Matt Janaway September 14, 2021 Keeping on top of the latest SEO trends often feels like an uphill struggle.
Google’s algorithm can be likened to the moving staircases in Harry Potter. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, everything changes.
One of the good things about SEO is that there will always be certain factors that Google will take into account:
Great content.
Site speed.
Quality links.
It’s unlikely these are ever going to become irrelevant as they go to the heart of what Google is trying to achieve: satisfying user intent.
That being said, there are things that do change. Here are some statistics you need to know about SEO in 2021.
1. The number 1 spot in Google has a CTR of around 32%
When we talk about the number 1 spot, this means ignoring those taking up “sponsored” spots on the top of the page.
Those positions are held by businesses who have paid to be in those spots.
This statistic relates to organic search results. That’s free traffic clicking over on to your website.
With the number 1 spot in Google having a click through rate of 32%, it goes to show how incredibly important it is to work on your website’s SEO and move up through the search engine ranking positions.
To put it in context, the post in a number 10 spot is ten times less likely to get a click.
That in itself is evidence of just how important it is to work on your website’s SEO.
Getting more visitors to your website is the key to generating more customers and sales.
2. Almost 70% of search queries contain four words or more
A large part of SEO is keyword research.
Many approach this process by finding a keyword (or keywords) they want to rank for and writing a post around it.
Depending on your business’s niche, it may be incredibly difficult to rank for a particular keyword as the competition is simply too high.
This is made more challenging if your website is still relatively new and hasn’t built up an authority yet.
An example of a keyword may be “marketing”. It has over 100,000 monthly searches d will be very difficult to rank for.
Keywords with a few words are called long-tail keywords. As they tend to have fewer searches every month, they are generally easier to rank for.
An example may be, “marketing for Italian restaurants”.
It’s unsurprising that many search queries contain four or more words. Users tend to ask Google a question to help them find out what they need to know.
One word alone often isn’t specific enough.
This is an important SEO statistic to know as you can use it to help guide your keyword research and content strategy.
Targeting long-tail keywords not only helps you to rank much sooner, but it also helps you to write content for your reader that will solve their problems.
3. 52.2% Of All Website Traffic Worldwide Comes From Mobile Phones
If we need to find something out, most of us will get out our mobile phone and head straight to Google.
Unless you’re sat at a computer at the time, you’re unlikely to use it unless you don’t have access to a smart phone.
Google recognises this shift by moving to 100% mobile-first indexing.
This means that Google is looking at how a website loads on a mobile device as being more important than how it loads on a computer.
It is then using this as a determining SEO factor when deciding how it ranks content.
The important takeaway from this is that it is essential to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. It needs to load fully, quickly, and correctly on a mobile device.
4. 76% Of People Looking For A Business Nearby Will Visit That Business Within A Day
If you have a bricks-and-mortar business, this statistic will apply to you.
It’s important for you that you have a strategy to work on your local SEO.
3 quarters of people who are looking for a business like yours will visit you within a day. To expand on that, 28% of those searches resulted in someone making a purchase.
These are big numbers, especially to small businesses.
More people than ever are conducting searches that include the words “near me”.
What this means for you as a business is that you should focus on making sure you’re targeting local people.
Try incorporating your location into some of your content so you show up in the search results when local people are looking for a business like yours.
For example, a post like “Italian restaurant in South East London” may attract some new customers.
5. By 2022, More Than 50% Of Households Will Own A Voice-Enabled Smart Device
What does this have to do with SEO?
It’s actually really important and is likely to have a big impact on SEO in the future.
Statistics show that 75% of voice search results will rank in the top 3 search results for that query.
So how do you optimise your website for voice searches?
There are some easy things you can do that will help:
- Make sure your site loads quickly
- Ensure you have an SSL certificate in place and your website is a HTTPS as opposed to HTTP
- Keep your content simple and easy to understand
- Longer pieces of content tend to perform better
As the technology grows, the way we use voice searches will change, as will what Google is looking for.
It’s going to be one to keep an eye on.
Wrapping Up
Moving forward into 2021, SEO is just as important as it has ever been.
The advancements in technology with mobile phones and voice-enabled smart devices is likely to have a big impact on how people search for information.
It may mean that you have to adapt your SEO to account for this, but it isn’t anything new or surprising.
Make sure that the content you produce continues to be high quality and solves a problem for the reader. This helps you to build an authority in your niche area which ultimately improves your rankings.
Keep working on making sure your website runs as smoothly as possible.
Having a content marketing plan in place that also incorporates social media where you can. This helps you to build your online presence and attract new customers.
I hope this helps! Are there any SEO stats for 2021 that you have come across and found interesting? Let me know.
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