Dialing in your search engine optimization once isn’t enough. You’ve got to keep an eye on the active SEO trends and adjust your site to meet the needs that the times provide.

2021 is just around the corner, so now is a perfect time to reimagine your SEO campaign and get your digital priorities in view. We’re going to look at what to focus on in the upcoming year, giving you a little insight into how you might find the best results as you manage your digital platforms.

Let’s get started.

1. User Experience Optimizes for AI

Google’s artificial intelligence is getting better and better at interpreting user information to determine the value of a site. That means user engagement, click-through rates, and general activity on your page will start to hold more weight.

Those metrics are always documented by Google, and they can be hard to monitor on your own. The best that you can do is improve your user experience so that people spend more meaningful time on your site.

This has always been an important factor in Google’s ranking process, but the spotlight is just shining a little brighter on the minutia of your users’ time on the site. So, do your best to invest in user experience and help your traffic spend more time on your page.

If you do, you’ll find that your rankings start to improve in 2021.

2. Conversational Keywords

The kind of searches we make on our phones and computers are different from those that we make when we speak into a device. Voice searches are increasingly important to the modern user, which means that businesses have to adjust to keep up with the times.

Conversational keyword phrases are going to start popping up on your radar, and it’s wise to start optimizing for them early. If you can get a read on the keyword data for mobile searches in your niche, start optimizing for those terms before the competition does.

Dominant searches in any niche remain similar over time, so getting a foothold in those search results can be huge for a business. For example, the term “how to reboot a computer” will always be in use so long as there are computers to reboot.

Many other keywords rise and fall with trends, so landing in the results of a dominant keyword phrase can keep you getting regular traffic for as long as the phrase is important.

3. Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Friendly

This has been important for a few years, but it’s more important now than ever. If Google makes a block of changes in 2021, some of those will definitely emphasize the importance of mobile-friendliness.

That trend is only slated to continue as well. Reports estimate that the vast majority of people will use mobile devices to access the internet by 2025. That amount of time is sure to open up new and exciting mobile devices for people to use as well.

Just consider the importance that Alexa has had for millions of families and individuals over the last five years. Mobile is the way of the future, and Google will absolutely adjust to those changes.

If you’re unsure of your site’s mobile-friendliness, just use your phone to access your website. Can you browse freely, click, and access all of the pages in a short amount of time? Does the format adjust to fit the screen of your phone?

Most pages can be accessed on a mobile device, but a lot of them are tough to use. The pages should fit the size of the screen on whatever device you’re using.

If your mobile site is in disrepair, it might be time to consult with a professional to get it back into shape.

4. Brand Entity

One almost spooky development in Google’s artificial intelligence is that it’s able to take a comprehensive look at your brand’s existence online. All of that information that Google has been compiling can be used to understand all of the arms of your digital presence and look at how effective you are at delivering meaningful content.

Your success on different platforms will indicate your rankability. Additionally, that variety can give Google a great idea of who you are and what you do. So, what does this mean for optimization?

It means you should do your best to be consistent across digital platforms. Don’t overly tweak one platform and neglect the rest, considering that the rising tide lifts all ships in this instance.

A big part of this is just being present on different platforms. Sites like Wikidata and Google MyBusiness are great places to start establishing yourself. Wherever your user base spends time online is where you should be.

The wider your reach, the better the idea that Google has of who you are. Plus, if you are who you portray yourself to be online, the artificial intelligence will start to realize that and reward you in the rankings.

5. Extend Your Content

For whatever reason, Google is starting to prioritize longer pieces of content. Everything else equal, pages with 3,000-plus words will outrank those with 500-1,000.

Longer pages might have the tendency to be more reliable, or that might be what users are valuing these days. The jury is still out on why this trend is occurring, but the fact is that it’s the way things are shifting.

A great thing about long-form content is that it gives you a chance to work on your linking network. Longer pieces of content can house more useful links and generate better SEO rankings.

If you’re a site that offers backlink exchanges, that means you have more opportunities to place links in your content so that your links can spread to other sites.

Need More Insight into SEO Trends?

SEO trends will always be changing, and we’re here to help you weather the storm. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have a reliable source for all of your digital marketing needs.

Explore our site for more ideas and insights into how you can improve your digital presence.