Anyone who knows the online landscape well enough will know how rapidly things can change here. Search engine optimization, in particular, is a dynamic technique, and marketers always need to be on their toes to achieve results with it. User intent changes suddenly, and Google rolls out updates without a warning. The current pandemic situation makes things even more complicated as no one knows what lies ahead. You can expect your website to struggle through such changes unless you are prepared in advance.
For this reason, it becomes important to constantly stay on top of trends and events so you can implement the right actions on time. The approach keeps you agile and competitive, which matters a lot in the rapidly-evolving digital landscape. When it comes to SEO in 2021, there is a lot you will need to do to align for the new normal. While you cannot afford to go slack with the basics, staying ahead of the upcoming trends is equally important. Here are some measures you can follow to get your SEO strategy future-ready.
Gear up for more Google updates
In recent years, Google has updated its algorithm frequently, and the trend is likely to continue through the next year and ahead. While websites struggle with the previous ranking updates, Google is getting all set to launch ‘Core Web Vitals’ in 2021. These will include ranking factors that will go much beyond the conventional ones like page speed and mobile-friendliness.
Even though you cannot get a list of these factors due to the secretive nature of Google’s ranking algorithms, it makes sense to start improving your website’s user experience right away. Whether it is speed, responsiveness, security, or design, your site should excel on every front.
Focus on quality content
As always, the rank popularity of your website will greatly depend on high-quality content in 2021 and beyond. The better content you create, the more will users and Google like your website. Content is the mainstay of good user experience, which needs to be the best to stay on top of the searches. High quality is something you cannot miss out on when it comes to creating content.
It means that you need to give valuable information that matches their search intent. Additionally, content must have variety, from blog posts to infographics, video clips, user-generated pieces, and more. Anything engaging enough to make the user stay has the potential to take your SEO results on the top.
Build trust with E-A-T
Another aspect of gearing up your SEO strategy for 2021 and beyond is building trust with E-A-T, which is an acronym for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. All three matter the most because Google wants to ensure that users get only relevant results from trustworthy sources that have expertise and authority in their domains.
The best way to build authority is by ramping up your backlink plan. As SEOJet teaches, you will need to go the extra mile for managing the existing and new backlinks to your website. The best time to do it is now because you would want to have all the trust and authority you can by the time the New Year begins, and the new update rolls out.
Stay a step ahead of voice search
While the voice search trend has been around for a couple of years, it is only going to get bigger in 2021 and ahead. With about half of all searches already being done through voice, they will soon surpass text searches. If you haven’t started optimizing your website for voice, you may end up being visible to voice users pretty soon. You can well imagine the impact that this situation can have on the reach and revenues.
The first thing you need to do right now is to add more conversational keywords in your content. A well-stocked FAQ section is a good idea because it will answer the frequent queries of potential customers. You can expect the content to appear in searches, which will boost the visibility for your website. It will serve the dual benefit if delivering value to the customers and engaging them with relevant information.
Give precedence to local SEO
Appearing in local searches matters more than ever because buyers are looking for nearby products and services in the pandemic era. If your business is not visible to the local audience, you can forget about getting sustainable revenues from your brick-and-mortar establishment. Moreover, visibility is likely to increase your online orders too, which becomes all the more vital for businesses.
So local SEO does not remain a choice for businesses today, and the trend will continue for a foreseeable future as well. Google constantly updates its local search algorithm, so you need to keep track and implement new methods to align with them. Rather than selling to an international audience, focus on reaching out to the ones around so that you can thrive in the new normal.
Leverage influence to move ahead
Although influencer marketing took a blow in 2020 as marketing budgets crumbled due to the pandemic, it is all set to come back in the New Year. Influencers are a force to reckon with because they drive trust for the brands, apart from making them visible to the right audience. Their recommendations are enough to get your sales revving and build credibility for your brand.
Besides extending social reach and trust, influencers also play an important role in SEO. They provide their SEO juice for your online presence as they publish your brand posts on their blogs. These are high-quality and authority backlinks that strengthen your link profile and give you better chances with ranking and visibility.
With these useful insights, it will be easy to align your SEO plan for 2021 and make sure that your business is ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Pandemic or no pandemic, you cannot afford to lose your website’s ranking and every effort you make to retain it will be worthwhile. Gearing up right now is the smartest thing to do as it will give you the head-start you want.
