How Digital Marketing Will Change in 2021

We love Neil Patel for his reliable and practical search data and information. He gets that Google search results wants you to be "real". It takes work, but put content out there that people can really use and Google search will find you.

2021 Marketing Trend #1 Page Speed

The number one trend for 2021 is page speed! I have been seeing this in the Google Search Consoles of our clients. When Google provides you with tools and methods to improve your website, be aware that an algorithm change will be coming in the future that will benefit your website. (Your website may be negatively affected if you are not paying attention to their hints. Past reference to "fake backlinks" and scams that inflated search results...temporarily.)

My team of web developers have a challenge from me to get our recently launched websites up in the 90's using https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ Google Search Console recently launched tools within their platforms letting you know how your site is performing. This is a HUGE sign from Google that this will be important in the future. This means that your organic search position my be improved if you focus on page speed or the reverse may happen if you don't improve your page speed.

We will soon be rolling out a couple of case studies of some sites that are moving from Wix and WordPress. I think you'll be amazed at the difference in the scores that we are showing for these websites. Development of a website is more than just a pretty website and unfortunately, many designers are just that; designers. They don't always understand the importance of the effects on performance. I fired one designer because she argued with me about whose responsibility it was to ensure pictures were below 100K.

2021 Marketing Trend #2 Text Content Length Won't Matter

Whew! I am so happy for this trend. I tend to be a technical writer with short sentences and bulleted text. I prefer to skim text and if I need more explanation, then I'll watch a video. Diagrams and pictures are also helpful.

Video and audio length should be around 10 minutes. Longer than that and there is no noticeable gain. Shorter than 10 minutes does not provide much SEO value. This is similar to the research in a book that I read about presentations. Most people's attention spans are about 9-10 minutes. If you want to speak longer than that, then you have to have strong transitions and reasons for them to continue.

2021 Marketing Trend #3 NO HOLY GRAIL

I have a saying... You can't fool Mother Nature and you can't fool Google.

There is no one hack to get your position improved in the organic search results page. Unfortunately, I still have clients who hired some backlinking fool who created a bunch of bad back links to boost their site's position. If people try to "fool" Google's algorithm, it will come back to haunt them. Be real and work on getting good content that answers the questions your visitor has when they want to learn about your company.

2021 Marketing Trend #4 Ranking Matters

I have definitely seen this lately with the clients. Impressions and clicks are increasing based on the rank of the website page. Google Search Console provides huge clues to webmasters. When you team this up with a Pay Per Click strategy, you'll see even better results. Many clients think they should only have an SEO strategy or a Pay Per Click strategy, but I see the two going hand-in-hand. We get more clues from our management of Google Ads and Microsoft Ads than the management of analytics and Search Console. All of them work together to improve performance and relevance.

2021 Marketing Trend #5 Repurpose

Throughout my career, I frequently see creative agencies keep pushing developing new creatives. Yes, you need to keep your content fresh, but the largest part of the sunk cost is in the creation. What are you doing to get the most bang for your buck?

For example, if I created testimonial videos last year at a cost of $10,000. Why wouldn't I spend an extra $1,000 this year and make sure the videos are on YouTube and Search Engine Optimization tactics have been performed on the video. This was also my theory when exhibiting at a Trade Show. If I spend $100,000,000 to exhibit, why wouldn't I spend a little more and try to get the word out about my exhibit space.

Remember, many ad agencies like to push developing new creatives. It is exciting to them and it helps their revenue stream. It is up to you to ensure that you are getting the best bang for your buck. This is also why I believe in shooting a lot of video and then creating a video series so my average cost per video is drastically reduced. If my client takes a couple of hours out of their busy day to shoot video, then it is rather disappointing to provide a 2 or 3 minute segment that gets released once...what a waste!

2021 Marketing Trend #6 Backlinks Won't Matter as Much

Thank goodness. Unfortunately, there are still those companies out there who have made MILLIONS of dollars by selling this to businesses. And, it did matter...until Google changed their algorithm. Google wants people to use THEIR search because they find good results for their search. When people start to fool the algorithm is when Google changes it.

2021 Marketing Trend #7 Brands Have More Power

Build your brand and credibility. If other sources and your customers have determined that you are credible, then your results will improve. Use multiple platforms to build your brand and your content.

I also believe that we have so many channels and platforms being thrown at us and budget typically determines where a company can focus. I am located in the Midwest with smaller populations, so the return on investment of money and time has to make sense. Many local business can't afford to make investments; and even if they do, they won't see a significant return. Businesses that provide nation-wide services or products gain more from multiple channels and marketing investments. 

Trends from Neil Patel and Neil Patel's YouTube video.

2021 Trends

1. Page Speed
2. Text content length won’t matter as much
3. Use of video/audio – video over 10 minutes perform better, over 30 has no impact or noticeable difference (2-4 minutes hurts reach)
4. NO HOLY GRAIL – no one hack. Marginal gains
5. How high you rank will matter more than ever
6. Repurposing and updating will be the norm
7. Go super in-depth
8. Don’t stop with video, also look at audio
9. Don’t worry about duplicate content
10. Update more often than you release new content
11. Optimize for new platforms like Clubhouse
12. Backlinks won’t matter as much
13. Backlinks vs on page metrics
14. Referring domains important
15. Page level backlinks
16. Quality of the backlink & topical relevance
17. Brands will have more power than ever