SEO Trends To Get Behind In 2021

Search Engine Optimization is an area of digital marketing (or perhaps more correctly an adjacent area) that is focused on the optimization of websites, applications and digital media for search engine algorithms. Getting a page to rank highly with search engines like Google is part art, part graft and part science. Here are some of the latest trends in the field. 

The Basics

SEO trends will come and go. It is important to follow these trends carefully, but equally as important is to get the basics right. If you are new to SEO, click here to read this helpful guide that covers some of the more widely discussed elements of the field.

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Brand SERP Optimization

Search Engine Results Pages – or SERP for short – used to be generated using the ranking suitability of individual websites. More intelligent search algorithms may take into account the entire online brand presence of a company while generating results. This means that companies will need to optimize and connect every area of their online presence in order to rank highly. This includes social media profiles, e-commerce shops and even profiles on mapping services like Google Maps. 

Context

The latest machine learning algorithms developed by search engine companies are able to assess context as well as content. This means that SEO practices are going to have to change drastically if agencies want to keep offering effective services. Google wants to prioritize context in order to give users more relevant results and to cut out black hat SEO practices like keyword stuffing. Overall, the new importance of context is a welcome development that will change SEO practices for the better. 

This drive for contextual content is part of a broader strategy designed to improve the quality of User Experience on the web by Google. 

Core Web Vitals

Google has recently confirmed that Core Web Vitals have become ranking signals. This means that web page performance in three areas will directly effect search ranking. 

Loading time, interactivity and visual stability comprise the Core Web Vitals measured by Google. SEO agencies are scrambling to offer the best results for companies that want to improve their page performance using these metrics. Improving the performance of a site’s Core Web Vitals is not only important for SEO purposes. Core Web Vitals also influence the User Experience and Accessibility of a website. 

Mobile 

Over 50 percent of all internet browsing takes place on mobile devices like phones, smart watches and tablets. That figure alone should be enough to convince you that mobile SEO is important. If that isn’t enough, then consider the increased priority Google is giving to mobile compatibility and scalability every time it updates its search algorithms. 

Some commentators are speculating that desktop sites will soon be largely ignored by Google due to the near ubiquity of mobile browsing. Whether or not this is a hyperbolic statement will be revealed in due course. Regardless: optimizing for mobile browsing is something you should not shy away from.