Welcome to the week in SEO! Every Saturday, Supersede Media will trawl the internet and bring together a delightful smörgåsbord of the top stories, updates, tips and general happenings in the world of tech. Here’s what you need to know from the past 7 days!
The Headlines
This week brought an exciting annual gift from Google, worrying news for conspiracy theorists and a new potential side hustle for TikTok. Let’s dive in!
Google Reveals the Top Search Trends of 2021
For SEO nerds like ourselves, this time of year is full of excitement and anticipation. Not for the arrival of Santa, or the prospect of regularly getting merry before 5pm (though this is up there), but because mid-December is when Google releases its Year in Search. Digital marketing fans rejoice!
The lists of most-searched terms from across the globe dropped this week, and we couldn’t be happier about it. So, let’s delve into some of the findings…
One of the few rays of light in an overall bleak 2021 was England doing far better than expected in the Euros. It’s not much of a surprise, then, that football dominated the top search terms in the UK:
- Euros
- Premier League
- Christian Eriksen
With most of us spending a lot more time indoors, the popularity of streaming services continued to rocket. This is reflected in the fact that the top two most-searched television shows in the UK were Squid Game and Bridgerton, both hosted by streaming giant Netflix. There is still hope for terrestrial channels, however, as the BBC’s The Serpent came in at number three.
Aside from brief forays into sport and television, the coronavirus was never too far from our minds. When it comes to the most common questions being searched, the top two spots go to: ‘When will lockdown end?‘ and ‘When will I get the vaccine?‘ Things then take an immediate detour from pressing health matters. Coming in at number three is a question that this summer was no doubt frantically tapped into the phones of fed up partners across the country: ‘When does Love Island finish?‘ Never change, UK. Never change.
UK to Phase Out 2G and 3G Networks By 2033
Some folks might want to strap their tin foil hats on a little tighter this week, because it’s been announced that the UK is set to phase out 2G and 3G mobile networks. The good news is that you have until 2033 to make any necessary arrangements. The bad news (for the conspiracy theory inclined, anyway) is that this is to free up space for more 5G and, potentially, 6G!
The government released details of the phase out plan on Wednesday. Mobile networks Vodafone, EE, O2, Three and Virgin Media have all agreed to the stated timetable.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries also announced an extra £50 million of funding towards mobile networks. According to Dorries, this is intended to: “Put the UK at the forefront of mobile connectivity and to make sure our telecoms networks are safe and secure now and in the future.”
People still relying on 2G and 3G enabled phones may want to invest in a newer model.
TikTok Hosts Livestream Shopping Events
It’s already possible to do your shopping via Facebook and Instagram, but this week another social media giant dipped its toe into the retail pond. Current popular kid on the block, TikTok, hosted a live shopping event for UK users on Wednesday and Thursday. Named ‘On Trend‘, the event involved live musical performances, quizzes, and product demos. Think of it a bit like QVC but for Gen Z-ers.
During the event, visitors were able to purchase products from big name brands including Charlotte Tilbury, L’Oréal Paris and Nutri Bullet, directly from the platform. They even roped in Rylan Clark-Neal and national treasure Gemma Collins to add a bit of celebrity pizzazz to the occasion.
TikTok enjoys over a billion global users a month, so if it were to permanently establish a retail component, there is potential for a lot of money to be made. The pandemic has already altered our shopping habits. With social media companies breathing new life into the world of retail, who knows what a weekly shop could look like in 10 years’ time!
Other tech news on our radar…
- Amazon Fined $1.2bn By Italian Regulators
- Instagram Introduces ‘Take a Break’ Feature For Teens
- Google Rolling Out New Top Stories Design On Desktop
Step up your SEO game
Take advantage of these free tips and resources to upgrade your SEO and content skills!
- Tag Pages & Content Tagging For SEO: A Complete Guide
- How to Rank YouTube Videos in Google Search
- Local SEO Solutions: 8 Tips to Boost Local Rankings
Workplace wellness
Whether you’re back at the office or still holed up in your WFH den, here are some gems of wisdom (this week’s come courtesy of the guys over at HubSpot) that will make a difference to your professional and personal wellbeing. You’re welcome!
Image source: Mikey Harris (via Unsplash)
“At the home office, while family members can be a distraction, I find that it’s easy for you to become your own worst enemy. Because without coworkers around, you’re free to drop those pesky inhibitions. At the home office, no one’s watching. You don’t necessarily feel that same peer pressure or communal obligation to get stuff done.“
With work from home guidelines reintroduced for the start of next week, many of you may be worrying about how to transition back to this COVID-era approach to work. Luckily, Erik Devaney has scoured the globe to find top advice from those who find working from home a doddle! Check out How to Work From Home: 24 Tips From People Who Do It Successfully.
And that’s a wrap for this week! We’ll be back in 7 days with a brand new Week in SEO. Have a great weekend! Ta-ra!
