SEO or search engine optimization can make a HUGE difference
in the online presence and growth of any website. As the new year approaches, 5
SEO will remain vital and important for the success of online businesses. Here
is a roundup of 5 SEO trends to look out for in 2022.
The only constant in the world of SEO is change. SEO is
always evolving, so it is very important to remain up to date with the latest
SEO trends.
5 SEO trends to look out for in 2022
1. AI and Machine Language
AI (artificial intelligence) and Machine Language will continue to make searches smarter and
more user friendly.
Both AI and ML are here to stay. And now they help search
engines identify user intent better than before. In simpler words, AI and ML are helping search engines identify websites that provide high quality, useful
content to users.
Google’s RankBrain Algorithm will definitely play an important role in how the
search engine helps users find your content. What does it mean to your
business? Google has not revealed details about how RankBrain will affect SEO,
but experts believe that user experience will be a ranking factor for a webpage.
Actionable insight: If you are still doing things like keyword stuffing, link
farming or, linking to low relevancy websites; it is a good time to change
strategies. Quality content will help you rank faster and will be better for
your long-term SEO strategy.
2 Page Experience as a ranking signal
This brings us to our next trend to look out for in 2022. Google been using
page experience as a ranking signal for websites seen on mobile devices since
August 2021. From February 2022, Google will start using user experience as a ranking signal for websites seen in all desktop devices.
Actionable insight: Make sure your website is responsive and mobile friendly.
Invest in UX/UI (User experience and user interface). Make sure the design is
clutter-free, easy to navigate and the information on your website is easy to
locate. This will help you rank higher on the search engine result pages.
3 Voice Assisted searches
With the advent of voice assisted devices in the market, search engines are
more likely to index websites that respond well to voice searches. By 2022, almost 55% of the houses will have voice powered assistants like Alexa or Google
assistant. This itself is a very important reason for you to make your website
easier to be found sing voice searches.
Making your website faster to load, listing it on Google My Business and other
local directories makes it easier for it to be found in “near me” searches (put
internal link). This is because when you want to find a local service provider
closest to you, you are more likely to say “Service Provider near me’ rather
than a zip code.
Actionable insight: Make sure your website is on the best hosting plan you can buy.
Have a professional run a SEO audit and follow through the recommendations
provided. Make sure the content is easy to read. Invest in On-page SEO.
4. While blogging, remember E.A.T
Blogging will continue to be an important SEO strategy for 2022 and beyond.
Creating quality content will help you to rank higher in the searches and
increase your online visibility. E.A.T is an acronym for expertise, authoritativeness,
and trustworthiness. It is important to remember this while blogging.
When creating a blog post, aim to create quality content. A lot of experts believe that blog posts that are around 3000+ words have a better
chance of ranking, though short content has its own merit. For starters, most of us can produce short content more frequently, resulting in the search engines visiting our site more often. Here is an excellent article on content writing for SEO on the iWriter blog
Actionable insight: Make sure your blog post is
- At least 500+ words.
- Do On-page optimization on your post before publishing.
- Make sure your post is not linked to any shady or irrelevant website.
- Consistency is the key. Make sure you produce good content on a regular basis.
5. Video SEO and other social signals
Video format is one of the growing ways of engaging traffic. Video SEO is using
video clips on your website to attract and engage organic traffic. Adding video
to your page or blog can help it rank.
Search engines love to see your content being read and shared on social media.
There are two ways your content is going to be shared on social media.
- You can share it on your business’s social media accounts
- Someone else who reads your blog/page shares it.
As the number of social media users increases, the numbers
show no sign of decreasing anytime soon.
Actionable insights: Produced good quality video to share on your blog. This
helps increase the time your audience will engage with your blog. Adding video
content to your webpage/blog will help it rank better.
When it comes to social media, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer. Consistently
producing good content and sharing it can help drive traffic to your website.
RELATED: How to do YouTube SEO?