It’s hard to believe that 2021 is already in the rearview mirror – and that we’re now entering into a new year. As we all know, with each new year comes changes, some big and some small. So, what should SEO professionals be on the lookout for as we move further into 2022? Here are four trends that we predict will have a significant impact on SEO in the coming year. Keep reading to learn more!
Improve Your Website
As we move further and further into 2022, there is a strong realization that has taken place; your actual website matters. Back in the day, all that would be required for your website to rank high would be to have a bunch of keywords stuffed into the descriptions, titles, and more. However, this is no longer the case and your actual website now matters in terms of your rankings.
One of the more important aspects of your website that plays a large role in your rankings would be your site speed, or in other words how long it takes for your website to load, as well as various pages of your website. There are of course other aspects to take into consideration, such as page responsiveness and more.
Content Marketing
Another trend that you should be on the lookout for in 2022 and that you should implement in your search engine optimization strategy would be content marketing, as any digital marketing company, such as Cozab, would advise. Content marketing has become such an important aspect of ICO strategies that if you are not producing great content, you can’t even hope to rank.
This makes a lot of sense since the primary goal of search engines like Google would be to deliver content that people are searching for. If your website is delivering content that people are searching for, then you will rank high. However, this does mean that you’ll need to understand what people are searching for.
Search Intent
The above-mentioned trend leads to the next one which is search intent and it is incredibly important to understand what this means. Search intent describes why people are searching for what they are searching for, and there are four categories that you can use to describe search intent which is informative, transactional, navigational, and commercial.
Another way to think of search intent would be the various stages of the buying process. The key to this would be understanding search intent so that you can create content that delivers answers to the questions people have throughout the buying process. More than this, by understanding search intent you will be able to create content that is being demanded.
Visuals and Images
Another aspect to take into consideration when considering the various search engine optimization trends in 2022 would be visuals and images. As you might have noticed, especially with the introduction of social media, many people are being driven by a more visual approach to content.
This means that if your website has unique visuals or images, you will be rewarded more by search engines like Google for this display’s authenticity. Only Google considers this a display of authenticity. It is also the users of your website. More than this, people also search using Google images, and if your website has attractive visuals and images, there is an increased likelihood that a user will visit your site.
Mobile Sites
One of the more important search engine optimization trends of 2022 would be the fact that there is an increase in mobile users. Many businesses don’t understand exactly how important it is to optimize your website for mobile visitors. Estimates range from 78% of the global population to 91% of the global population owning a smartphone.
Given this statistic, Google has taken on an approach where it will rank a mobile website first before it ranks the actual desktop version. This means that if you don’t have a mobile site, you are losing out on search traffic, and more than this if you have not optimized your website for mobile use, you won’t rank as highly.