Is SEO Dead in 2021?

In the past few months, entrepreneurs and startups are pretty concerned about the forever-changing Google algorithms. Yes, the fact is, the Google’s search algorithm is changing dramatically, and it is hard to predict what comes next.

The questions arise: is availing of any SEO services from a UK SEO agency worth it? Will SEO experts have any future? Is it worth investing to avail of the best SEO services in the UK? 

If you believe spamming and stuffing target keywords is what SEO is all about, probably SEO is dead for you already. But, if you’re seriously out there to grow your business, SEO is still pretty much relevant.

Why Does SEO Still Matter?

SEO is not dead.

But with time, it is evolving, or some of its elements will die out soon.

Today, you can’t get your website ranked on the first page of Google SERPs just by stuffing in your target keywords.

Google has more than 200 ranking factors, including mobile-page optimization, speed optimization, and much more.

In this article, we will discuss why SEO isn’t dead and what factors you need to adopt to get going with Google's latest algorithm evolvements.

Google Algorithm is User-Driven

Search Engine Optimization isn’t just about optimizing for Google.

As Wendy Piersall says, “Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.”.

In a sense, Google’s search algorithm is designed to make Google more user friendly. So, if you wish to rank high on Google, optimize your site for your target audience first.

If you have many backlinks on your site from high DA websites, but users don't find value, it increases your bounce rate. Which means you are under the red flag.

It hardly matters whether you have applied the best SEO tactics or are following the Google algorithm permanently, if your website doesn’t align with your audience, you are not in the game.

Google focuses on user signals. For instance: if users Google a query but do not find the best match on the first page and move to the second page, it will signal search crawls, they have ranked the average websites on top.

Spend 40 or 50 minutes on a particular site and Google will improve its ranking, considering it aligns with what users are searching for.

Google updates its algorithm every other year to ensure all of these ranking factors are addressed when a consumer makes a query.

Brands Correlate with Google

Google correlates with brands. Have you noticed when you search for queries like SEO or learning SEO, the websites that come to the top are either MOZ or Neil Patel?

It’s because they have positioned themselves as the best-matched results for anything that relates to SEO.

When you position yourself as a brand and people start searching for relevant queries with your name, it signals Google crawlers that this particular query correlates with your brand.

For instance: Make a search query on Google about the best joggers for men, higher are the chances, Google will show you some brands like Adidas and Nike. Partly, it relates to perfect SEO strategies they have implemented and partly because the best running joggers are often associated with these brands.

On the other hand, if an SEO agency in UK has established its reputation as the best SEO service provider and many consumers search for you as a specific name, Google might rank you for any searched SEO term in the UK.

A recent study by Neil Patel links branded search volumes to the top-ranking search results.

However, this practice doesn’t negate the importance of SEO, rather it shows you need to apply the best SEO strategies and establish yourself as a brand to align with the new algorithm updates.

Avoid Multi-Niche Content

2021 is becoming challenging to compete with your competitors as more and more businesses are shifting online.

Google will never rank a jack of all trades but an expert who provides top-notch services for one particular domain. When you try to rank for any keyword you think is compelling, it makes your brand mediocre in the eyes of search crawls.

For instance, if you are a brand that sells shoes online and you are ranking well on those keywords.

But if you shift toward home furniture, it will probably compromise your credibility, and Google might not rank you against every keyword that you do SEO for.

It makes traffic coming to your website diverse, and as a matter of fact, complex for the Google search crawls. The result is you have a bulk of content and data unread, and undiscovered buried down on the internet.

Therefore, you need to niche down yourself to become the expert for that particular niche. If you are ranking on keywords related to men’s shoes, establish your authority and become a voice of the men’s shoes.

SEO becomes unrelated because brands over-spam any keyword they find compelling and try to rank for that. You can’t rank for multiple niche keywords unless you have authority like giant corporations; Ali Express, Ali Baba, and Amazon.

Relevancy and Personalization is the Key

Have you ever noticed that when you click on the Google search bar, it shows you suggestions for keywords you previously searched for?

For instance: if you are consistently searching for the best SEO services in UK, Google will show you the same keyword the very time when you open your search bar. Google will only move it when you don’t click it a few times and search for new terms.

We talked earlier that Google prefers user experience over any SEO tactic.

Next time, make a search query from your phone and one from your friend’s phone, and you would notice both of the search results are not the same even for the same keyword. That is because Google personalizes searches according to the person using the phone.

It works according to data that they get from you through Google maps and the different Google apps that you use.

For example, when you visit a place and you have your phone with you, Google maps tracks your location and the search results of your future queries would likely be influenced by the data.

SEO Strategies That Will Not Work for You in 2021

SEO is surely not dead, but many strategies that worked in the past for marketers have become outdated. If you still apply these strategies, what you will be seeing is low ranking and ultimate failure.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is now a thing of past. Gone are the days when merely stuffing keywords into a blog could rank you on the number one spot. Google prefers websites that answer what user intents. If you are only adding keywords just because users search them online, it will not take you anywhere.

Obsession with Link Building

Let’s face it. Link building is one of the finest SEO strategies that many SEO experts in the UK would apply to rank you higher in the country but still, many SEO experts go all-in on link building.

Google algorithm is very sharp today; it can detect the difference between good and complex backlinks easily.

The quality overpowers the quantity. If you are generating hundreds of backlinks through software, it will never result in a good ranking. In fact, you are endangering your site.

Instead, adding manual backlinks from high-authority sites is the right tactic.

Optimizing for Search Engines Instead of Users

Another strategy that worked for people in the past to rank their pages was to focus on ranking, not user experience (UX). UX has become the manor ranking factor in the Google algorithm. Google aims at providing relevant, engaging, and valuable content for its users.

If you are doing everything from on-page SEO to off-page and technical SEO but hardly paying heed to what a user wants, you will end up increasing your bounce-back rate and ultimately being pushed back by Google.

SEO is not dead. It is constantly evolving and getting better and better. The assumptions about SEO being left behind in 2020 usually come from the experts who failed to evolve and transform with time.

By VROX Content Team - 20 Aug 2021