SEO is one of the most important parts of a business in the 2020s’. A website with great SEO is akin to a coffee shop that sets itself up by a college.
These businesses are not using advertising as much they are putting themselves in the way of success. Both this website and the coffee shop don’t need to worry about advertising that much. They’ll get natural traffic.
But not all SEO practices were created equal. As the clock ticks closer to 2022, it’s time to start analyzing the future of SEO and figuring out which SEO trends will take off in the coming year.
This article will walk you through some of the top SEO trends that you should focus on in the new year, and provide you with some suggestions on how to implement them.
1. Vocal SEO
We’ll admit, vocal SEO is one of the more important SEO current trends. However, in 2022, it’s going to become impossible to ignore.
Previously, SEO focused on general search habits. The name of the game was to look at the words customers were using to search for your products and fill your website with those keywords.
However, there’s now more than one way to conduct a search engine search. Customers might be searching on mobile — they might not even be typing at all. Are you aware that already, 58 percent of people have used a search engine to find information about a local business?
This means that businesses need to adapt their SEO strategy.
While it’s true that Google doesn’t actually show different results based on which method people are using to search, people’s search habits change when they make use of voice search software.
First of all, people aren’t able to correct themselves when they speak the same way that they are when they type. Once the words come out of their mouth, the search is underway. This means that long tail keywords or keywords of four words are more, are more likely to be used.
People are also more likely to use more casual words when using vocal SEO. Usually, a voice search software has a voice and name to it — Siri, Alexa. It tricks the brain into making people think they’re talking to another human. Instead of searching for a restaurant with the phrase “cheap burger restaurant”, they might say “where can I get a burger near me?”
Locating the exact keywords can be a complicated process. We recommend hiring a professional service to get the work done for you.
2. Mobile SEO
Operating under a similar principle is mobile SEO. When people search on their phones, they’re going to use different phases than they might use otherwise.
However, adding a few keywords isn’t all that’s important to SEO.
The quality of your website is key in developing your SEO. Google likes to highly rank websites that people enjoy spending time on. This means it’s just as important to create engaging content as it is to create optimized content.
If your site does not have a mobile version, you’re most likely missing out on plenty of customers.
Sites that were only designed for the computer screen wind up confusing and visually unappealing on the phone. Often, people have to scroll extensively just to navigate a single page.
Hire a website design service that specializes in mobile site development, and you’ll create a site that’s enjoyable for all users. You’ll decrease your bounce rate by showing your customers that you truly care.
3. Online Reputation
In the 2020s’, people have more businesses than ever to choose from. Because of this, they’ve developed detailed measures for making sure they interact with the right businesses.
One of these measures is checking online reviews. Are you aware that 84 percent of people trust online reviews just as much as friends?
If you have not already created a review page for yourself, we highly recommend it. It’s a great way to establish a positive reputation. By responding to your customers with keywords, you’ll be able to boost your SEO as well.
However, we understand if you’re scared of opening yourself to that sort of criticism.
That’s why we recommend checking out our article on how to build a great online reputation. A great pro-tip is to only ask customers who had a positive experience to leave reviews.
4. Start Producing Video Content
Up until now, it’s been enough to keep a high-quality blog to attract people to your company and make use of keywords. However, in 2022, you’re going to need to make use of other forms of media.
Our culture is becoming more and more visual. Platforms like YouTube and TikTok are much preferred to platforms where long-form written information is important. Because of this, Google is prioritizing websites that make use of video content.
Start producing videos, and you’re more likely to bring people to your site. You’re also more likely to make them stay. If the video is good enough, people will stick around until the end of the video increasing the average time spent on your site.
You’ll also be able to work keywords into the descriptions and comment section of your video content. Really, using video content is the best of both worlds when it comes to SEO.
5. Start a Podcast
Podcasts are the perfect new type of media for the contemporary age. 32 percent of people listen to podcasts once a month. The key advantage to podcasts is that people can engage in high-quality narrative and educational content on the go.
However, podcasts are also great for SEO.
First of all, they’ll keep people only on your website for longer, similar to video content. If you have a podcast, your podcast might even become recognized in its own right.
You also have the option to use Google’s podcasts app to transcribe your entire podcast. This means that you can make use of them in SERPs, bringing in more customers than ever before.
In 2022 and beyond, you’re going to need to find creative ways to get people onto your site.
6. Longer Content
Believe it or not, some SEO experts are saying that longer content, is actually the key to success in the next age of SEO. What makes this strategy so important in 2022 is that the best company’s in 2022 are going to be thought leaders within their industry.
Not only can you pack more keywords into longer-form content, but you can also pack more value. By becoming a thought leader in your industry, you’re generating hype around your company. People are likely going to want to head to your website just to see what all of the fuss is about.
The reasons for longer-form content extend to Google as well. Recent studies have shown that Google prefers longer posts over shorter posts when going head-to-head.
In your articles, you should focus on quality as well as quantity. Link to reputable statistics, blog about topics of interest, and demonstrate that you’re an expert in your field. If you can do this, you can drive people to read the rest of your blog posts, check out your podcast, check out your video content, and tell their friends about your site.
7. Optimize Images
However, you can’t just get away with long-form content. More than ever, searchers are heading over to Google’s images to conduct their search. When they do this, the images from your websites will come up.
As a result of this, you have to make sure that your images on every page are top-notch. If you have a picture of your product on your page, ask yourself — would this picture make a new customer want to buy this?
To further optimize, make sure that the file name of your image corresponds to what the image actually is. The last thing you want is to be excluded from search results on a technicality.
You can also make use of alt tags, which people at Google use to categorize photos. (Remember that the workers at Google aren’t trying to work against you they’re merely trying to create the optimal experience for their searchers. You have to work with them to get your content scene.)
Last but not least, make sure you use high-resolution photos. You’d be surprised at how many people fail to do this! A low-resolution photo can easily put a customer off from trusting you.
8. Optimzie Your Snippets
Snippets are a form of content that many people don’t make use of, but make a huge difference when it comes to SEO.
A snippet is that little bit of textual, visual, or even video information that people see when conducting a search engine search. On a mobile device, they take up about half of the screens. Customers are smart, they won’t just click on whichever post has the best title, they’re going to read the snippets to get an idea of what the content is like.
So optimize your snippets! They do wonders for your SEO rankings can easily allow Google to pump you up to the top of the search engine results.
9. Analyze Your Competitors
Keyword research is already one of the most important aspects of SEO. However, in 2022, you’re not just going to be researching the keywords that your potential customers are using, you’re also going to be researching the keywords that your competitors are using.
Unfortunately, SEO is a head-to-head game. Generally, the company with more instances of certain keywords winds up closer to the top.
You can use this research to better pick your battles. If your competitor is making better use of a keyword that you don’t particularly care about, it might save you time, energy, and even money to pivot and focus on a different keyword.
You’ll also be able to learn from your competitor’s mistakes. They might very well fail when making certain uses of certain keywords. Take this opportunity to succeed and learn on different fronts.
10. Consider YouTube SEO
YouTube is — quite frankly — huge. With over 2.3 billion users worldwide, YouTube is more popular than most social media platforms out there and provides unique opportunities for long-form video content.
YouTube is a great platform to start posting your video content. People on YouTube will certainly be looking for videos, so you’ll likely get more traction by posting your video content there.
YouTube SEO works in a similar way to standard SEO. You’ll want to fill your titles, descriptions, and top comments with the keywords that you want people to use to locate your video.
Look at your YouTube page as a microcosm for your website, focusing exclusively on video content. If you can up your view count and subscriber count, you’re far more likely to up the number of people who visit your website.
11. Consider the Future of AI and Machine Learning
AI and Machine Learning are two technological advancements that might open up a whole new world of possibilities for the internet. Businesses need to be prepared for whatever the future might bring.
Soon, Google will get even better at distinguishing news from information and high-quality from low-quality content. Research suggests that it might even be able to distinguish which businesses are closer simply based on Google Maps.
However, our suggestion for AI and Machine Learning in the world of SEO is to keep an open eye and hire a great SEO company. You might not know how to take advantage of this now, but if you work with the right people and keep your options open, you’ll create great prospects for the future.
Understand SEO Trends
As you can see, SEO trends in 2022 won’t all be about finding the best keywords. The world of SEO is going to expand to include some of the most powerful and important technologies of the 21st century.
Familiarize yourself with all of these 2022 SEO trends, and you’re far more likely to make the best business decisions in 2022.
For a proposal for your company, contact us today.
