SEO in 2021 – What to Expect | Sixth City Marketing

As we enter the new year, SEOs are scratching their heads and wondering what this year will bring when it comes to search engine optimization and the never-ending changes to Google.

Keep on reading to see what we know will be soon launching, as well as insights on some expected trends for SEO in 2021.

5 Things We Know That Are Approaching

Page Experience Ranking Factor

Back in November, Google announced that a broad core update centered around page experience was going to be released in May of 2021. This is one the biggest known changes that marketers can prepare their SEO for this year, so take it into account when prepping for the upcoming months.

Changes to Paid Facebook

While this isn’t necessarily SEO, it can play a factor into how you budget your marketing channels. For a while now, many advertisers have been informed that due to some changes from Apple and other programs that are looking to increase security measures, running Facebook ads may become more difficult. Be sure to read up on these changes.

Social Media Uprising

In 2020, TikTok was all the rage, and that seems like it will not change anytime soon in 2021, which is why the platform is something to consider adding to your strategy. However, we also may see an increase in the newest channel, Clubhouse, so keep an eye on that.

Mobile-First Indexing

Even though it has been mentioned for a few years now, Google officially noted that in March of 2021 mobile-first indexing will finally roll out. So SEOs should be aware and in contact with their development teams to ensure their websites are prepared.

Continued Voice Search Enhancements

From Siri on your phone to Alexa on your Echo device, it seems like voice search is in just about every area of our lives these days. Because of that, voice search has definitely been on the mind of a lot of marketers. As new devices and technologies are developed that will utilize the feature, we can only assume that optimizing for voice will become more pressing and needed.

Our #1 Wish for SEO in 2021

More Updates to GMB

We recently got a gift from Google that gives business owners more options when reporting reviews in their dashboard, as well as many features that helped companies navigate during COVID-19 in the beginning of 2020, but we are still wanting more.

Our main wish for 2021 is that the Google My Business team will also improve some other lacking areas, such as the verification process, combating keyword stuffing, lead generation listings, and more.

We can only hope to get some improvements on the local side of SEO in the coming months, but we won’t hold our breath.

SEO in 2021 – What to Expect