5 Essential SEO Rules for 2021: Stay Ahead of the Digital Game
Even if you’re not in a technical position, you’ve likely heard of search engine optimisation or SEO for short. Whether you’re a small business owner or run a big company, search engine optimisation drives business across all industries in this modern world. By producing high-quality content, you can optimise your webpages to turn up higher in search engine results.
The higher your website ranks for the right search queries, the more traffic you’re likely to drive to it. After all, many internet users – a whooping 75% – tend not to look past the first page of Google. With so many people turning to the internet to find what they need, there’s no avoiding SEO as part of your digital marketing strategy if you’re trying to grow your business.
Our team at Vindicta Digital Marketing Agency will share its knowledge with you today. So, to prevent wasted efforts — make sure to abide by these five essential SEO rules for 2021 and drive business growth in the months to come.
1. Create Content Around Primary and Secondary Keywords
At the core of every effective SEO strategy is keyword research. Great content is built around both primary and secondary keywords, and knowing how to use them strategically will lead searchers to your website.
Your primary keyword should be the main focus of your landing page. It should be a strong description of whatever the page is about and potentially connect to what your brand does. These primary keywords should be the focus of your content.
Secondary keywords are supporting words related to the primary keyword and go into more detail. By including these secondary keywords in your content — in a way that reads naturally, of course — you’ll likely improve your search rank.
Begin your keyword research by thinking about some long-tail keywords that make sense for your audience. Say you run a DIY home improvement blog. Using our Keyword Overview Tool, you can start by searching for “DIY home improvement” as your target keyword and then expand to include more keywords from there. We’ll show you the search volume for your primary keyword and how difficult it is to rank for within your space, as well as related search terms you’ll want to consider.
2. Optimise for Mobile Devices
Is your website mobile optimised or just mobile-friendly?
The most important thing to take away from this article is the critical need to prepare for the switchover to mobile-first indexing. Google has been working on this transition for a while…
and from this year, Google’s mobile-first algorithm came into play – switching to mobile-first indexing for all websites.
And according to information released from Google, 70% of sites have already switched to mobile-first indexing.
If your website is not optimised to be mobile-first, you could see a dip in site performance and traffic.
Takeaway: Ensure your website is optimised for indexing on the mobile version, with particular attention to the following:
- Lazy-loading
- Robots meta tag
- Proper rendering
- Blocked crawlers
- Matching headers
3. Create a Local SEO Strategy
The reason Google is converting to mobile-first indexing is due to the increasingly prominent number of searches requests conducted over users’ smartphones, as well as the engine’s commitment to providing the best possible user experience. This is especially true for the localised searches, such as the case when a user wants to find fast information for nearby location, as opposed to research they might conduct via the deskop.
If you want to get in on a portion of that revenue, it’s critical to develop a localised SEO strategy that can help you target audiences based on geographical proximity. Even mom-and-pop shops that have been a community staple for decades will get swept away without a strong online presence.
Takeaway: Implement a local SEO game plan for the upcoming year if you haven’t done so already. Here are several steps you should take according to Google’s fundamental rules:
- Get listed on Google Maps by claiming your presence of Google My Business.
- Optimise your listing by going beyond the basic NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information and providing a description of your product or service, with relevant keywords included.
- Provide customer reviews to strengthen E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals to Google, a strong factor in SERP rank.
4. Optimise Your Images
Images play a crucial role in improving the user experience of visitors on your site. Chances are you spend a lot of time selecting the right images to enhance your blog posts, product pages, and other important pages on your site.
But do you spend an equal amount of time optimising the images on your site? When used the right way, images can contribute to your site’s overall SEO and boost organic traffic.
Below are four things you can do to optimise your images:
- Choose the Best File Format
- Compress Your Images
- Provide Alt Text for Images
- Lazy-Load Your Images
5. Keep an Eye on Your Site Speed
You also need to monitor your website speed. Make sure it’s quick and responsive. I know you’ve probably heard this before, but it really is that important, especially in a mobile world.
You should check the functionality of your site on a regular basis. If you notice site speed slowing down, it’s time to find out why.
Check the speed regularly, especially after large updates.
Last Few Words on SEO Best Practices
Learning how to incorporate SEO into your web design is essential, but staying on top of industry changes and trends is equally important. Keep these three rules in mind when developing your digital marketing strategy this year to achieve the best results that deliver the most growth.