores and businesses for a few landing pages.
- You can write on content that is solely designed for targeting a local audience. You can do this by creating information related to local policies, industry news, or events.
Additionally, it would be best if you take advantage of the local audience that will focus more on the solutions provided by you due to their proximity. At this point, you won’t be compelled to compete with the other companies operating on the internet.
8. Enhancing SEO through analysis
You need to obtain a clear insight into the industry trends to adjust to the on-going-reality. The data can successfully help you obtain information about your top consumers, your campaign’s success factors, and your audience.
Analytics can successfully assist you in viewing the working messages and the links that can get maximum clicks. Besides, the analytics will help you analyze the user experience aspects, such as page loading times.
You can analyze, wade, and measure the entire data without any outside help. Or, you can consult a team of expert and professional analytics who can assist you in understanding and measuring your data.
If you commit an error while reading the data, your marketing strategy and campaigns can go down. With the availability and fusion of the right tools and team in place, you can improve your Google rankings. To add the cherry on top, you can leverage factors like link building, rank tracking, technical SEO, keyword research, and so on.
9. Google’s EAT content rule
Google’s EAT content principle highlights content that can express trustworthiness, authoritativeness, and expertise. It is the type of content you should be willing to create for obtaining higher ranks and scores.
If your business falls in the category of “your money, your life” sorts, such as the healthcare and investments sector, you should always prioritize the EAT principle.
The first step towards creating quality content can be achieved by obtaining a firm understanding of the consumers you’re actually targeting.
You should take a close look at who your real consumers are to understand their behavioral patterns without making any assumptions. Remember to perform a thorough audit and verification of your content to map out your consumer’s journey.
Consequently, it will provide you an overall understanding of how successful or helpful your existing content has been in meeting the requirements of various steps involved in fulfilling your audience’s search intent demands.
You should take special notice of the type of content your audience likes going through. For example, you should consider the format, length, voice, or tone of the content which your user likes.
Whenever you’re creating content, you can back up the content’s claims with cited research and authoritative links. You can use reputable links like .org, .gov, and .edu to demonstrate that you are vigilantly meeting Google’s EAT criterion.
10. Long-form and quality content can perform optimally during search factors.
A well-researched and well-informative content is based on high-quality and in-depth facts that can perform very well in search results. According to most findings, compared to short content, long-form and well-written content can get the majority of shares and clicks.
So, if a brand is willing to land on the search page’s top results, it should create long written content. However, focusing simply on the content’s length without focusing on its quality and research factor can be a mistake.
Data hasn’t proven yet that content with a large word count can lead to a higher ranking. Instead, it can be proven that content with a large word count correlates with high ranking.
By simply writing more content, you won’t be able to obtain all the best things like more backlinks, increase in social sharing, boost in social engagement, high ranking, and so on. Here, quality can beat out quantity because you’ll have to write efficient and informative content.
Yes, typically, good content is longer. However, apart from length, there are numerous other factors. In fact, the reason behind a highly ranked content isn’t the content’s length at all. Although longer content is said to perform better in the world of SEO, content fluffed up with useless information isn’t going to work.
Besides, content written merely to reach a specific word count can fail. The way out?
- Write around topics and contents that your users would be pleased to read.
- Whenever you address an evergreen masterpiece or a cornerstone, you can take ample time to develop sufficient facts by conducting thorough research.
- Besides, it would be best if you created a long article embedded with valuable insights.
- It would be helpful for you to aim for at least two thousand three hundred words for the long posts that are highly valuable.
11. Align your content as per the zero-click searches strategy
The trend of zero-click search is growing rapidly. The SEO ranking strategies must consist of searches that can’t attract content for gaining clicks. In this context, the users can obtain the information they want directly from Google. They won’t have to click on a specific page.
Google is trying to make the trend of zero-click search more popular by showing answers if possible on the top of the search page. Google’s algorithm and search engines make it as easy and quick as possible for equipping users with the right information on time.
Google can easily forecast whether a user is willing to click on more links or not. So, it will accordingly allow the users to do so.
You must understand that Google’s aim isn’t to kill your site’s traffic but to do things that foster search. For example, if you’re willing to search about your area’s weather, would you like to browse through several weather-related web pages, or would you prefer an easy-and-brief graph that can suddenly pop up in the search results?
If you are willing to know about your favorite game’s schedule, will you have to research through the team’s website and browse to obtain the accurate page, or can Google display the information?
Adapting to a zero-click implies that you can move beyond the top-level contents. You can move from basic facts, easy, fast answers towards in-depth answers that your users are head-hunting for. It is the basic reason behind the rise of long-form content on Google’s rankings.
12. With the help of featured snippets, you can beat out competitors.
You must have come across an attractive and large box pop up during your Google searches that’s filled with a catchy title, an article blurb, or images that are click-ready.
Known as featured snippets, these can help you win over your competitors by landing on the front page. To earn a featured snippet, you’ll have to answer special questions related to high-quality and well-researched content.
To promote its zero-click search criteria, Google will extract your content’s portion to display it to your users. However, showing that you’re answering the question on the top will attract your user to dig deeper.
13. Google discover and indexing.
Google discover helps suggest content and learn user’s behavior and preferences. As per its claims, over eight hundred million active users are already participating. So, you won’t have to come up with a query for participating.
Based on the past user activities, the smart feed can show you relevant content. With the help of machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, SEO can successfully predict user’s personal content trends and preferences. With the help of their Google feeds, the users can easily follow the ones they are fond of.
14. Inclusion of video contents
While YouTube already flaunts more than two million users, the platforms like Instagram and Facebook are including options of adding more and more video content.
If you want an appropriate strategy to keep growing, you can adopt the online video trends. It would be best to summarize your video’s content by including written content or slideshows. It will allow Google to examine the search’s relevance.
Besides, you can optimize your description and channel name while including more user-friendly keywords. Depending on the platform you’re using, you can start by embedding relevant keywords.
If you start by typing a few keywords in YouTube’s search bar, you’ll get a list of popular keywords your content can revolve around. It can help drive important video content strategies for creating what people are looking for.
15. Optimizing images for your search results
If you want people to keep scrolling through your page, images can be of great help. Search results consisting of images are more valuable for searchers and brands. Image-related queries are highly popular as they can provide ample and precise information.
Besides, they can drive sales and equip researchers with a good amount of information. You should optimize your website’s images with the help of high-quality and clear shots that are well-compressed.
Consequently, they can load more quickly. Consider using clear images that have alt tags as they can describe the things you want to portray.
About the Author
Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 8+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and ChatBot.
