It may not feel long since the turn of the year but we’re already looking ahead at SEO trends for 2021. As part of our role as an SEO agency, we monitor themes and patterns in past updates and use this information to predict how Google and other search engines will change in the future.
Local SEO
The pandemic has driven a lot of businesses online – those that have struggled to adapt have suffered in 2020. Nonetheless, Google have pushed their local services hard and provided a lot of support for local business who have remained open during restrictions (and those that have reopened between lockdowns).
Google My Business (GMB) is a headline feature in SERPs and an essential source of information for searchers. Google rolled out several updates to GMB in 2020 including messaging features and performance analytics. Closely linked to these were updates to Google Maps – which saw new advertising options during last year.
Exciting developments such as Google Duplex and potentially paid local listings could be launched soon. We expect Google to continue their emphasis on these services, making local SEO an important topic in 2021.
User Experience
During 2020, Google announced page experience as a ranking factor. Core Web Vitals were launched through Google’s web.dev website and now feature as part of Google Page Speed Insights. In the past, Google have made updates linked to responsive design, performance and security which all relate to the upcoming core algorithm update in May 2021.
We know that a user experience update is coming to the core algorithm this year, and the long notice period given by Google indicates it’s going to be a big one.
Privacy
Privacy is a hot topic affecting many tech firms. Facebook has been under the spotlight and the fallout has painted many other companies with the same brush. Google have not come away from these debates unscathed, with the US Department of Justice filing an antitrust lawsuit against them in October last year.
The lawsuit will likely bring privacy issues front and centre and could affect SEO quite profoundly – especially if Google are forced to reveal “trade secrets” protecting their algorithm.
As an SEO agency, we’re always looking ahead at how search engines will behave in the future
If you’d like to discuss any of the 2021 SEO trends we’ve predicted in this article, or would like to learn more about our marketing services, please get in touch!