So, what’s in store for Search Engine Optimization in 2021? The industry is constantly changing, so what might have worked in the past, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in the future. It is important to stay on top of what’s going on, and keep an eye on the constantly changing SEO trends and see what is emerging. The more you are prepared, the better chance you have of succeeding. For information on SEO strategies for your website, you can contact an SEO Consultant for professional advice.
Fewer Organic Clicks
It seems like fewer users click on organic results nowadays according to research. One of the reasons why people are clicking less is because there are more SERP features. These featured snippets, instant answers, and knowledge boxes tend to reduce the number of organic clicks.
The other reason seems to be Google’s aggressive advertising. Although Google seems to care that its users get quality results when searching on their search engine, at the end of the day they will prioritize paying customers to please their shareholders. They do so by forcing you to pay for ads that will reduce organic reach. Google is a business at the end of the day and it will do all it can to increase CTR for its clients.
How Can You Increase Your Organic CTR?
Avoid using dangerous keywords. Using these keywords gives you a higher chance of producing low CTR. For example, Google can easily answer questions like ‘’what is the capital of France?’’, or, ‘’what is the weather forecast?’’. The user won’t need to click through searches like this. So don’t use keywords that have simple answers.
Building your brand is vital. Branded searches are important to SEO success in the long run. By having a good product or good value in your product in the market, you can attract more branded searches.
Expect voice searches to grow more popular in the coming future. Just like typed searches, most of the traditional SEO actions are the same when it comes to voice searches. The main difference is that most voice search results rank in the top three for that query.
The number of mobile searches has been increasing annually. The majority of searches these days are from users using a mobile device. According to studies, 52% of search engine traffic is by people using mobile phones. Having your website mobile-friendly is critical, more than ever.
UX will affect the ranking of a website even more than in the past. Adobe claims that almost half the people using a website will click out of the site if the layout and content do not look attractive. Google has let the public know that users page experience will affect the ranking of the website. To improve your website’s UX, you should make sure that your site loads quickly, make sure that it is mobile-friendly, that the site doesn’t have lots of aggressive adverting pop-ups and that the placement of the ads is not disruptive to the site. Having a good UX on your site might see users spending more time on your page, they might click on other pages on your site, they might not click back to see any other search results, and you have a better chance of them becoming a customer.
Backlinks Are Still Important To Rank
Although some people suggest that backlinks are not as relevant as they used to be, or that UX is more important than backlinks, this simply is not true. Backlinks are important to Google’s algorithm today, as they have been in the past, and they will be in the future. Building high-quality backlinks help your website succeed. They are used to help users find new web pages and let Google understand what position they will rank the website on its search engine.
E-A-T Is Important
Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are important for queries typed into Google. For a broad search, for example ‘’pictures of cool dogs’’, E-A-T is not really that effective. However, if the search is for ‘’what to do if my child swallows a battery’’, E-A-T is important. If Google were to produce results of websites from a writer who provides inaccurate and misleading content, Google’s reputation will be ruined. Not only that, the chance of the child dying is much higher.
Google wants well-written content written by expert writers. By getting a professional writer, who provides well-researched content, and has the experience in the subject they are writing about. Google will have data about your brand. They will know all the positives and negatives surrounding your brand. If the website is known for wronging its customers, or for providing poorly written content, this will affect its Google ranking.