What is the future of SEO? It’s a question that many marketers ask themselves when they are trying to figure out what direction their digital marketing campaigns should take. There are so many changes happening in the world of search engine optimization, and it can be hard to keep up with which trends matter most.
To say that Google has come a long way since its humble beginnings would certainly be an understatement. In this post we’ll be working to look at two huge changes that Google has rolled out over the past couple years and why they matter the most as far as SEO trends in 2021 are concerned.
Trend 1: Google’s use of Machine Learning
Keyword optimization is no longer only about “keyword density” and “keyword optimization.” Google is actively working to get to know YOU and understand your intentions behind your search.
This is because Google has always been committed to delivering the best results possible. They know that if they keep giving good results, people will keep using it.
The way that you cater to this is by giving Google information that is essentially “human ready”. As described above, the process of “keyword optimization” is getting your website ready for a robot to read. As a result, we saw tactics like repetitive keywords (keyword stuffing)and more “tricks” designed to get rankings.
Now, Google looks at what someone is searching for and they’re asking their index what is the best “match” for this search. Not only in terms of “appearing” when someone searches, but also in terms of the feeling behind what someone is searching for.
Think of it this way…
If someone searches for “Apple” are they searching for the fruit or the technology company?
Trend 2: The importance of User Experience
Google has revamped their algorithm over the past few years and, as a result, we’ve seen some major changes in how they rank sites. This is largely due to the incorporation and reliance on machine learning which means that it’s more than just keyword stuffing or link building anymore. SEOs need to focus on things like website speed, site load times for mobile users, content quality (to be indexed by both humans AND machines) and user experience because these are all ranking factors now!
Mobile Optimization:
Google has made it clear that they will penalize sites that have improper mobile optimization. This is a big deal because over 50% of Google searches are on their smartphones now, which means if your site doesn’t work for them you’re in trouble!
Site Speed:
If people can’t get to your website due to slow load times then they’ll just go back and try again later. And when they do finally reach the page, it could be too late-they’ve already left the site out of frustration or stopped reading what’s on screen.
In the end, Google’s sole purpose is to make sure that their users are having the best experience possible. That experience does not end on Google. Google is already confident that they have the best search engine algorithm on the planet. They know they have the world’s information organized well. Now, they want to make sure you’re doing your part and creating a great website.