Top 10 SEO tactics for 2021

It’s a new year, which means new trends in online browsing habits.

As companies work to update their search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, it’s in your best interest to catch up with the latest ways to catch audiences through search engines like Google.

Make it a New Year’s resolution to raise your click through rates by developing new business strategies for SEO. Here are some of the top 10 tactics to look out for in 2021. Some are new, while others are classic techniques that still carry over to the modern day.

1. Ensure a Seamless Mobile Experience

Whether your organization is non-profit or an ecommerce platform, almost every business needs a mobile-compatible website. Having a touch-compatible user interface that works well with small screens is ideal in today’s environment, especially with most people owning a smartphone of some kind.

Online sellers aren’t surprised to learn that over half of ecommerce sales are made through mobile devices now. Even Google itself has begun focusing on mobile compatibility in its search engine algorithms. While the desktop site still matters, put mobile support near the top of your priority list.

2. Control Content Length to Encourage Engagement

Online readers tend to feel alienated by large walls of text, with 4/5ths of users merely skimming paragraphs. Businesses understand that they need to keep website content succinct to reduce bounce rates.

However, 2021 is starting to see a new trend of making content somewhat longer to an extent. The longer your writing, the higher the chance you’ll receive backlinks and find opportunities for keywords, which in turn result in better traffic and search engine rankings.

3. Keep Your Eye on Backlinks to Raise Your Site’s Authority

Backlinks have always been a staple of SEO, and 2021 continues the trend. Google also understands that backlinks mean that a website likely has influence in the industry and will boost the rankings of sites with a lot of backlinking potential.

Avoid adding too many backlinks though, as low quality linking tends to hurt your chances. And don’t just link to large sites; smaller ones often appeal to more niche audiences.

4. Use Analytics to Track Your Progress

There’s no purpose in an SEO initiative if you can’t tell how productive it is. Reporting on progress is a critical part of business SEO when you need to improve your efforts later on.

There are multiple online tools out there to help you track metrics and understand new trends. Your focus should be on keyword performance, individual page rankings, and collecting information on your target audience.

5. Incorporate User Intent Into Your Keyword Targeting

Keywords are nothing new, but the way search engines interpret them is evolving. Companies need to look at more than just individual keywords; the intent behind the searcher matters just as much now.

User intent is a big talking point primarily because words can have different meanings to different audiences. Take, for example, a user who searches “apple” into Google. Does he mean Apple, the technology company, or apple, the fruit?

A business is likely only interested in one of these, so targeting keywords towards intent matters when it comes to appealing to specific buyer personas.

6. Appeal to Local Users to Raise Click Through Rates

Have you ever been encouraged to buy locally? Well, the same almost applies to SEO in a way! Almost half of Google searches are from users looking to find information and services close to their areas.

Any company with a physical location should look to increasing local SEO. The first step should always be registering your firm on Google My Business, one of the most popular search engines for local services. Keep the information up-to-date, including opening times, addresses, and contact information.

7. Learn Everything You Can About Your Target Audience

SEO experts have largely agreed that the field has outgrown its original goal of attracting traffic to a website. The truth is that you want the right kind of visitors, and knowing more about your target demographic is the key to doing so.

Collecting data and analytics over your customer base is becoming a new trend in SEO strategy. Metrics like lifetime value and retention rates can guide you towards better SEO tactics in the future.

8. Keep the Focus on Technical SEO

While certainly not a new trend, 2021 has brought with it increasingly higher standards from consumers for business websites. If a page takes even a few seconds too long to load, the bounce rate will rise significantly.

Take the time to do a technical audit on your website. How responsive and smooth is it to user interaction? What can you do to improve the user experience in this regard?

9. Capitalizing on the Recent Voice Search Trend

Almost everyone has heard of Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa. These are the voice assistants that we have grown accustomed to, allowing us to perform actions through vocal commands rather than through clicks and taps.

Adoption rates for voice assistants have risen over the years, and 2021 is the perfect time to start optimizing your SEO towards voice searches. Half of all searches in general happen through voice in 2020, and that number continues to rise into the next year. Keep in mind that most voice searches are long strings of words with a specific intent in mind.

10. Use Videos to Drive Visual Engagement

A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth even more. YouTube is predominantly one of the strongest elements that can improve search engine optimization for most businesses. Make it a priority in 2021 to focus on this aspect.

YouTube SEO largely focuses on finding a catchy, descriptive title; a custom thumbnail that catches the eye, and a description that contains relevant keywords and links.

Turn These SEO Tips Into Action With Globalgraphics

SEO is something every business needs. The challenge is doing it right. All of these tips play an important role in building the foundation of your SEO strategy.

Looking for additional help to get your SEO strategy right? Globalgraphics can help. For over a decade, we’ve been helping businesses in Canada create winning SEO strategies. Get in touch with our team today to learn more.