Google is constantly updating its algorithm. For digital brands, keeping up requires a robust strategy for content optimization based on the latest developments. Our research shows how brands are elevating their search engine ranking and attracting new visitors.
SEO is central to any company’s future strategy
The techniques of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, are always evolving. The constant flow of updates can be overwhelming even for mature Marketing teams and online content editors who struggle to keep up with the latest ways to attract consumers to their organization website. But as 70% of users ignore paid ads, clicking only on organic Google results, implementing and updating an SEO strategy is now more important than ever.
Today, 64% of marketers worldwide invest at least part of their time to better understand the SEO world. With so many recipes and fast-tracks to SEO success available, this is no small feat.
In the previous episodes of our installment dedicated to SEO, we covered how off-page SEO can improve brand awareness and the vital-few SEO related mistakes organizations tend to make when implement such strategies.
In this article, we address the coming changes to Google’s algorithm in 2021 - and how to keep up. Acting sooner rather than later might well be the best path to ensure ranking and visibility for the content produced.
SEO trends to look out for in 2021
1. Semantic Search
Google’s algorithm is getting more and more efficient in analyzing the way we search online. For 2021, semantic research will be even more highlighted, as secondary keywords gain importance. In other words, search engines are no longer analyzing only strings of unique keywords, but the entire context of the query and the user's intention are also being considered.
Take a practical example. If a user doesn’t remember the main keyword to use in his search (e.g. brand’s name, object, personality, service), the secondary words he uses to find the main keyword are essential. If we put as a query “american jazz musician who won pulitzer prize” it will give what the user searches for: John Coltrane.
Optimizing the SEO of a business with semantically similar keywords and phrases is one of the trends companies should learn soon. This is how that can be achieved.
Write with people in mind, and not to search engines
Develop content that answers the questions of the target market
Implement external contextual links on the website
Introduce structured data (e.g. products, questions, articles, ratings) that help search engines find the company's websites and understand what it is about.
2. Zero Click Search Results
Zero click search results refer to the content that appear at the top of the SERP, without the user having to make more clicks to find what they are looking for. This type of search is becoming popular, along with organic clicks to non-google sites, representing already 49% of Google searches last year.
This is an SEO trend that is growing mainly on mobile (corresponding to 62% of searches, while on desktop it is 34.4%) and voice search, as it corresponds to short and practical searches about a service or product. There are three types of Zero Click Search Results: feature snippets, instant answers and knowledge graph.
Feature snippets are selected results that provide the most relevant answers to the term searched by a user. This can appear in form of a paragraph, list, charts and videos.
Instant answers are simple tools that provide the answer to the searched term. Simple examples are calculators with a mathematical result, weather diagrams or automatic word definitions.
Knowledge graphs show additional information about the keyword searched, coming as box text on the right side of the SERP.
Zero-Click Search Result example
3. Local SEO
Local SEO is evolving, in part due to zero click searches. The user is privileging the search results that appear in the SERP, without the need to click on any other page to obtain the desired answer, and most of these searches are local (e.g. restaurants, services or products that are located close to the user).
To improve the ranking in terms of Local SEO, the first step is to create a Google My Business page with a strong backlink.
4. Interactive content
Google's algorithm, RankBrain, is changing the way users find and interact with content – the importance of CTR and the time spent on each page of the website is growing. Production of consistent, useful and well-organized content, with good keywords and semantic expressions, is the solution.
5. Voice Search
About 50% of searches are already activated by voice search and 20% of mobile queries are carried out with voice search. This evolution is happening thanks to technological inventions like Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.
To optimize a company's content for voice search, it is necessary to identify several keywords and longer semantic expressions that the target market uses in their daily conversations. Voice search should be optimized to a more fluid and close way of how people speak, and not the way they type. While speaking, the user will say: “How many Indian restaurants are close to me?”, when writing it will be only focused in shorter keywords like “Indian restaurants close”.
Don’t stick to the past and update your business towards future SEO trends. Optimize your business content and ensure a good ranking in SERP with the help of Articulate’s experts.