It may sound cliche, but it’s also a truism of the industry and that is SEO is continually changing. 2021 has brought about new SEO trends to capitalize on that you need to consider for accelerating the growth of your business through lead generation and new clients. Not only should your website be steeped in a strong foundation of SEO best practices, but you should also strive to be an early adopter of effective trends that are changing the world of digital marketing.
Here are four of the most popular SEO trends for 2021.
#1-The Page Experience Update
It’s rare that Google announces updates in advance, but this time around they’ve decided to give everyone a heads up on what’s coming this year. In May 2021, Google will update its algorithm to measure a website’s Core Web Vitals. This will be a part of the already familiar Page Experience ranking factors that Google already takes into consideration when choosing the top websites to display.
What are core web vitals?
Core Web Vitals refer to three major aspects of how a page loads. The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) and the First Input Display (FID) can be explained as follows:
Largest Contentful Paint: The time it takes to get the largest block of content loaded on the page.
Cumulative Layout Shift: The time it takes for a website to stabilize its layout when loading (small, last-minute shifts in the layout may cause a user to click the wrong button. (Click here for a video example)
First Input Display: The time it takes a web page to become interactive.
What does this mean for my business?
In May 2020, Google added a section to measure a website’s Core Web Vitals in the Search Console, which means every website owner has the ability to monitor and be responsible for any errors that are generated in your core web vitals. For highly competitive industries this new ranking factor could provide the slight edge to outrank the competition in situations where all other ranking factors are on even ground.
#2-Video Marketing continues to rise
The rise of video has already been that of epic proportions, however, the trend for growth will continue to rise far into the foreseeable future. Expect to see the cable-cutting trend continue as the majority of North Americans gravitate towards streaming services as their main form of entertainment in the living room. This means the continual decline of ad spend towards traditional cable TV advertising and an increase in the amount spent on Video Ads.
Reach more potential clients on YouTube
Although Google Ads will continue to be a top choice with an average ROI of $2 for every $1 spent, YouTube Ads are gaining ground since companies are looking for the options with the furthest reach in terms of the largest audience penetration. YouTube is the leading streaming service (163.75 million users/month ) that allows paid ads and is more than 3 times larger than Netflix (46.55 million users/month), the second-largest streaming service.
Experience higher conversions using videos
Did you know that a video on a landing page can increase the conversion rate by more than 80%? Video has become the most preferred type of content and will engage your audience at a much higher level than text and images alone. If you haven’t invested in some form of video marketing, you’re already behind the curve and are potentially leaving a lot of money on the table. To capitalize on the growing trend, consider video marketing as a part of your digital marketing strategy.
#3-The age of the micro-influencer is upon us
You can’t deny that Facebook Ads will remain a viable strategy long into the foreseeable future, but influencer marketing is proving to be one of the best ways to get the attention of your ideal target audience. A survey conducted by Collective Bias indicated that 30% of consumers are more likely to buy from a non-celebrity blogger. People tend to trust and relate better to non-celebrity bloggers, which is making micro-influencers a hot commodity for 2021.
Smaller expense, with higher conversions
Micro-influencers (those with 2k-50k followers) will have a more curated niche of followers that tend to be more engaged with the content the influencer publishes. This can be an ideal situation for businesses who can spend less on a non-celebrity and yet still receive higher conversion rates from an audience that is more niche-oriented.
One of the biggest problems with using an influencer to sell more of your products is tracking the results. This leads us to our next SEO trend that is growing rapidly in 2021.
#4-Stories are a heavy favorite as a social media marketing tactic
There is much to be said about the effectiveness of Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories for 2021. The concept paly on the FOMO concept (Fear Of Missing Out) where the story can only be viewed for 24 hours. This gives users a sense of urgency to prioritize the content consumption with Stories are the top of the list. Otherwise, the opportunity will be lost forever!
Get the best of all marketing strategies
Creating stories using video is ideal because it’s obviously the most popular type of content and has the highest probability for engagement. Combine this with your influencer marketing and you have the perfect way to ramp up the sales of your products and/or services at an astronomical rate.
In fact, many businesses find this an excellent strategy for a few simple reasons:
1) Lower costs associated with stories vs. posts when it comes to paying your influencers. A post lasts indefinitely whereas a story expires in 24 hours which will bring down the cost of your investment.
2) Stories give businesses a better way to measure the effectiveness of the influencer. It’s easier to track the increase in sales from a story when the results are immediate. A post can be more difficult to track overtime whereas the success of your story is made more apparent since it has a limited lifespan. The results you experience indicate whether to scale up or find a new influencer.
3) Stories are typically higher converting because they get more attention from social media users. When you’re looking for tactics that convert with immediate results. stories are proving to be one of the best options available.
Adopt the SEO trend that best suits your business
These trending digital marketing strategies are only a few examples of the types of SEO Perth offers. One trend that never changes is that being an early adopter to a successful strategy can compound the results and revenue your business makes. Be an industry leader and make sure your company stays on the cutting edge of the SEO trends in 2021.