It is a known fact that websites on the first page of Google receive a significant share of search traffic clicks from web users. This is evident in a recent Moz study which revealed that the first page of Google captures more than 70% of organic search traffic clicks.

Achieving this feat requires none other than Search engine optimization or SEO for short. The value of a first-page ranking these days cannot be overlooked, particularly in capturing organic traffic. This has made SEO highly sought after and a vital aspect of digital marketing. However, for SEO to be successful and yield optimal results, it must be done right.

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Also, SEO is ever-changing. Using an old SEO strategy will not cut it anymore and if you aim to reach the top page of Google search results you must be well versed in up to date tactics to increase rankings and visibility. Here we are going to discuss the most popular SEO Trends & Predictions by Top Influencers you can leverage in 2021 for a successful SEO process.

• Featured Snippets

Featured Snippets also called “Position Zero” is a rectangular box that appears above organic results of SERP. It provides direct & concise information that accurately answers a search query and also cites the website from which the post was taken from.

The introduction of featured snippets on Google’s SERP was a move to deliver a better search experience for web users. Featured snippets are probably the first thing people see when they perform a search query and account for a 35.1% share of all clicks according to Research Insights from Search Engine Watch.

This has made Featured snippets become a coveted spot as it increases website visibility hence the chances of more clicks and organic traffic.

The obvious benefits of Featured Snippets have triggered the interest of Marketers who now focus on optimizing content to rank for a featured snippet. Unfortunately, the exact method of getting a webpage on a featured snippet is not clear and the process can be tricky. Google chooses & determines which results show up in the Featured Snippet.

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Notwithstanding, there are best practices that you can follow and certain tactics you can apply to optimize your content and increase the chances of your pages appearing in the Featured Snippet. These include:

• Using the right question-oriented keywords in your content.
• Presenting the answers to a specific question in bullet points or well-structured content.
• Targeting long-tail keywords that are questions.
• Outlining your content in a list format.
• Structuring your content in a tabular form
• Original & Trustworthy Content

The creation of original, and high-quality content is still a crucial aspect of the SEO process. It is important not just to drive organic traffic for businesses but also to achieve results with their branding efforts. Creating regular content won’t cut it any longer particularly now that Google prioritizes the delivery of engaging & meaningful content that does not only inform users but provides additional value. To that end, you must adopt an all-encompassing content creation strategy that involves studying your target audience to understand their pain points and then producing content that solves the problem and portrays you as an authority in your field.

• Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing Is rapidly becoming an appealing marketing option to marketers, as it allows them to get their brand in front of a wider active audience much more easily & quickly.

Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing technique that involves partnership or collaboration with an online influencer – an individual with a significant following & reputation as an expert in their field to promote a brand, product or service.

Millions of social media users turn to their favourite Instagram stars, Twitter and YouTube personalities for advice and recommendations on purchasing decisions. Marketers have taken notice and are shifting their focus to this marketing technique. According to a recent survey from the ANA 75 per cent of advertisers are using influencer marketing and 43 per cent have plans to increase their spending on the technique in the next 12 months.

This shows to an extent the impact of influencer marketing and the results it generates as an effective social media marketing technique.

• Voice Search

Voice Search is a function that allows users to search the Web using voice command on their device as opposed to typing.

Voice is the newest trend in tech and, the voice search function is gradually becoming an integral part of things we use every day (like cars, phones and even our home.)

Search engine users are using the voice search function much more than ever before and its use is only going to continue growing in popularity.

This is evident in a recent survey released by Adobe that found 48% of consumers are using voice for “general web searches”. A good explanation for the appeal of voice search is the seamless experience of using the web quicker as opposed to typing in the search box.

As we expect to see new updates & advancement in voice search tech that will allow for a better user experience, it is a sure bet that it will lead to increased adoption by more and more search engine users. Therefore, it becomes crucial for you to take the steps in the right direction to optimize your site for voice search and potentially benefit from its utilization.

• Core Web Vitals becoming a Google ranking signal

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In 2020, Google introduced a new metric called Core Web Vitals which is designed for measuring user experience in terms of the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a webpage.

Google announced that Core Web Vitals will become one of its ranking signals for search results in May 2021. This means that site owners will have to optimize for Core Web Vitals as it will become crucial along with previous UX-related signals for their webpages to be ranked higher on the first page of Google’s search results.

• Google’s BERT

BERT is an acronym for (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. It is a neural network-based technique that uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to comprehend the intent of the searcher and then to deliver better search results.

With Google’s BERT update, its search engine can better understand a query more like a human and then deliver the most relevant result & useful content to the search engine user.

In other words, the BERT update will favour websites that provide the best results to users, which has always been Google’s primary objective. To that end, only BERT-friendly content that is high-quality content that satisfies the intent for any search query will rank for the right keywords in the long term.

• Local SEO

According to Google, 46% of overall searches have a ‘local intent’. Search engine users are looking for product or service providers nearby that they can easily and quickly access. This has led to an increase in “near me” search queries due to the rise in demand for local providers from more search engine users.

On this note, Local SEO services are going to be more important while the industry records multifold growth. Therefore, brands must cater to the local search needs of consumers by paying attention to the core elements & other important factors of local SEO including; proximity, relevance, prominence, local directories, NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) syndication etc.

• Technical SEO

Technical SEO and all its crucial elements (website architecture, crawling, indexing, mobile-friendliness etc.) are still very important in 2021. It is a crucial process that can help search engines access, crawl, interpret and index the pages on your website without any problems. It does not just stop there as technical optimization is all about optimizing your website’s infrastructure and ensuring that the site’s pages are fast loading, optimized for mobile, secure, free of duplicate content, and so on. This is why it is so crucial for you to apply the best practices during technical optimization that prioritizes your site structure, crawling, indexing and other key aspects of optimizing the infrastructure of your website.

• Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is changing the SEO and marketing industry at a rapid pace. It is at the core of how search engines like Google operate.

Google is driven by a complex algorithm – guided by a set of definite rules to automatically generate the appropriate responses to the search query of web users.

Google has been a pioneer in promoting the use of deep learning and artificial intelligence. Today, Artificial Intelligence is in use across many of Google’s products and services because of the personalization it offers.

As these elements are crucial to how Google and other search engine works, run on the mill SEO strategies are not going to cut it anymore.

In the coming years, AI-oriented SEO strategies are going to be a major trend and game-changer in the industry. This means that your SEO strategies must align with the basic principles of the search engine algorithms for better web page ranking.

But this is no easy feat, as understanding how the algorithm work is one thing and then creating favourable strategies accordingly is tasking and time-consuming. Notwithstanding companies like Frase, HubSpot and MarketMuse are providing AI-based solutions that can help companies with their SEO efforts.

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