Monday, 07 December 2020 09:45

3 Trends That Will Change SEO In Denver In 2021

As 2020 comes to a close, we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief. This year has been one hectic rollercoaster ride, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now that the year is fading away into the rear-view mirror, it’s time to look forward to the future. What changes will the new year bring and how can we best prepare for all of it? There are a number of trends and recent updates that will surely impact SEO in Denver for the foreseeable future. As a top SEO agency in Denver, we are here to break them down to help you prepare for 2021.

Trust us, you’ll want to prepare for these changes now so that your business can make the biggest impact in 2021.

How SEO In Denver Will Change In 2021

Even if search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t your top marketing channel, it would be unwise to ignore it this year. The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world, and it has triggered changes in online shopping behaviors that will likely have lasting effects (UNCTAD).

Traditional retail sales have declined while e-commerce has skyrocketed. In fact, U.S. e-commerce sales are projected to finish with $709.78 billion in 2020 (Forbes). That is the biggest jump in the e-commerce share of retail sales in a single year. And these new consumer behaviors aren’t going to change any time soon.

If you want to make the most of your digital presence, you cannot ignore SEO any longer. Here’s what you need to pay attention to in 2021.

1. Core Web Vitals & The User Page Experience

A few times a year, Google will implement broad core updates to their search engine and their algorithms. Of course, the tech giant makes smaller updates on a regular basis as well. However, these broad core updates can greatly influence search engine rankings. And there’s a big update coming in May 2021.

Google has announced that this planned broad core update will add Core Web Vitals as the newest page ranking factors, which is designed to improve the user experience on webpages. These Core Web Vitals will join the list of “page experience” ranking factors, which are:

  • Mobile-friendliness
  • Safe-browsing
  • HTTPS-security
  • And intrusive interstitial guidelines

So, what exactly are these Core Web Vitals? They are complex measurements of how users experience the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a page. Let’s define the 3 Core Web Vitals that will impact the future of SEO in Denver:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) - This is a measurement of the time it takes for a page’s main piece of content to load. An ideal LCP measurement is under 2.5 seconds.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) - This measures the amount of unexpected layout shifts of visual page content (e.g., when you click on a link, but the page shifts around and reads that you clicked another area). The ideal measurement here should be less than 0.1.
  • First Input Delay (FID) - This measures the amount of time it takes for a page to become interactive or responsive to user actions (e.g., clicks, taps, key presses, etc.). This metric should ideally be 100 milliseconds or faster.

While these ranking factors don’t go into effect until May 2021, you can start optimizing your site for them now to get ahead of the curve. Review your critical rendering path to optimize your server responses and ensure content loads in the viewport quickly. Reserve static space on your pages for images, videos, ads, and more. And try to reduce the Total Blocking Time (TBT) on your site as well.

Of course, many of these improvements require a tech-savvy mind. So, you may need to enlist the help of a professional SEO agency in Denver to optimize for these Core Web Vitals.

2. Focus On The User & The Search Intent

The idea of search intent is nothing new to the SEO industry. For numerous years, digital marketers have known that in order for content to perform well, that content needs to address the search intent. However, if there’s one thing that 2020 showed us, it’s that the user experience is incredibly important. All that’s to say, we all need to refocus our content strategies to provide the answers our target consumers are looking for.

So, how do you identify search intent? You can pursue many different research routes to discover search intent. From using the rich snippets and information on SERPs to identifying search intent via location or mode of search, there are many research methods at your disposal. There also are many online tools out there that can help you pinpoint search intent.

Search intent has traditionally fallen into 3 groupings. And while you can segment search intent even further, all searches will still fall under these 3 umbrella terms:

  • Informational intent
  • Navigational intent
  • Transactional intent

Once you understand the search intent, you’ll be able to craft the right kind of content to match that intent. It can also help you select the most appropriate CTAs, predict which SERP feature is most likely to be displayed, and help you discover new topics and key phrases to target.

So, as you create new content for your site in 2021, remember to keep your main focus on the users, and not solely on search engine algorithms!

3. Shifting To Mobile-First SEO In Denver

Hopefully this trend comes as no surprise to you. For several years now, Google has started working on mobile-first indexing, as they have crawled the web using a smartphone Googlebot. And earlier in September of 2020, Google officially made the switch to mobile-first indexing.

Like other updates, this change is designed to benefit user behaviors. After all, over half of all searches worldwide take place on a mobile or tablet device. So it only makes sense to prioritize the sites that are mobile-friendly over the non-mobile-friendly ones.

What does this mean for your digital presence? Your entire site must become mobile friendly and you need to prioritize the mobile device user experience (UX). Desktop sites will essentially become irrelevant in Google’s eyes by March 2021. So, if you hope to maintain your grip on your current search engine rankings, then you need to move towards a more responsive, mobile-friendly site design.

Revamp Your SEO Strategy With A Leading SEO Agency In Denver

Is your current SEO strategy failing to deliver results? If so, you’ve come to the right place. At FiG Advertising + Marketing, search engine optimization is our bread and butter. Not only are we adeptly skilled at keyword research and identifying search intents, we are well-versed in the best practices for SEO. As a top SEO agency in Denver, we can effectively revamp your SEO strategy to drive the right kinds of visitors to your website. And our marketers will always stay up-to-date on the latest search engine optimization updates, so you don’t have to!

Contact FiG Advertising + Marketing today to learn how we can effectively improve your SEO in Denver.