If you already know how volatile the SEO landscape is, you know how important it is to keep up with industry trends to rank better on search engines like Google.
Organic traffic is still the driving factor in these rankings. It’s the one stable aspect of the search engine’s ever-changing algorithm. Organic traffic from searches is also a relevant source of new leads that could potentially turn into customers.
A good, well-rounded SEO strategy affects your ranking on the search engine giant Google and affects secondary search engines like DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and Bing, to name a few. So here are some elements you need to consider to step up your SEO game for 2022.
1. Removal of fluff
Google seems to be heading towards removing unnecessary filler words and phrases or ‘fluff content.’ Any extra flowery writing that reminds anyone of a journal is more likely to get pushed under the rug. Google is even removing extra wording from title tags, so the latter works best if it’s straight to the point.
All that fluff in your content can harm your SEO and lower your ranking on search engines. Google seems to be more inclined to showcase websites that offer straightforward answers to provide direct engagement with its target audience. Removing fluff and offering more explicit content is a win-win for you and your customers.
2. Voice search
Voice recognition on mobile devices and internet software has grown the number of ways keywords can be used and structured.
Keyword searches will take a more practical and casual approach with the growing shift to voice search because of increased activity in IoT (Internet of Things) devices. So users are now changing their keyword search styles from concise that they would normally type to a more casual style while talking.
The rise of voice search technology also gives way to new forms of SEO development, including featured snippets, mobile optimization, long-tail keyword targeting, local terminology inclusion, and the like.
3. EAT guidelines
Google’s EAT acronym stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trust. These are the main variables in determining a website’s content quality that also affects its ranking.
Expertise means getting actual experts to create content on your site. Expertise refers to the depth, relevance, and accuracy of the content. Author and writer bios are some ways to boost this variable and regular site audits.
Authority refers to the number of citations in links and shares on social media. Promoting a site’s content on social media — the number of shares it increases its authority. Of course, just because you have numerous links doesn’t mean your site passes. The quality of the links and citations matter very much as well.
Trust refers to how a brand manifests itself in the public eye. Trust includes all aspects of the brand, especially the website. Trust ratings increase with references or links from more authoritative websites, compliance to quality standards (no dubious links in there), brand authority, to name a few.
4. SEO Localization
The COVID-19 precautions made numerous customers realize that they can easily search for what they need online and within their locale.
Suppose people are looking for a specialist like a physical therapist. They can quickly type ‘physical therapist near me,’ then Google will show them all of the available physical therapist offices within their area.
And this comes with a location on Google Maps, contact information, and reviews. Local businesses need to keep up with this SEO trend because it’s going to stick and even grow.
The most basic yet vital action local businesses need to take to jump on the bandwagon is to get their GBP (Google Business Profile) categories in order. Review all GBP categories to ensure they are relevant and up to date because it influences rankings.
Summing up
Yes, SEO is ever-changing. However, ranking factors are not as volatile when they change. Vital factors like those mentioned above are here to stay for the long run, most likely with more improvements. Sure SEO trends come and go, but if your site had strong foundations with customer experience as a priority, you’re off to a good start.
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