What to Expect in Search Marketing in 2021

Search marketing refers to the strategies used to get a higher rank on the search engine result page or SERP. There are two types of search marketing. One is paid and the other one is unpaid.

Search engine optimization or SEO is one type of search marketing that does not involve paid techniques. It means that you will be getting organic results since no money is involved. However, it will require your time and effort to do this. While the SEO programs or techniques are unpaid, you can pay the best SEO companies in Austin to help with your campaign if you want to make sure that it will work.

The other type of search marketing is search engine marketing or SEM. This refers to paid campaigns to be on top of search results. You must set a specific budget for this so you will not go over what you want to spend. Make sure that you adopt proven to work techniques to get the returns on your marketing expenses.

These search marketing processes have been around for years. However, Google is non-stop in developing its algorithm, so how it determines the results it shows when a search is made also keeps changing. Aside from this, there is also the pandemic that made a huge impact on how customers use the Internet for getting the products and services that they need. This also has effects on SERP.

While it’s hard to determine the changes that might still come, there are trends in search marketing that are more likely to be a hit this 2021. Most of them are not entirely new, but they were not as popular before, as they are expected to be this year.

If you want to keep yourself on top of the competition, you must keep yourself updated with what’s new and what is expected to work in terms of search marketing. Here are some of the strategies that you may want to consider incorporating for your search marketing, both paid and unpaid, this 2021.

Let’s first start with the trends for search engine optimization or SEO.

Produce high-quality content

The king of SEO had always been content and it will continue to be an important part of attaining a top ranking. Google is now smarter than ever. It can now determine if users find your site helpful or not. Using the right keywords may help you drive more traffic to your website, but it’s still your content that will determine if they will keep on reading and exploring, or they will leave the site.

Note that the majority of users do not go back to the site once they bounce and one of those reasons is that they may not find what they are looking for or they don’t consider your site helpful. Top-quality content will also help you become an authority, which will also lead to more users accessing your site and getting quality backlinks.

Adapt to the current situation

The pandemic brought many changes in how customers get their products and services and how companies conduct their business. For example, restaurants that may not offer food delivery as an option before have this option now. It’s because of the surge in the number of people that order foods via delivery. Businesses offering services are also now offering online consultation.

With the pandemic still ongoing this 2021, you must adapt your business to these changes and start serving your customers to the next level. Adjust your SEO strategies to incorporate these changes. For instance, add keywords related to delivery or online consultation on your content, and have a separate page for them on your website.

Improve the user experience on all devices

The number of mobile users that make their purchases online is steadily increasing. Focus on enhancing user experience not just when accessing your site using the computer, but when using mobile devices too.

Ensure that the site loads fast, ideally not over 3 seconds. Anything beyond that could cause visitors to leave the site. It will not only hurt your SERP ranking but your conversion rate too. Keeping images the right size and cleaning the website with unnecessary junk are ways to keep it optimized.

Now that you learned about the SEO strategies to consider this year, let’s now go over the SEM techniques that are also worth adapting.

Use responsive search ads

Google ads are the most popular in paid advertisements. You bid for keywords and how much you are willing to spend. Your site will show on top of the page for relevant searches, which will give your site a better chance of being visited. The best SEO companies in Austin know the best strategies to win the bid.

Responsive search ads give you the option to enter various headlines and descriptions for your marketing campaign. Google will then decide based on different factors the best ad to show on the user’s search. It’s more convenient than having to create multiple ads, and it also matches what the users search for, giving it a better chance of being clicked.

Include Amazon for paid ads

Google remains the biggest search engine, but this does not mean that you will only focus on it for your paid ad campaigns. There are other platforms out there that are also worth exploring. Amazon may be a big name in the e-commerce field, but it is also a search engine. It offers paid ads too.

Another reason to include Amazon in your SEM is that there is a higher chance of getting a better conversion rate. Amazon users are more likely to purchase. They are searching for products because they are ready to pay for them.

Adapt to cookieless browsing

Cookies are small programs that track the browsing history of the users. It will help determine the best ads to offer them. However, users value their privacy more than ever. Cookies may be disabled in the future. As early as now, find strategies to reach potential customers with your ads, without using cookies.

Both paid and unpaid search marketing remain important this 2021. Work on your strategies to ensure that not only do you get on top of the search engine results, but you also get more traffic and a higher conversion rate.