Since COVID-19 struck, internet usage skyrocketed and the importance of having a strong, effective SEO strategy has become clear. As consumers got online to get tips on how to efficiently work or study from home, make online payments, shop, and more, Google was busy ensuring that websites with relevant and verified information, and great user experience were getting rewarded.
As we transition into a Post-COVID phase, businesses and companies are now fighting to stay relevant and visible to the online consumers in this “new normal”.
With respect to that, we have compiled a list of highly beneficial post-COVID SEO trends that you should implement and stay focused on for the growth of your business.
Optimizing Content for Mobiles
Since Google rolled out the first mobile-friendly update in 2015, it has become crucial to optimize websites to be more mobile-friendly.
If you’re more focused on desktop SEO, your desktop ranking may be higher. That’s all well and good, right? Well, only if you’re comfortable with an abysmal mobile ranking, which is about to get worse.
Google has begun to roll out an algorithm update – the 2021 Google Page Experience Update – that will rank websites based on how user-friendly they are. This means that mobile-friendly sites will rank higher than those that aren't, cementing the importance of mobile SEO.
Make your website user-friendly and avoid plummeting your business post-COVID.
Online Shopping Is More Popular and Here to Stay
As stated earlier, when COVID-19 struck, internet usage spiked than ever before.
For e-commerce, this was a major turning point as more businesses and consumers went digital, to provide and buy goods online. In Canada, online sales jumped from $16.5 billion in 2019 to 28.1 billion in 2020.
As businesses moved online and online shopping increased, competition became stiff, calling for websites to find ways to stand out, generate visibility and gain revenue, particularly through SEO strategies.
Even as things start getting back to “normal”, statistics indicate that people are still shopping online than before the COVID-19 pandemic. They feel comfortable, safer, and they’ve realized that online shopping is more convenient.
Therefore, if you don’t have an e-commerce store, it’s about time you open one.
Providing relevant content and using promotions are among the best ways to get consumer attention post-COVID. Learn how crucial SEO is to the growth of your business.
Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are meant to provide precise answers at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
In SEO, having your content showcased as a featured snippet on Google is a big win. This is because your site outranks the rest of the organic results, grabbing traffic from the competition.
When online activity surged during the lockdown, Google doubled down on prioritizing relevant, authoritative, highly educational, and trustworthy content for the featured snippet section. This means that now more than ever, it’s important to create searcher- and buyer-centric content that provides precise answers to questions that are relevant to your audience.
Question-based queries, lists, and structured content provide the best chance of getting prioritized by Google for the featured snippet section.
Online Learning and Video Tutorials
During the pandemic, the usage of online learning boomed. Some people were looking to learn new skills while others were looking to teach to make a living. According to a report by Statistica revealed, phrases related to E-learning, such as "free online learning," were highest during the COVID-19 pandemic.
E-learning is best done through video tutorials that clearly and precisely explain the learning content. Most people love watching catchy videos that explain or show how to use certain products or services and so on. This makes video tutorials an important part of any SEO strategy post-COVID.
The video tutorials you embed into your site should be optimized for search and they should voice your target keywords. Your content should also incorporate E-learning terms.
Voice Search
Voice technology is surely changing the way people interact with search engines. This technology is gaining popularity among businesses, especially with the increased use of gadgets, such as Alexa and Google Home, and the voice assistant on smartphones.
Voice technology is efficient as you don’t have to type in what you’re searching for. Just say the words out loud and a response will be given out to you.
For businesses, this means that your website needs to be in a position to generate a response when consumers use voice technology to ask about a product or service like yours. For this to work, you have to carefully select the keywords you use in your content.
Voice search is a growing technology and your SEO strategy should make use of it.
Semantically Related Keywords Will Gain Prominence
Modern search engines are getting better at providing accurate search results. One way Google is doing this is through “semantic search”, which aims to identify the context, deeper meaning, and intent of the words used in a query to serve up the most precise and complete results.
Having more semantically related keywords on your webpage increases Google’s understanding of your content and provides a picture of how the information responds to the questions being searched.
When focusing on semantic search, it’s important to curate your content with the user in mind. Do consumer and smart keyword research to ensure that your information answers customer questions. With more semantically related keywords, your web pages will rank well in search results.
Conclusion
There are many SEO trends that COVID-19 generated and they continue to impact businesses as the world returns to the norm. The above are the top SEO trends that you should consider post-COVID to enable your business website to gain visibility and generate revenue.
Call us today at 888-669-2240 to add our SEO services to your campaign.