How to Prepare For 2021 SEO Trends

As 2020 has brought about major changes in consumer behavior, we must prepare carefully for the next year as people begin to loosen their purse strings again. Strategically improving your website so that it is competitive and useful for users can have a drastic impact on your company or website. Here are a few pointers related to SEO trends to keep in mind for the next year:

Voice Search will guide Search Queries

As people start to depend on their smartphones, voice search becomes more and more prominent. It goes without saying that people don’t talk the same way they type into Google search. Try optimizing your content for keywords that you are likely to hear through voice searches. This means accounting for longer, grammatically correct sentences.

Prepare for Mobile SEO

It has been estimated that most people will solely use their smartphones for using Google, they are about to start considering the mobile version of websites as the “primary” version of the website. You might want to run Google’s free mobile friendly test to see how effective the mobile version of your website is.

Look to Image Optimization

Since advanced technologies allow users to search for content based on images, ensuring that your images are optimized can impact footfall. Use high-quality, relevant images and label photos. Use alt tags and add images to your site map so that crawlers can easily classify your images.

Make User Experience a Priority

As the digital arena grows in importance and people start to depend more on online shopping, the user experience becomes a major factor. No customer will enjoy multiple popup ads that might be irrelevant to their searches.

Google’s new Core Web Vitals observe user trends to quantify aspects of user experience. Ensuring that your pages load fast and are easy to navigate, that information is easy for the user to find, and that content is accessible across all devices can significantly improve your rankings.

Semantic Searches Increase

If you are unsure of what this means, it requires thinking about the context, intent, and meaning of the user’s search. This means you need to start writing for people, rather than for search engines. Optimizing content is more than using the right keywords, it is about delivering something of value to your customer.

Focus on Search Intent, rather than Keywords

As the customer evolves into a more informed party, it becomes more important for companies to fulfill their customers’ needs. By providing information that your customer is looking for, you build a connection with them. Instead of focusing on marketing your products or services, try to focus on the reason why a user is searching for something.

Ponder upon what answers the user is looking for, and aim to provide those in a user friendly way. To keep things interesting, it’s always recommended that you also think about who your customer is, and what medium they would enjoy consuming the information in. While some people prefer traditional blogs for their research, others better enjoy videos or podcasts. Creating content to market your company through different platforms will not only increase the number of users that land on your page, but will also improve their overall experience with you.

Google My Business

If you haven’t already signed up and claimed your business, do it NOW! Update your business details so that your Google My Business Listing is complete with all the details of your physical business. Of course, this is if you have physical locations where you sell your products/service. Those in the locality should be able to look up all the information they require about your business with a quick search. This includes address, phone numbers, website, ratings and reviews, opening and closing hours, and a menu (complete list of your products). To keep attracting customers, you can also answer FAQs and upload photos regularly.

The Important Role of Videos

Google anything at all and you’re likely to see a stream of videos appear at the top. Google uses this to optimize content for the user and introduce variety. Using YouTube videos will increase engagement. Videos can be as simple as interviews with staff, customers, or founders. The point is to make good use of SERPs.

The Google EAT Principle

EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Any search engine would want to provide its users with the most accurate and relevant information. Including facts and statistics from reputable sources fulfils the EAT criteria. You must also effectively appeal to the audience you are catering to. Observing user behavior and mapping our navigation journeys can help you deliver quality content in the right manner, and improve your website’s authenticity.

Conclusion

As user experience becomes the main player, websites must adapt their marketing strategies so as to fulfill user needs while also ensuring an increased footfall. These tips ensure that your website is up to date with current trends and builds on user preferences to promote itself.