2020 has surely been a bad year for all of us but with this, we have also seen so many updates rolled out by Google and many social media platforms. Google has released several guidelines while other platforms have introduced updates regarding the use of those platforms for advertising and many more. Let’s have a look at those updates

1. Liquid Search Intent & Demand

It’s imperative to realize that both search intent and demand are fluid. Understanding the intent of the researcher is a crucial part of any winning SEO strategy, as you need to have a primary awareness of the objective after any search query to design a page that gratifies that intent.

If your webpage is the ideal match for the search intent, Google will rank your site’s page in its search results. But what occurs when a global pandemic affects the search intent based on a query?

Well, you either adapt or lose your search rankings.

If you experience multiple pages starting to rank with an intent different than your page, it’s probable that Google is testing plating a different intent, therefore you might require to change your page or jeopardize rankings. To track search pursuit, choose from a diversity of tools that gauge monthly search volume, like SEMrush, Moz, or Ahrefs.

Google Trends will help you get some orientation of where search relevance is headed as well.

2. Responsive Local Businesses & SEO experts

Speaking of hoping to be adept to adjust swiftly, nothing can be more accurate than local search this dreadful year. One of the sectors hit harshly during this epidemic has been local businesses.

Imposed lockdowns and social precincts have forced many local business owners to get ingenious and find pristine ways to stay associated with their vendees including contactless delivery or virtual discussions.

Nevertheless, for several businesses, simply leasing their customers discerns if they are open for the day or not can make a mammoth difference. For supporting them, Google has done a modest job by serving diverse options within Google My Business listings for local businesses to commune with their clientele.

Some of the recently upgraded GMB features include:

• An LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) friendly attribute.
• Call buttons
• An attribute showing online operating hours.
• An attribute for displaying online appointments.

Even though most of the local businesses are having brick-and-mortar locations, they must account for search as a licit medium for interacting with customers, and the pandemic has highlighted this fact as lockdowns made servicing customers in their physical areas difficult.

Most agile businesses and local SEO experts need to be able to harness new opportunities from local searches by taking thorough prerogative of the tools, Google and other search engines offers and with new features being appended all the time, these fleet businesses and SEO specialists will continue to blossom beyond the pandemic.

3. SEO Community blooming to become robust

Even in the visage of such calamity, the SEO community continues to remain as open, compassionate, and innovative.

SEO professionals have even been utilizing their non-SEO dexterity to help heave money for individuals badly affected by COVID-19 or to support their positive mental health.

2020 has been a year that showed, the change could happen very hastily, and you need to be alert as an SEO professional to fine-tune your strategy swiftly to adapt to the new search demeanor, consumer atmosphere, and impending restrictions.

Fortunately, the search is a medium where swiveling and shifting relatively hurriedly is possible if you’re geared up for it. So, in upcoming 2021, make certain you’re consistently reconsidering SERPs to certify your pages or future pages still harmonize with search intent and interest.