There’s no doubt that high-ranking pages deliver more organic traffic, and that applying the right SEO techniques should help you achieve that objective. But SEO is ever-changing. Google frequently makes changes to its parameters in their effort to simplify the user experience and make search smarter. This is why it’s important to stay on top of the latest SEO trends and regularly review your SEO activity reports so you can position your website for the future. Here’s what to look out for 2022.
User Experience
In digital marketing, user experience or UX refers to how the user interacts with a brand’s channels. A website with good UX is accessible, barrier-free, and simple to navigate. It often means building intuitive menus, fast-loading pages, and other elements to make their experience more efficient and richer.
Content That Is Both Relevant And Valuable
Put yourself in the shoes of the people who are visiting your website. Think about their wishes, needs, and pains, and be sure to meet them. It may be a good idea to produce interactive content to help attract and retain user attention.
Mobile SEO
Did you know that Google has been analyzing mobile versions of websites as primary versions, and the desktop versions as secondary? This makes a lot of sense, considering that more users are now using mobile devices to find information online. Be sure to take steps to optimize your content for mobile browsing if you haven’t done so yet. Otherwise, you risk losing ranking positions and your pages could get penalized.
Zero Click Searches
These days, more than 50% of searches end without a user clicking on anything—and it’s all because Google made changes to the design of the SERPs.
Zero-click searches are results on the very top of the first SERP. These results offer direct answers to questions users look up in the search bar, so they can find exactly what they need without clicking any link.
Be sure to optimize your content to accommodate this feature. Apply structured-data, boost your organic CTAs, and focus on answering potential questions of your buyer persona.
Search Intent
Google has been prioritizing user-focused optimization for years. The goal is to consistently deliver content that will meet the intention of users. That’s why the search giant introduced its BERT algorithm to optimize the understanding of what the search terms represent in a specific context. It’s more important now more than ever to use natural language to produce high-quality content that matches the goals of your target users.
Website Security
Google looks into a website’s security status when analyzing its ranking and relevance. Make sure your website has reliable security features like SSL certificates and specialized plugins to boost the success of your SEO strategy. If visitors feel unsafe when accessing your website, your access rate will decrease along with your ranking.
Local SEO
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an uptick in local ecommerce. More consumers are looking to buy for establishments nearer their homes. Local SEO through Google My Business can be helpful if you want to attract potential customers in your area, as well as those who may be passing through or visiting your locality.
Long-Form Content
E.A.T. (expertise, authority, and trust) are more relevant than ever when it comes to content marketing. The idea is to provide users the assurance that they are consuming content from a real and credible person. Producing long-form content is one of the ways to adapt this practice. According to the State of Content Report, long reads with more than 3,000 words receive three times more traffic, 3.5 times more backlinks, and four times more shares than average length articles with 901 to 1200 words. Imagine what that can do to your brand’s organic reach and in boosting your digital authority.
Staying updated on SEO trends will let you achieve the best possible results from your digital marketing strategy. If you need help, contact SEOValley.
