These are six essential SEO trends that are taking 2022 by storm. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to brands of all sizes. Showing up on the first page of a Google search is enough to keep a business afloat for years to come.
However, it evolves so quickly it can be challenging to keep up with. Luckily, we can help with that. So let’s talk about some of the most important SEO trends to watch out for in 2022.
1. More Companies Will Invest in Local SEO because it is one of the Essential SEO Trends
Believe it or not, a large portion of small businesses still don’t have websites in 2022. Well, some are still catching on and learning to develop their strategies.
Lucky for them, their competition hasn’t caught on entirely, meaning that some of these smaller businesses have a golden ticket to the first page by investing in local SEO services.
However, even large businesses are learning to adapt to these trends, so join in while you can! Companies spread out across the country are beginning to double down and invest in local business promotion across their many areas of operation.
2. Greater Investment in UX
If you take away anything from these significant SEO trends, let it be this. User experience (UX) has always been one of the primary factors, both directly and indirectly.
Well, that’s only becoming more true now. Google’s most recent updates have put even more stock into sites having an appealing design, engaging and varied content, clean navigation, and overall functionality.
Among the most important UX factors, Google wants you to have a mobile-friendly website where users stick around and interact with the site. On that note, we’re also seeing a rise in “mobile-first” content creation, as the majority of traffic now comes from mobile devices.
For that reason, you should always track the key metrics on your site using Google Analytics or some other tool and make adjustments as necessary. Lowering your bounce rate and increasing interactions should be a top priority.
3. Optimization for Voice Queries
Recently, tools like Google Home and Amazon Echo have become more popular. For that reason, sites will need to learn to optimize their keywords based on more specified queries.
Essentially, users may ask a question out loud differently than how they would type it into Google. However, most users understand that they generally only need to enter a specific phrase into a search engine to get the content they want.
Conversely, when they ask their device for information, they generally ask it in the form of a question, which the device will then search verbatim. For this reason, long-tail keywords will continue to adapt to match more specific queries.
4. Essential SEO trends is a Greater Investment in Alternative Content
When we say “alternative content,” we only mean content that doesn’t rely on blogs. However, blog content is the most popular type of SEO content without a close second, as it is the easiest to create, plan, index, and more.
However, brands are only facing more competition each year because it’s so popular. As a consequence, many companies are turning to alternative content.
While searching on Google, you’ll notice that you find dozens of written content broken up by carousels of videos, images, and other types of content. Essentially, this form of content gets to skip the line.
Well, brands are catching onto this. For example, if there are 50,000 posts about replacing a windshield wiper but only 50 videos on the subject, that brand will be much easier to rank on the first page.
5. More Use of AI
Artificial intelligence plays many SEO roles, especially in editing, auditing, and content creation. Well, on that last note, AI is becoming exceptionally sophisticated.
That’s right, and brands use AI to generate website content for their blogs and other strategies by simply adding a topic and the keywords they want. But, of course, this puts companies at risk of receiving the “panda penalty,” so we would never advise this.
However, you can overcome this by focusing on quality, human-created traffic. Unfortunately, no matter how good AI becomes, it won’t produce the same quality of content as experts any time soon.
With that said, there is still a role for AI in any strategy. For example, using tools like Grammarly, editing apps like Hemingway, site auditing apps, analytics tools, and more will always be helpful to developing quality content.
6. Competition Will Continue to Grow
Currently, 70% of companies do not have an SEO strategy. Only two years ago, it was around 75%.
More companies than ever are beginning to understand the value of organic traffic, but they face an uphill battle.
For that reason, every industry can expect a significant increase in competition in the coming years. Fortunately, there are ways to protect your brand from the worst.
By undergoing a website audit and taking on the right SEO services, you can stay ahead of the competition. With the rise in competitiveness, there is no DIY equivalent to professional services anymore, so give your brand every opportunity possible to rank higher!
Join These Essential SEO Trends Today
Now that you know some of the most important SEO trends of the year, there’s no time to waste. Start using these trends yourself to avoid falling behind. The sooner you do, the easier it will be to rank at the top!
Stay up to date with our latest digital marketing tips, and feel free to contact SEO experts near me with any questions or help with your strategy!
