SEO Trends to Watch in 2021

With another year drawing to a close, online marketers are brainstorming ways they can make a bigger impact on their target markets. While effective search engine optimization (SEO) remains an essential tool, SEO trends are constantly shifting and evolving. Staying ahead of the following trends ensures your business and its website remains in focus among your target audience.

Bigger Emphasis on EAT

EAT refers to content that exhibits expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Content with these traits offers more value to the reader, which in turn improves a site’s rank in searches. Crafting quality content requires you to understand your target audience, from the intent behind their searches to the format they most prefer (i.e. text-based or video-based content).

Think about your ideal customer and what motivates them. Then use this information to develop a buyer persona, which provides a roadmap for content creation. When creating informative, educational content, it also helps to cite data and research from reliable sources.  

Updated Ranking Factors

Ranking factors are the things search engines look for when deciding which pages will appear at the top of results. Google is making user experience a prime factor in 2021 thanks to their page experience update. Core Web Vitals, including how long it takes for a user to first interact with a page, load performance of large page elements, and the visual stability of each element, will be key under this new update. Additionally, things like site security, page speed, and mobile responsiveness will also be factored in.

Focus on Local Searches

Businesses are doing themselves a real disservice if they’re not targeting local searches. Whether you own a restaurant, hair salon, or plumbing company, your online marketing should be aimed at the people surrounding your business location. As a result, you must ensure you’re showing up in these searches, so customers are fully aware of your business and what it offers.

Google My Business listings are invaluable to businesses. The more information featured in your listing, the better your search rank. You must also update your info when changes occur, such as new hours or products. Finally, invite happy customers to leave reviews, as good reviews establish your business as trustworthy and also boost your search ranking.

Inclusion of Video Content

YouTube and its many influencers show just how impactful video content can be. Accordingly, it should be a part of your online marketing strategy going into 2021. Equally important is making sure video content is also optimized. Optimization can occur at many different levels, including descriptions, titles, tags, and keywords. Producing video content allows you to reach members of your audience that prefer a more dynamic medium.

Stay Ahead of SEO Trends with Our Help

Our team of web designers, SEO specialists, and content creators at SonicSEO.com know what it takes to keep your website at the top of search results. We stay on top of change SEO trends to ensure your site contains the factors necessary for success. We also keep you informed regarding changes and updates, as well as solicit your input so you’re completely satisfied with the performance of your website.