User and search intent is SEO for 2021
Thoughts on 2020 Google Year in Search, and The Biggest SEO Trends of 2021 by SEJ
This year anyone can guess the 2020 Google Year in Search.
In my lifetime I have seen the world united by a virus.
Everyone(almost) in the world searched for “What is Coronavirus” and almost all of us at some point searched - “How to make hand sanitizers at home” and “How to make a face mask.”
We Indians definitely found our love for Cricket so the Indian Premier League tops the overall chart followed by Coronavirus and the widely talked about US Elections.
If you drill the Interest Over Time section for IPL it started picking up from mid-September and gained maximum interest all throughout October. In the case of the virus, it started picking from mid-March, by the end of March and April it peaked but after that, it started slowly fading. We made peace with the virus as the weekly activities faded.
Arnab Goswami finds himself in the top 10 list. I don’t know what to say. India really doesn’t want to know.
I am interested in the “How to” and “What is” India search trends for 2020. “How to make paneer”, and “What is Coronavirus” tops the chart.
Why am I specifically interested in this section?
The answer lies in the amazing research work on Google Searches done by Backlinko. Brian Dean and his team analyzed 306M keywords to understand the types of queries that people use in Google search. Using data from DataForSEO and Ahrefs, the study looked at keyword distribution, query length, keyword difficulty, CPC, SERP features, and more.
The study finds that 14.1% of Search Queries are Question Keywords. It further broke down the most common types of questions that people used.
As you can see How dominates the list followed by What questions.
The insight here is that marketers should solve consumer questions via content related to their business category/product/service. Make sure to include How and What questions in your content plan. Even Brian finds this data the most interesting insight as it shows a lot of opportunities.
Additionally, you have one more reason why you should have a category of Frequently Asked Questions on your brand website.
The study also found out that keywords between 5-10 characters tend to get searched for most often. And that 1-2 word terms have the highest average search volume.
User and search intent is SEO for 2021
In 2021, it’s time to focus on user and search intent says the Search Engine Journal. With the year coming to an end SEJ has published The Biggest SEO Trends of 2021, according to 42 Experts.
The eBook acknowledges that it isn’t a new trend or concept, every year it’s important to refocus because searcher intent and behavior is changing all the time. Especially after the year that was 2020 when so much rapidly changed.
With Google focusing more on satisfying user intent, Steven van Vessum, VP of Community, ContentKing, said it’s more important than ever to focus on learning what a user is looking for.
“In terms of the actual answer – but also their preferred content type (e.g., video, podcasts, or PDF),” van Vessum said. “Because figuring out queries’ user intent by hand is very time-consuming, keyword research tools that let us quickly do this at scale will overtake those that do not.”
Alexander Kesler, CEO, INFUSEmedia, offers some additional advice on understanding the search intent of your ideal buyer and driving meaningful revenue for your organization.
“Analyze the search data and on-site journey of any organically acquired leads – not just the search terms that they used to find your content, but also on-site search and highlighted keywords for all pages that they visited,” Kesler said. “Aggregate that data and map it to a content journey.”
Finding not only how the user has landed and what is he searching on the website but building relevant content around is finishing the entire loop. Alexander nails it.
Adam Riemer, President at Adam Riemer Marketing has a word of advice: “Brands are going to need to forget about themselves and cater to their visitors.”
This includes:
Copy that addresses the visitor’s needs and concerns and not copy that talks about your products, your company, or why your product is good.
A quick website that renders and stabilizes fast.
Not making people work to find your content or to spend money with you. No forced popups, registrations, etc.”
Adam’s thoughts connect to another big trend - Page Experience Optimization.
With Google introducing Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor in 2021, page experience metrics can no longer be ignored, according to Areej AbuAli, SEO Manager, Zoopla.
“Websites and businesses need to prioritize for them to ensure they don’t fall behind their competitors,” AbuAli said. “Make the most out of insights provided via tools such as Lighthouse and Crux API. Everything from page speed, mobile-friendliness, rendering, image optimization, and security protocols need to be optimized for.”
Finally “Long Form” content is going to be in demand. Ron Lieback, CEO/Founder, ContentMender, said one trend to help you outrank your competitors will be consistently publishing longer-form content that appeals to Google’s E-A-T guidelines, as well as emotion.
“Throughout 2020, I consistently witnessed blogs over 2,000 words dramatically outperform blogs of 1,000 words or less,” Lieback said. “Expect this long-form content trend to continue in 2021, and as more and more websites follow this trend, the length will get larger – maybe even toward that 2,500-3,000 mark for a blog to rank well over others.”
I am not a fan of medium or article length. It is true that long-form articles or rather articles that solve a consumer pain point are in demand. I would rather stick to content that creates value.
Earlier this year Danny Sullivan, Public Liaison for Search published an article about Google’s core updates. The article clearly mentions the “Focus is Content”.
Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
SEO is no more about just driving traffic. It has evolved into one word - Value.