5 Important SEO Tips For 2021

When it comes to SEO tips for 2021, where should you start?

There are so many factors when it comes to getting your website to rank on Google and other search engines (yes there are other search engines out there!). Too many to cover in just one post.

So here are my top 5 important SEO tips for 2021 that you can either DIY or outsource.

2021 SEO Tip #1 – Create The Best Mobile Experience

I know, I know, we’ve been hearing for years about having a mobile friendly website.

But this year it’s not good enough to simply be mobile friendly. You need to create the best mobile experience for your visitors.

With the vast majority of most website visitors coming from mobile devices, your website has to give them the best possible mobile experience to keep them on site for as long as it takes for them to convert. Whether that’s to make a purchase, sign up to your email list, call you, or send an online enquiry.

But how exactly can you create the best mobile experience for your visitors?

The first thing you need to do is hop onto your phone and see what your website looks like.

Now ask yourself the following questions:

• How long does it take to load?

• How long does it take to scroll through each page and is your content relevant?

• Can you easily tap to find sub-pages?

• How many subpages have you got and do you really need them all?

• Are your phone numbers and email addresses clickable?

• Can users click to get back to the top easily?

• How easy is it to get back to the home page?

• Are your contact details easily findable?

• Can users search on your website to find what they want?

If you can’t be objective about your website (it’s hard, I get it), ask someone else to review it as a potential customer for you and give you their honest feedback.

Google has some super simple tips on mobile user experience and design principles to help you.

2021 SEO Tip #2 – Make It Easy For Your Audience

The number one thing your website needs to do is MAKE IT EASY for your audience.

Think about what action you want your audience to take.

If you’re a product based business, you probably want them to make an online purchase.

If you’re a service based business, you might want them to submit an enquiry form online, or call you.

You might want them to book a discovery call with you or send you an email.

Whatever the action is, make it easy for them to take it.

Give them all the information they need to help them decide to act. Don’t hide your key information – such as your pricing, your shipping or returns policy, or your contact information.

Add a contact form that makes it easy for people to get in touch.

Ensure your check out process is quick and easy. If you have multiple payment options such as card, PayPal or After Pay, make it clear so people can find the one they prefer to use.

Whatever the action is, try to make it possible in the least amount of clicks.

2021 SEO Tip #3 – Re-do Your Keyword Research

There’s no doubt that 2020 was a year in which search evolved considerably.

People have refined and adjusted how they search and that means it is probably time to revisit your keyword research and chosen keywords for your website.

Are people still searching for the same keywords or have they added other words or longer phrases to their search terms?

I offer a keyword research service where I find all the best keywords for your website and leave it to you to implement – find out more now!

If you’re interested, each year Google puts together a Year in Search video – check out 2020’s video here. Try not to cry. It’s a good ‘un.

2021 SEO Tip #4 – Review Your Site Structure

How many blogs have you written over the years? Or how many products do you sell?

Chances are if you’ve been running a website or blogging for a while, you might have heaps of categories and tags set up for your blogs or products.

Some of which I bet you don’t even use any more.

Take some time to go through all your site categories and tags, and work out which ones are obsolete.

These should be removed from your posts or products where possible, especially when multiple tags are used per blog post. This isn’t helpful anymore and just serve to create multiple pages of duplicate content on your site.

When I write blog posts for clients, I choose one category and don’t add any tags. Tags are not helpful for SEO purposes anymore, but if you’re going to use them, try not to use more than 1-2 tags per post, otherwise you’ll just end up with hundreds of pages with all the same posts on them.

Also look over your menu and subpages – can users easily find the page they want? How many clicks does it take to get to your key pages? Do you have any orphan pages (pages that exist but are not linked anywhere on your website)?

2021 SEO Tip #5 – Update Your Content

When’s the last time you read your website?

I mean REALLY read it. Not skim-read it because you’ve seen it so many times the words have become almost invisible to you.

Content is crucial when it comes to ranking on Google – it’s not just about pretty sites that load super-fast.

What have you got to say?

Is it just fluff or does every word have a purpose?

Don’t write for content’s sake alone – each word on your site should be important, helpful and legible (seriously, stop using fancy fonts that are impossible to actually read).

Ensure you’re using headings wisely too. Don’t waste valuable H1 space with ‘Welcome to our website’.

Yoast has a helpful guide to how to use headings on your site here.

I could write forever on this topic but this should give you a good starting point for getting your website set up for SEO success in 2021.

And if you’re interested in hiring me to optimise your website, you can get in touch with me online now.