10 Technical SEO Trends in 2021 You Cannot Ignore

Ranking websites demands both excellent content and adaptation to new technologies that determine the pages that are shown to the public. I understand that failing in coping with the technical elements can be a serious mistake that not even the best possible content can make up for. That is why I brought the most recent technical SEO trends in 2021 to light

If done well, your websites will be ready to face any challenges 2021 may bring, and most probably 2022, too, just like mine.

1. Prepare Your Website for Core Web Vitals

Considering the time I spent adapting my websites to face the new Google ranking factor, Core Web Vitals, you still have enough time before its release in May 2021.

Its purpose is to guarantee that users visiting your websites will have the best possible user experience, or else you should not be ranked high. Fortunately, the fundamentals of the Core Web Vitals as one of the technical SEO trends in 2021 are well known:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – loading time above2.5 seconds is the ideal range.
• FID (First Input Delay) – if the user cannot interact within the first 100 ms, the website needs improvement.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) – penalizes unstable screens that try to trick users into clicking on advertisements and related content.

Although I had not the necessity to change my host, the most basic concern is to make sure your server offers good speed. Otherwise, your actions will not be as efficient. All other actions towards having a Core Web Vitals-friendly website can be helped with some extra tools. I used Google Site Kit for a WordPress website, but Cloudflare also partnered with Google to provide insights to websites upon a small fee.

Through Site Kit, it is possible to enable a connection with the PageSpeed Insights and receive recommendations. I also recommend doing the following check-up before proceeding to the next technical SEO trend in 2021:

• Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) – From my experience, the only valid exception is when the website is for a local business, and its server is located really close to your public.
• Apply server-side caching to CSS and JavaScript elements and bring the latter in line to reduce total requests.
• Convert files to the best format and reduce their size through compression.
• Remove unnecessary scripts that might have been added to the pages in previous and now unused services.
• Optimize Images, as they have a huge influence on the total loading time.
• For new projects, make page speed optimization one of the basic pillars of their development.

Pros:

• Immediate results in user experience and behavior.
• Faster pages on mobile and computers.
• Not lagging behind competitors.

Cons:

• Multifactorial change that might demand time.

2. Use Schema Strategically – The Importance of Rich Snippets

Whenever the word “strategy” is applied to an SEO technique, it means that webmasters need to use parsimony instead of using all resources within their range. I know you are aware that the concept applies to keywords, as they should not be stuffed like there is no tomorrow, but people are not paying enough attention to the strategic use of schema

The use of schema can really determine a page’s success, as it lets search engines know what it offers to readers. Although it is not a new concept, I want you to really absorb that its strategic use is now a must to evolve in terms of SEO in 2021.

When added to your pages, it can provide visibility to images and videos, disclose specific information the user needs, among other possibilities, through enhanced snippets. Depending on the category of the website, that may be the difference between being forgotten and generating leads. Some of the most common types of schema that can be applied include:

• Articles
• FAQ
• Organization
• Posts
• Products
• Reviews
• Vídeos
• Website

The problem is to think that overdoing it is the solution to improve search behavior. Instead, only using what is necessary to help search engines identify the content on the website is the key. For example, an e-commerce website such as IKEA’s can identify their product and have excellent results from it, without adding every possible schema to their pages

Pros:

• Most script solutions already come with a pre-established schema.
• Easy to configure.
• Might result in more clicks in SERP.

Cons:

• Need to balance and not overdo it.

3. JavaScript SEO – Using It Right for Dynamism

JavaScript is responsible for making my websites interactive and dynamic to users. However, they might not even reach the website if it cannot rank due to poor adaptation to the Core Web Vitals. That situation happens when the user forgets to optimize their JavaScript – among other things – and ends up with a dynamic and incredibly slow page.

How to Optimize JavaScript to Follow the Technical SEO Trends?

The first step is to head to your Google Search Console and make sure the Live Test URL indicates the page is duly rendered. It should look like you see your website when navigating on your mobile or computer. Otherwise, it is important to verify why it is not loading.

After adapting the code to perfect rendering and indexation, I suggest implementing some of the hints below for optimal SEO adaptation

• Scan the JavaScript for any errors or have someone with that knowledge check that for you.
• Do not use robots.txt to block JavaScript, as that would impair search engine access.
• Get rid of “#” in URLs, unless you do not mind if they are not read properly.
• Make sure all content hidden through JavaScript is readable.

Pros:

• Faster web pages,
• Elimination of unnecessary material.
• Clearer navigation to search bots.

Cons:

• It might require some programming knowledge.

4. Mobile-Friendly Content

The number of smartphone users rose to 3.8 billion in the year 2021, 52% higher than in 2016. Depending on the niche, almost 100% of the views might come from mobile devices. The total number might be 0 in case the website is not properly adapted.

Even though my personal blog had a clean and efficient page that seemed to load beautifully from my mobile device, I tested it with Google’s Site Kit. The first image below shows that the situation was not as bright and ready for the Core Metrics as I expected, at least from the mobile side.

Knowing that 75% of my visitors were coming from mobile devices, I decided to do whatever I could not to lag behind the competition in the technical SEO trends in 2021. I followed simple recommendations such as:

• Established static resources wherever possible with efficient caching.
• Removed unnecessary JavaScript and CSS.
• Updated images to state-of-art formats and defined an optimal size for them.

The results leave no doubt that my efforts paid off. As a result, I know that it will not be responsible for pushing down the traffic to my blog:

Pros:

• Increase in mobile traffic.
• Matches Core Metrics.
• Not losing public to the competition.

Cons:

• Outdated websites might require a bigger modification.

5. Optimize for Voice Search

There is a potential in voice search that already started to change how searches are done. According to statistics, more than 1/4 of the population that is online through mobile devices uses the voice search feature on their phone. Also, it is used by both young and older people as a practical manner of getting some information.

How to Be Ready for Voice Search?

The best possible advice I can give is to prioritize questions, which most of the time suit any content that is published online. My suggestion to avoid overdoing it is to figure if readers are there to figure who, where, when, why, how, or what, and complete from there.

I also brought some statistics and estimates to boost your interest in adapting your website to match this technical SEO trend

• • 111.8 million people in the United States are using the voice search feature – 9.5% more than in the previous year. Apps like Siri and Google Assistant are increasingly popular.

• 40% of the total of internet users in the United States use voice search.
• On a global scale, 27% of the population use the voice search feature on mobile devices, according to GlobalWebIndex, 2018.
• 71% of consumers of e-commerce websites prefer to use voice search instead of typing, according to PwC (2018).
• 75% of the households in the US are estimated to have at least one smart speaker.
• 52% of the owners of smart speakers use their devices on a daily basis, according to NPR, 2018.
• Those interested in getting both organic and paid traffic should know that 39% of consumers interviewed by Adobe in 2019 said they considered voice ads less intrusive than the alternatives.

Pros:

• Higher and better rankings for voice searches.
• Clearer content for anyone.
• Long-term improving results.

Cons:

• Rewriting older content might be required.

6. The Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence

Since the release of RankBrain in 2015, Google’s algorithms apply machine learning to relate keywords. Therefore, those who used to benefit from false signals are no longer performing as good as true quality content that can be related to several other keywords. As a defender of quality content for forever, I was not surprised with that evolution.

Like everything else listed in this article on the top 10 technical SEO trends in 2021, demand tends to become a major rule to identify quality content. Therefore, instead of paying too much attention to stuffing related keywords as much as possible, build relevant content with a holistic approach and expect real results.

The BERT algorithm, which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, uses NLP (Natural Language Processing) and machine learning to connect what users type or say to what they are actually after. Instead of simple automation tools, robots are interpreting the will of users of search engines.

Instead of a threat implemented by Google that will de-rank your websites, I suggest interpreting it as what will optimize your SERP. Therefore, think of user intent and that there are intelligent robots redirecting prospect users or clients if their search query matches your content. Put your keywords in the search engine and figure out through the results what is the user intent behind it to create similar – and better – content

Pros:

• Ranking for other keywords.
• When carried out right, the algorithm will match your content to new opportunities.
• Drives attention to the users.<

Cons:

• Might feel too subjective.

7. Image Optimization

Delivering high-quality images should not be limited to how detailed and clear they are. Just as important as not having poor-quality images is to make sure they are optimized. Being also a part of the Core Metrics values, they should be adapted in terms of resolution, dimension, and format to deliver the smallest possible size and load properly.

More than guaranteeing that your website’s positioning in search engines will not be affected, image optimization is a huge part of the user experience. Images only have value if the user can see them as soon as they enter the website, or else their effect does not exist. In addition, the entire page loading time is affected.

Fortunately, there are several online tools and even WordPress plugins that can assist in that. After resizing images and choosing the best format, I also used “Smush” to save size and load them faster:

Pros:

• Save space.
• Get images loading faster.
• Better Page Speed score.

Cons:

• It requires attention to the quality of images.

8. UI/UX Combined with SEO

It is nothing new to web admins that a high bounce rate and absence of interaction can have a serious negative impact on SEO. The technical aspects of UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) should be taken seriously for anyone, regardless of focusing on organic or paid traffic.

Search engines are looking to rank websites that can provide more than information. The entire user experience, from the moment of arrival to when they leave the website, should be optimized. That includes clean scripts, summarized but complete information, and buttons, and any other features that can improve navigation towards the users’ goals.

In my honest opinion, it is neither necessary to enroll in one of the thousands of UX courses out there, not contract an entire team of UX workers if that does not match the size of your company. Instead, think as a real user or have some people do that for you and figure out what can be converted to adapt to that technical SEO trend of 2021, as search engines will notice.

Pros:

• Services and websites will be each time more attentive to the user experience.
• There are still many competitors of yours trying to improve their UX.
• A cleaner interface usually leads to more conversions.

<Cons:

• May also feel too subjective for those who are not specialists.

9. Analytical Use of Data as a Technical SEO Trend

Not collecting and analyzing data from a website is like being blind and deaf despite all the other efforts for SEO. I personally like using must-have and free tools like Google’s Analytics and Search Console to identify search queries and user behavior. Those tools usually count with excellent insights that can almost be applied directly to pages.

Other than that, analyzing SERP even before creating content can help you define what the content should contain. I always create scripts and draft possibilities before actually diving into the creation of my articles. That extra dedication and time pay off.

After the content is ready, it can and should be adapted and updated according to both the user interaction and the state-of-art of that subject. That is, by far, one of the most important technical SEO trends in 2021.

Pros:

• Can help understand users’ behavior
• A strategy that can be applied at any moment.
• There are free tools out there.

Cons:

• Too much data and no organization can also be a disadvantage.

10. EAT and Authority

The EAT principle is governed by the three letters that compose it: Expertise, Authority, and Trust. All those three can be easily interrelated, and any image that might represent it has something to do with branding and originality. If several websites are successfully implementing the SEO technical trends above, some will have better content than others.

That “Expertise” will make users think of them as an “Authority” in their niche, and that is sufficient to “Trust” them. Google will notice it, and websites that do not pay much attention to building a strong presence (i.e., those that are too generic) will pay the price.

Together with addressing your public with the best possible content in an optimized manner, consider improving what is not correlated to SEO in an obvious way. More precisely, provide information about the authors, who is behind the website, contact, and address details, and anything else that any serious company needs

Pros:

• Establish a brand or name on the web as a consequence.
• Become less fragile to competitors based on content.
• Get recurrent users or clients.

Cons:

• It might require a lot of time and effort, probably money, too.

How to be Always Prepared for New Technical SEO Trends?

Instead of always looking for the top technical SEO trends for the next year on a December night, be a step ahead of many accommodated competitors. Google is always posting about its latest and upcoming updates, as it happened with Core Web Vitals. Also, other technical trends in SEO for the year 2021 were obvious to anyone that is not in a coma.

For example, machine learning is a big part of the internet and technological trends, and Google is one of the companies at the forefront of that revolution. Also, almost every website, app, and any other interactive resource is currently considering the user experience one of the pillars of their development

Therefore, in order to be always up to date with optimization, keep an eye on SERP and competitors, check what Google is suggesting, and take a look around once in a while. You will most probably receive tons of information every day and not even realize it will have an impact on your SEO strategies