SEO Trends That Must Not Find Their Way To 2021

Talk to any digital marketer and one thing that will come up is search engine optimization (SEO). There is tons of material on how to become an SEO expert. There is even more material on how to drive up traffic with the right SEO techniques.

Without a doubt, search engine optimization has changed the digital marketing landscape. Marketers have to stay on their toes with the ever-evolving demands of SEO. Search engines like Google are becoming more demanding in their expectations. To land on the coveted first results page requires a constant readjusting of strategies.

Mastering the art of SEO is not a simple task. Marketers must be willing to let go of some of the obsolete techniques. In the same breath, they must be willing to embrace new trends. Our article will explore SEO trends that must not find their way to 2021. We have picked what we consider the best advice from SEO experts.

SEO Trends You Need To Say Goodbye To in 2021

If you have been doing any of the following, it is time for a painful parting. You will thank us when you start to see your SEO efforts come to fruition.

1. Keywords Are Good, but Please Stop with the Stuffing

Keywords are something you will continuously come across when talking about SEO. You know about long-term and short-tail keywords. You know how to look for the best and how to snatch them up from your competitors. You have even allocated part of your marketing budget to buying the best keywords. That is all good because it is an integral part of SEO.

But, where many people fail is the unnecessary stuffing of the keywords. It can get so bad that the content or article starts to lose meaning. The result is people will engage less with your content. Google has also caught on to the game. They will penalize you if you start to go overboard with the use of certain words.

• Practice moderation in the use of keywords.

• Let it inform and provide relevance to your content.

• Avoid the use of the same keywords in multiple web pages. Assign one keyword to every webpage. Try not to be too clever with the use of long-tail keywords. Adding an extra word here or there to provide variations may not work. Google has algorithms in place that will pick up on such practices.

• Utilize keywords in things like Meta title, image alt tags, and Meta description. Here is a guide you may want to consider. For a 500-word article, have the keyword in the first paragraph, a subtitle, and somewhere within the main body.

2. Stop Trying to Fool the Search Engines with Cloaking Practices

Some people are always trying to fool search engines. They will use artificial keywords or hide content through a practice the industry refers to as cloaking. It entails creating content for the websites that the audiences will not see. It requires some level of creativity.

The keywords, for example, maybe the same color as the background. The search engine will pick them up, but it will remain hidden from your website visitors.

3. Focus On Writing Content for Humans and Not Robots

If you only write for web crawlers, it is time to stop. Google takes into account different factors when ranking websites. How your audiences interact with the content is a critical factor. A high bounce rate can result in lower-rankings. It may signal to the search engines that they need to take a closer look at your website.

If we go back to our original point, the liberal use of keywords makes you more visible to the search engines. But, your audiences will not engage with the content. You will not be able to get them to stay on your pages for too long. Your attempt to confuse or influence the web crawlers while ignoring your audiences may end badly for you.

By all means, do apply the SEO techniques you know. However, remember you are targeting humans and not robots.

4. Forget About Quantity When It Comes To Link Building

Link building is a powerful SEO strategy. However, focusing more on quantity rather than quality is something you must leave behind.

Here is what you need to do:

• It may be time to lose your membership to the link farms. Think of a link farm like a marketplace for articles. The sellers offer to get you links to multiple websites. Google is, however, on the lookout for such practices. You may eventually end up with low rankings. Instead of buying links, focus on creating quality content. Stop spending money on buying links that have no relevance to your audiences.

• Enter into partnerships or relationships with other website owners for link building opportunities.

• Only backlink to high authority websites

• Avoid exactly matching your keywords to the anchor text because it may end up looking suspicious. The backlink should be relevant to the content on your site.

• Do not accept all offers for backlinks, especially if they will add no value to you. Google will recognize quality links no matter how few, resulting in better rankings for your site.

5. Nope, More Pages DO NOT Equal More Traffic

If you are working hard to create more pages on your website, take a break. You will find it extremely difficult to create relevant content for those extra pages. Google even has a watchdog known as Panda. It will go through the website and pick out those with mediocre or low-quality material.

The penalties will be swift, and you can be sure of low rankings on the search engine. Again it goes back to quality over quantity. Maximize on the few pages you have to build organic audiences with relevant content.

Final Thoughts

Search engine optimization is a field that is continually evolving. What may have worked well in 2020 may not do as well in 2021. Astute marketers must adopt the latest trends if they want to enjoy good rankings. Remember, Google will penalize you for some of the things you do in the name of SEO. We have highlighted some of the trends that you must leave behind.