The Beginner’s Guide to SEO for 2021

Marketing in 2020 is different from what it used to be. Many companies spend a great amount of resources trying to find new ways to improve their marketing plan and get ahead of the game.

The Coronavirus made it clear that digital marketing is essential for a brand's longevity and that brands without an online presence will face many challenges.

The problem is that it's not enough for a brand to be online and create content. You need to concentrate on ranking for this content and get in front of Google's eyes.

This is search engine optimization, which is vital for every marketing team in the field. According to research, many people never go past the first page of Google when they search.

Do you want to know the exact number? It’s 75%, which is a BIG number.

Search engine optimization is changing every year, and new challenges arise. This article will explore the traditional SEO methods like high-quality content and link building that still work.

Furthermore, we will dive deeper into more trending strategies to improve your game and get more attention from search engines.

What are you waiting for? Let the game begin...

Domain Authority is Key

Links were an essential factor in making a domain authoritative. Google added new metrics to the game that create a different scenario from what we were used to.

Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness are signals that also affect the significance of your site. As a result, a high domain authority needs to consider all these elements.

Google wants to improve the customer experience, thus wants to rank content that shows expertise. Many companies used to hire random freelancers to write content for them in the past, but you will find yourself vulnerable if you continue this strategy in 2021.

Another vital factor to consider is if your website seems trustworthy in Google's eyes. The about page, the contact page, privacy policy and terms of service are crucial parts that can drastically improve your performance in Google's rankings.

Finally, it's a signal for Google that there is authoritative content when trusted websites link back to your site. Ensure that you have plenty of articles or pieces of content and a specific niche to make it easier for you to get these referrals from others on the web.

Some more actionable tips that could improve your domain authority are these:

Optimize your On-Page Content

• include title tags, image alt texts, and optimize the content itself
• have variations of your main keywords
• keep all of your permalinks relevant and short

Create Linkable Content

Focus on creating high-quality content (show expertise as we mentioned above) so that it is more likely that authoritative sites link to it. Your content should be relevant to your niche and your audience while also being informative and well written.

Create a Mobile-Friendly Website

Mobile devices made it easy for a lot of online users to access the web. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile users, your domain authority may stay behind. Not only will it hurt your rankings, but you’ll lose a lot of traffic.

To check whether your website is mobile-friendly or not, visit this Mobile-Friendly Test by Google.

Check the Loading Speed of your Website

Loading speeds play a huge role in Google’s ranking factors and user experience. One second delay equals to 7% reduction in conversions. To avoid that, make sure that you are on the right track regarding your loading speed by checking your website’s speed.

Leverage the Power of Video

Research shows that online video will make up to 80% of content by the end of 2021.

Making video part of your digital marketing campaigns is key if you don't want to fall behind in the future as a marketer. Many online video editors can help you craft the most compelling videos without being a videographer.

Take advantage of this and get ahead of the game.

If you have great content, Google has Video Featured Snippets now, which is a great way to increase your traffic.

Your video needs to follow specific guidelines to be as effective as possible, like organizing the video length into different sections to help the algorithm understand your video's topics.

Have the right description, title, and tags to help search engines categorize your video in the right niche. These are all components that will boost your video to get a higher ranking place.

Optimize your video for SEO by providing a transcript that will improve search engines' chances to understand every word of your video. This is another actionable tip for you to import in your strategy and have more video featured snippets.

The Power of Backlinks

Backlinks remain one of the top SEO strategies out there. We covered many new trends that will get you ahead of the game, but we can't ignore link building.

You may have the best piece of content, but it will never make it to the first page without link building.

Invest some of your resources into being on a podcast to drive traffic back to your site or even try guest posting. Do it consistently to increase your brand awareness and improve your chances of becoming an authority in your industry.

Apart from backlinks, internal link building is essential too. When you prepare a piece of content, make sure to provide the most value possible by importing links to other articles on your blog. It can be resources or stats that empower the depth of your content.

This can have a tremendous return on investment because the users will find all the information they need in one place. Trust me, it works and reduces the bounce rate, which is an essential factor in Google's algorithm.

Pro tip: Many websites use a section at the end of each article to provide other blog posts that could be of interest to the readers.

The Takeaway

Search engine optimization is crucial in every marketing plan, and companies should invest part of their budget to ensure that they are on the right track. Trends come and go, with the video being one of the most effective marketing content types in 2020.

Brands should focus on producing high-quality video content and how to optimize it for search engines to generate the most traffic possible.

Apart from video, the old and traditional link building is here to stay. There is no authoritative piece of content without link building. Every marketing team must understand that both backlinks and internal link building are ways to grow a sustainable website.

It can be more challenging because it will take more time to see the right results, but the investment return is enormous when it's done effectively.

As technology progresses, new strategies will arise. Marketing is a very competitive environment, and marketers should pay attention to every little detail. Ensuring a solid marketing plan in place is the only way to prolong your business's longevity.

Follow these tips and let me know in the comments which one you will implement first?