If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that change can happen very quickly. Search engine optimization has changed a lot over the years, and the same strategy that help your site to be on the top of search engine result pages (SERPs) in 2010, 2015, and 2020 may not be enough to keep you from 2021 and beyond.
2020 has been a challenging year for many of us, but hopefully, 2021 will be more positive. The epidemic has broken many of our systems but has also opened up new opportunities. If we look at the digital marketing industry, SEO, we can see that the online world has taken an enormous leap. When people moved into their homes, businesses went online. Many people are shopping online for the first time, and many will continue to do so.
But it is not only a business. The Internet has always provided an opportunity to present your creativity or learn whatever you wanted to learn, but it intensified in 2020. For example, people have found new hobbies, sites opened for blogs or photos. Everything went online. It is expected to last until next year, and possibly in the future.
The goal of search engines is to provide users with the best content that matches their queries. As algorithms get better and better understand what users are looking for and what websites they provide, they produce better results.
SEO In 2021
Although we can talk about the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, or conversational interaction, we will not do that. You should pay attention to these events to see where the search is taking place, but for now, for most sites, it all comes down to improving what you have right now. The quality of the site is the key to success. Content quality is essential.
SEO is evolving: what should marketers focus on?
The search scenario is very different from what it used to be now. Over the years, many improvements have been made to search engine algorithms, and now there are more live websites than ever before.
For brands to stand out online, it is not enough to make better content and website usability. They also need to correctly indicate to search engines that their website is relevant and reliable.
Technical SEO
The value of technical SEO has only increased over the years, and it now plays a significant role in the organic visibility of a website. If you have a solid technical foundation for SEO, then search engines will have a better chance of understanding what your site is and who should show it.
The importance of technical SEO will only increase, but more emphasis will be placed on improving the user experience.
One important update that marketers need to be aware of is the implementation of Google Core Web Vital, which should be part of their core algorithm this May. Google’s update reflects the shift of search engines from prioritizing backlinks to the user experience as the most important ranking signal.
This means that as of May, a slow website can not only cost you a loss of online visibility but can also directly impact your earnings matrix. Core Web Vitals has three metrics that Google uses to measure a web page’s overall user experience. Marketers should focus on improving the user experience of their website in the following areas:
The most prominent controversial paint or load time measures the page load speed at which the user can view and interact with its content.
The first input interval, or interactivity, is the time between the first user interaction with your site and the browser’s response to that interaction.
Cumulative layout displacement, or visual consistency, measures any unexpected movement of elements on a web page during page load.
Content strategy
The way that Google and other search engines analyze and understand content has changed. When evaluating a page’s relevance to a search query, it now considers the entire website’s content. In contrast, in previous years, it can make decisions using only one page’s content.
Here’s a gradual shift from a content strategy focused only on keywords to strategy spanning themes and concepts in recent years. Marketers should identify which topics they want to rank for and then tailor content for those topics and subtopics, as this is important to increase organic visibility.
Stand out from the competition.
To achieve and maintain a strong SERP position, you need to know how SEO is changing to adapt your strategy in the face of these changes.
In a new white paper by the search lab, “What will SEO look like in 2021?” You will see the most significant change in SEO in 2021, such as core web vitals as a ranking factor and zero-click search result growth. You will also learn how to plan your strategy for success, including:
- From keywords to topics, concepts, and institutions.
- Intent-based content creation.
- Optimization for zero-click search results.
- Investment in automation and big data.
Let’s look at some things you need to do in 2021.
Page experience with core web vitals
As part of its efforts to speed up websites and provide a better user experience, Google announced an update to the page experience algorithm. It will launch in May 2021 and give you another reason why the site’s speed will focus. The site’s speed has been an essential factor for many years but will soon become necessary. If you can’t keep up with your competitors right now, it will soon be difficult for you to stay in the competition if you don’t speed up your site. If one of your contestants gets too fast, you slow down in comparison, even if you are not slow. Reducing load time is a lot of work, but since it can get you much faster than the competition, it is an excellent compromise.
To help you define your goal, Google launched Core Web Vitals, a set of metrics that help you understand how your site performs. It will also help you to find out what needs to be fixed and improved.
Improve usability
Page experience is related to user experience. Is your site enjoyable to use? Can you quickly find what you need? Is the brand recognizable? How do you use images? Improving the user experience is a surefire way to please your potential customers. Happy customers make search engines happy!
Unlocking the structure of your site
Many sites were built on time and have grown considerably over time. Sometimes all these categories, tags, posts, and pages can look like tree roots that break up the pavement. It is easy to lose control. You may know that controlling the structure of your site is beneficial for both visitors and search engines. Everything should be in its place, and if something is old, out of date, or out of date, perhaps you should remove it and point to something suitable.
In 2021, you should pay special attention to the structure of your site. Reevaluate your site’s structure and ask yourself if everything is still where it should be, or is there something to improve? What is your cornerstone content strategy doing? Is your internal relationship established? Are redirects interfering with your website?
Embedded schema.org structured data
Structured data with Schema.org helps in making your content instantly searchable to search engines. Search engines use structured data to establish connections between parts of your page and the world around you. It helps in providing context to your data. It also makes your site easier to understand by adding structured data to it and makes it suitable for so-called rich- text results. There are various rich-text results, from star ratings to vibrant images, and search engines keep expanding them.
Content quality
There is a lot of content, and a lot of new things are published every day, then Why should your content be in the top ten for your chosen keyword phrase? Is that enough to beat the competition? Are you publishing unique, comprehensive content that answers your audience’s questions?
Keep your search goal in mind.
The search target is the search cause. What does this discovery mean to this person? To find information or to buy something? Or, maybe they are just trying to find a specific website. Or is it something completely different? Search engines are getting better and better at understanding this intention and the accompanying user behavior. With advances in natural language processing with BERT, search engines are beginning to learn outside language. Of course, we can still help search engines choose the correct version of our content. Once you identify your search goal, you can mix your keyword strategy with the search engine’s specific intent. Match those intentions with your content, and you’re done.