How you rank for specific keywords can change quite quickly, especially if you didn’t follow the best trends for long-term SEO rankings, and you only focused on getting short-term results. However, this is your chance to get ahead of the curve and learn how you will rank in 2021, so you can prepare for the upcoming changes and improve your overall rankings.
That is why we did some research and wrote this article with the most important factors that will determine your ranking in 2021. About 200 different factors were released by Google with all the changes that are going to become relevant in the following year, and we took out the ones that were most important and can really make a difference in your rank.
The Factors That Will Determine Your Ranking
There are a few factors that will determine how you will rank in 2021, and knowing them beforehand will give you a chance to improve your ranking for the upcoming year.
HTTPS Certification and Proper Security
One of the most important factors that will determine your rank in 2021 is how secure your page is and if you have the proper certifications. It will not just improve your ranking but also make your customers feel much safer when they are on your site. Having a secure connection plays a huge role in your ranking, no matter how credible your website is. There are a few credible sites that don’t have the proper certifications and security measures, and they rank lower than they originally would because of this.
The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen to you is to acquire an SSL Certificate. It’s a certificate that is held in high regard by many search engines. It provides safe encryption for any information you share. If your website doesn’t have this certificate, Google might flag it as unsafe, which will result in lowering your rank.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Since smartphones are still taking the world in a storm and their usage continues to rise on a daily basis, having a mobile-friendly design is paramount to rank well in 2021. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile use, you will not just lose visitors who are potential customers, but you will also get ranked lower on various search engines. Building a site without a mobile-friendly design is a major mistake in the current marketing climate because there’s a huge percentage of people that are using Google search on their smartphones. It’s the equivalent of committing “career suicide,” so make sure your website is properly optimized for mobile use.
Loading Speed of Your Page
Another essential factor that Google’s algorithm considers is the loading speed of the page and the bounce rate of your page. If your page is loading slower, you’ll experience a higher bounce rate because many people won’t have the nerves to wait for your page to load, so they’ll leave in the first few seconds. Google will take this into consideration and lower your page ranking, but if you have an excellent loading speed, the bounce rate will be much lower, and your rank will not be affected at all. If anything, it will increase as your bounce rate decreases.
Social Media Visibility
Your social media visibility will also play a huge role in your ranking in 2021. It’s a factor that has constantly been rising through the years, and it’s expected to be even more relevant next year. So the more shares, likes, and comments you get of your website on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, the better you will rank in 2021. Getting your website shared by users on social media will not just improve your rankings but also increase your credibility and help you grow your brand awareness, which also contributes to improving your SEO ranking. The algorithm of search engines, especially Google, takes this into consideration when ranking your website for specific keywords, so putting some energy and effort into getting more social media presence will help you go a long way.
Google’s Page Experience Signal
One of the newest features that Google announced for 2021 is the page experience signal. It’s scheduled to launch in a few months, and it’s going to play a key role in your rankings. The system they introduce for ranking websites will have several parameters such as speed, visual stability, and responsiveness, and topping the charts in all three of these will result in much better placements. They are calling this system the “Core Web Vitals,” and it will be centered around the user experience.
How you rank on search engines is very important for your brand and business because that way, you are attracting visitors to your site. The visitors are potential customers, and the more visitors you have, the more chances you have to get a sale. This is the main reason people are preoccupied with how they rank, and if you know what to improve for 2021 to get ahead of your competition, you’ll find yourself at the top of the ranks, which is where everyone wants to be. Improving your content to meet all the points above will certainly help you in your mission to rank better in 2021, and you shouldn’t wait for the New Year to start.
