SEO priorities for 2021
After seeing the back of 2020 (thank goodness for that!) and entering the new year, there is no better time to step back and evaluate your SEO campaigns. As of May 2021, we are expecting Google to introduce “page experience signals” as a ranking factor. The page experience refers to the way visitors interact with pages on your website. It is determined by a number of signals ranging from mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, to HTTPS, These were already ranking factors previously, but it looks like they are going to be more incorporated and work within the “page experience” framework.
Here at Dental Design, as part of our online marketing packages, we’ll be having a look for any quick wins and identifying the bigger issues that should be addressed as a result of this algorithm update.
1. Google Search Console review
Google Search Console is a very powerful platform for your website but it is often neglected. It can be one of the best sources of information for identifying any ‘page experience’ issues to be fixed. Working through Search Console’s navigation, look for any errors or warnings. The main areas to review include:
- HTML improvements. Working on duplicated or lengthy meta descriptions and page titles can be an easy method of increasing your rankings and CTR
- Structured data. Ensure there are no errors within your markup.
- Mobile usability. Mobile traffic has now taken over desktop and accounts for up to 60% of all internet traffic. Ensuring your dental website has an optimum mobile experience should be a priority (this could actually come under a larger project if your website needs a redesign)
- Blocked resources. Complete a quick check to ensure that any resources the search engines need to render your pages are not being blocked.
- Crawl errors. Identify and resolve any 404 or soft 404 errors to ensure a strong user experience and to redirect any link authority pointing to redundant URLs.
While the above is not a comprehensive site audit, it provides an action list of easy-to-implement, quick wins which you can get to work on right away.
2. Content gap analysis
Content Gap Analysis is the process of evaluating existing content on your website and identifying “gaps” in that content to improve upon. You can start by analysing your most important treatments and compare your content with your competition. Type in ‘Dental Implants + location’ and take a look at the sites that rank on the first page, and ask yourself the following questions: What type of content ranks the best? Does it include videos/before and afters/FAQ sections/Patient reviews? How fresh is the content? You can learn from this research and improve your own copy accordingly.
3. HTTPS
This holds importance on 2 fronts:
- Internet users are seeking a more secure and trustworthy online experience, and HTTPS is the ideal way of delivering it. This is even more important in 2021 with Chrome/Safari and Edge now flagging insecure sites.
- HTTPS is already a Google ranking factor.
4. Mobile experience
Many sites offer strong mobile experiences these days, but there is still room for improvement in terms of usability.
In conjunction with mobile usability errors in Google Search Console, there is value in reviewing your mobile site and ensuring it delivers as strongly as possible. It is important to review your site with the eyes of a consumer and check for any pain points, including:
- Is the end-to-end site mobile-friendly?
- Are you able to access the same depth of content across devices?
- Does the navigation fit to screen size without the need to scroll?
- Are all the links big enough to allow you to click through?
- Are rich media assets slowing down page load time?
This blog goes into more detail of the importance of the mobile experience, particularly Responsive Design https://dental-design.marketing/responsive-web-design-no-longer-an-option-its-a-necessity/
So, those are 4 key areas to address as a result of the upcoming algorithm change, but your SEO work shouldn’t stop there. Google is likely to release other updates in 2021, it will be just as important to keep on top of them, and adjust your SEO work accordingly.
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