Is your website ready to allow more traffic? If your answer is yes, continue reading.
While the steps are simple, it is not always easy. If it were easy, most would do it.
Your passion for connecting with your customers in a way that makes a difference to them must exceed any excuses you have about the map concerning search engine optimisation. In a sentence, by leveraging the language (keywords) your customers use to find solutions (long-tail keywords), your content will be served up as the most popular menu item on the internet. It is critical you are deeply connected with your persona. Understanding the way they think, their habits, concerns, appetites, etc., gives you unique insight into being able to meet their needs and wants.
SEO (Search engine optimisation) is the most effective, long-term tactic for delivering the most value to your enterprise. Said differently, effective SEO delivers the highest ROI (return on investment) of your digital spend.
Keeping that in mind,
SEO is not something done once. It is not a transaction. It is a relationship.
It is similar to farming.
You need to plant the right seeds to feed your family and community. It is essential to keep on top of weeding so your crops are able to thrive. Even after the harvest, there is a way of caring for the soil so it is ready for planting the next season. Understanding Google’s algorithm changes are an important part of SEO. Google changes its algorithm to provide more value to the end-users, which is everyone who leverages the platform. As an example, these changes are similar to how you might grow an intimate relationship. The more you invest in your relationship, the more fulfilling is your life-experience. There are more than 35 billion searches on Google per day.
Traffic to Google's second page accounts for 0.78%. The average Click-through-rate (CTR) on Google’s organic search result is around 31.7% (that’s huge).
How This Statistic Impacts Your Website Ranking
The way to maximise organic traffic to your site is to appear on the coveted first page of search engine results pages (SERP) for the keyword(s) you intend to rank for. In the same way, it takes a community to raise a child, it takes a team to effectively deliver search engine optimisation. Think of your SEO team as a seasoned pit crew for professional racing, except for your website.
Let’s discuss the Top 10 SEO Trends for 2021 you can use to connect with more of the people you most want to contribute to:
- Core Web Vitals
- Google’s Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)
- Well researched Keywords
- Unique and Vibrant content
- Vocalize search
- Artificial intelligence
- Marketing of Video
- Featured snippets
- SEO Influencer
- Branded SEO & E-A-T
Because each of these points is fairly involved, we will keep our discussion in general terms.
Being supplied with these tools, you will be able to communicate more effectively with your Digital Agency Partner. You will have clarity on each offer, tips + trends, resources, and suggestions for optimisation of your websites.
Leverage 2021 SEO trends
To increase your ranking every month, it is necessary for your digital partner to stay abreast of the latest Google algorithm and educate you on the impact of all changes.
The mechanics of Google algorithms is the start of formulating your SEO strategies. Here are some significant tools and Google trends you need to use for your website in 2021.
Here are the top tools and Google trends for your website in 2021:
Trend one:
Best Google Ranking Factor- Core Web Vitals
Google introduced three updated metrics in 2020, known as core web vitals that are used as measurement tools for user experiences (UI) such as Visual Stability, Interactivity, and Loading.
The main objective of these metrics is to check page speed:
- In which speed page is loading time;
- How much time it requires to be interactive with users;
- While loading, how sturdy is it;
In May 2021, core web vitals will become an essential metric in Google ranking factors, which means you need to give close attention to them to show on the first page for your keywords.
Such as, if you have three pages with pertinent content, then the user experience metric will assist search engines that need to be highly ranked on the first page.
Trend Two:
Google's BERT Searches For Intent Matches
For a better understanding of searches and what users are searching for, Google's BERT Algorithm (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) uses NLP (natural language processing) and machine learning (ML).
BERT has more than 70 vernacular iterations of every question per language localised on Google.
According to Google's BERT news, Google web search tool bots have become more informal and colloquial so it makes it possible to account for more variables with search queries to deliver more relevant data.
BERT prioritises content that is framed the way users speak. Regardless of how relevant your content is to a search, the primary criteria is the linguistic match.
Google BERT will not penalize or de-rank websites. It is simply a tool to increase relevance. If your content isn't BERT friendly, it will impact the ranking of your site regarding the keywords you want to leverage to connect with your users.
What Process Do You Need For Google BERT Optimisation?
When searching on using the Google Search Bar, the result in the search bar is called Search Intent.
Making sure your keywords are aligned with Search Intent will strengthen the position of your content and can result in higher rankings.
As an example, if a prospect searches for SEO Agency, different results would be delivered than for SEO Services. SEO Agency and SEO Services are commercial keywords. While SEO is an informational keyword. On the other hand, other keywords are multi-functional or niche. Allied Healthcare SEO Services is an indication that the SEO needs to be relevant to allied healthcare.
Before starting your site content, it is essential you are aware of what searches your prospects are already using to find you. Otherwise, your efforts to deliver your products and services can have limited effect. Always create your content in the language of your users if your intent is for them to locate you through search engines.
Trend Three:
Well Researched Keywords
When you analyse Google keywords and find that your results produce “0” clicks, this may be something to avoid.
With SERP rich results—Google will serve your contact information, menus, related queries with accordion answers, and answers in featured Snippets. All of this can be served without a user clicking on a result. This is the position you want to have your content.
SERP delivers your website business profile, Ads, and blog content in a way that answers their questions based upon the search keywords used.
2-Steps for SERP
- Use search targeted and long-tail keywords for your website. It is always more value for time and resources to leverage your agency for this activity.
- The Google Search Console and Google Keyword Planner are useful tools to find unique and rich quality keywords specific to your situation.
- Google Search Console supports you to check website performance with search traffic, resolve issues, and plan growth.
- Be clear on your offer in the language of your niche and be prepared to share it in at least 4 different listenings in behavioural profiling. An easy way to do this is to reframe your offer in 3 – 4 different ways so it can connect with how someone may be searching for your solution.
- Have patience in how you manage the way your keywords are constantly changing. Remember you are cultivating relationships with your customers and prospects; not “getting a sale.”
Trend Four:
Relevant, Vibrant and Unique Content
For website ranking, Google gives preference to unique and vibrant, quality content that engages consumers. The more relevant and valuable your content, the higher your ranking will be. This is why it is so important to have intimate knowledge and expertise about who your customers are.
If your content is already located on other sites, your site can be penalised for plagiarism. Best practices for your content is to include H2 and H3 subheadings to enhance searchability. For mobile sites, subheadings are essential.
Secondly, when you are linking, make sure it is to authority sites. It is useful when they have a ranking higher than yours. You also want to remember to have an internal linking strategy. Again, your agency is best positioned to support you with this.
Finally, assure your content is easy to digest and can be shared easily across multiple platforms. Your agency should have a tool that can quickly and regularly report on the health of your content as it compares with competitors in your market. If you are managing your site yourself, you may want to invest in an SEO Content Template Tool. Enter the question you need to rank for, and you'll get suggestions on lengthy content, semantically related keywords to incorporate, and a more intensive glance at the highest level pages.
Trend Five:
Vocalised Search Affects Search Questions
Per a 2019 Google report, twenty-seven percent of global mobile searches were using vocalised searching. In 2020, ComScore reported, 50% of users engaged with voice search technology on their smartphones.
Vocalised search is usually long-tail and users are always asking questions. Having those questions embedded in your content can be a place to start.
Trend Six:
Artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is modifying SEO and advertising in that it delivers dynamic content based upon search criteria. AI is only as effective as it’s programming and the parameters by which it is able to learn. Because AI enables organizations who need to process a significant amount of data quickly, it is becoming more prolific on the internet. AI has been used by Google for years in their algorithms to generate responses to customer search criteria.
Trend Seven:
Video Marketing to Strengthen SEO
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine with over one billion users.
The means in which your video is leveraged for SEO is in the title and description of your video. It is useful to ensure your title is explosive and the description includes a big promise. Obviously, the video must deliver on said promise.
The keywords used with your YouTube videos must be in alignment with your overall keyword and SEO strategy. You can validate you are in the right place by using YouTube's autocomplete feature. Begin typing your video's title and a few recommendations will be offered in the search field. The recommendations are the connected keywords that you can use for connecting the video with the appropriate audience.
Trend Eight:
Snippets Enhance Visibility:
In addition to creating long, unique blogs and other content, Featured Snippets are a shortcut to get quick visibility on Google. You may notice when you are typing in the SERP box, some results appear with little words called snippets.
These are beneficial for users and websites owners. Google Algorithm Bots produce the results based upon the connection between the search criteria and available content online that aligns with the search.
SEO experts and advertisers are able to leverage SEO strategies to support bots to index their sites for snippet returns. While it is not guaranteed, it can be done.
For getting better-featured results, your content must respond to specific questions and give well-structured, concise answers in or in bullet points. Some rich snippets are also helpful such as star-based reviews, images, product prices, and comparable data.
Trend Nine:
SEO Influencer
Influencers usually have between 10,000 – 1,000,000 followers per channel. Using value-based content, you can leverage an omnichannel approach to have your users engage with your content across all channels, including your website. Exercise caution in that each channel has a different listening and avatar. The messages should be modified based upon how people interact per platform.
Eighty-nine percent of advertisers believe influencer ROI is more effective when compared with all other marketing strategies except for SEO. This is because shareability of content is the number-one predictor of engagement, which leads to sales.
While selecting an influencer, there must be alignment of values and goals. As an example, you may not want an influencer who is known for sport hunting to represent a brand focused on veganism.
1: Link Building
For higher ranking on SERP, link building is significant. Again, the backlinks must be relevant to your industry and the referring site should be an authority in your industry. You may also use side influencers to build your own authority.
2: Traffic From Social Media:
Viral, engaging content is that which gives value and results in prolific sharing. The more your content is shared, it increases the possible traffic to your offers.
3: Brand Engagement and Visibility:
Influencers put effort into building relationships with their followers and usually have a good idea on what offers are going to be effective.
Because nurturing their followers is a top priority aligned with growth, they ensure delivering on their desires is the driver for creating content. This means you must validate the followers of a prospective influencer are who you want to connect with.
Trend Ten:
Branded SEO & E-A-T
Google demands high-quality content for ranking. Quality content includes E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles.
Expertise relates to the quality of your content being the cutting edge and the latest in reliably for delivering a solution. The authoritativeness is the source of your content being the “teacher of teachers.” Trustworthiness is the collaboration of all your content as leveraged by others and can you be held accountable, i.e., do you have contact details, including a physical location on your site? Are you a registered member of an industry association? By always having your content address EAT principles, there is a greater chance your content will receive more favourable rankings.
It is very important that your SEO strategy take into account all of these factors.
Summary:
There are no shortcuts to building and cultivating relationships with your customers. There are no secret pills or ways to do it “fast.”
The best you can hope for is to keep showing up consistently and with integrity. Stay in your lane and allow your digital agency partner the autonomy to build your brand in concern with your marketing strategy. Your business can not grow by your singular efforts.
Your growth is directly proportional to your ability to create possibilities for your community.
