5 SEO Trends Every Marketer Should Know in 2022

SEO Trends In this day and age, strategic SEO is a crucial part of any online endeavor Businesses that are looking to get discovered and attract more customers their way really need to hone in on various SEO strategies that will help them get their venture out there.

That being said, some SEO strategies and trends are becoming more viable than others. With SEO trends constantly changing, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to try and stay on top of them all.

That being said, here are the top 5 SEO trends every marketer should pay attention to in 2022.

1.  AI becomes more important than ever

AI is certainly not a new trend on the market. But as it continues to grow and evolve, so do the ways in which it affects the online content users regularly interact with.

What this means is that businesses will need to shift their thoughts in this direction in 2022, if they hope to succeed. 

When it comes to AI and ranking on Google, RankBrain will play a huge role in 2022. Even though we still don’t know everything there is to know about RankBrain, it is confirmed that it will be focusing on the click-through rate and time spent on a page when prioritizing content.

But, before we proceed any further, let’s Find Out More about the basics.

What is AI in SEO?

In SEO, AI has the role of analyzing the relationship between the site, its content pages and search engine ranks. So, it basically makes sure that the content matches the intended search. That way, searchers can easily find results they’re looking for based on factors such as their previous searches, location, etc.

When and where is AI used?

In SEO, AI is mostly being used for identifying trending industry topics and competitive gaps. This helps businesses keep their content organized, valuable and engaging. Naturally, this will significantly help your SEO team with analyzing those opportunities and creating viable strategies.

Also Read 15+ Modern SEO Techniques to Boost Your Search Traffic

How else can you get a competitive edge?

• Refresh your content – It’s extremely important that you go through all of your previous content and update it as necessary. Instead of simply clicking “publish” and forgetting about your work, you should make sure that every piece of content on your website is relevant and that it fits your current brand tone. This way you can ensure that your old and outdated content is not negatively affecting your success.
• Automate your SEO – since automation really does make life easier, consider inviting in quality SEO software that will monitor your strategies and help you out in many different ways.
• Consult an expert – if you don’t have an SEO team, or you’re not sure that they’re as up to date as they should be, you can always consult an expert. Turning to a reliable SEO agency may do wonders for your business growth.

2.  Long-form content reigns supreme

Since on-page time is such an important ranking factor, businesses should also pay more attention to the length of their content.

What this means is that the so-far “standard” pieces of content of about 800 words length are slowly being phased out. In fact, no reputable business should assume that their audience has the attention span of a goldfish.

Instead, aim at creating content that’s at least 2000 if not even 3000 words long. This way, not only can you offer more value to your audience, through the long-form content, but you can also significantly improve the time they spend on-page.

Why is content becoming longer?

If you really think about it, the end goal of any type of content you create is to encourage those curious content consumers to become customers. So, the more effort you put into this, the more likely they will be to convert. Aside from this, as mentioned earlier, longer content simply boasts higher quality and offers more value.

If you’re still not convinced, check out…

3 top benefits of longer content

• Better online visibility – by creating longer content, you can easily establish yourself as an expert on the subject matter. This will boost your credibility, which will lead to more organic traffic. And gaining more organic traffic is exactly the point of SEO, is it not?
• Higher quality link building – with longer content, you’ll have plenty of room to add various links. Reach out to other experts whose content you’re linking to and see if they’re interested in returning the favor. They will most likely be more than happy to do so.
• Greater shareability – the more valuable and detailed your content is, the likelier it will be to resonate well with your audience. This may even encourage them to share your content on social media, which will only further boost your visibility. Of course, make sure your content is easy to share on various social media platforms.

3.  Ensure good rankings with mobile-friendliness

Experts have been emphasizing the importance of going mobile-friendly for quite some time now. However, it seems like mobile-friendliness has never been more important than it is today.

According to research, as much as 80% of people browsing the internet are doing so via their mobile devices.

What’s more, Google shifted its focus predominantly on the mobile versions of the content when ranking. So, if your efforts are not yielding the desired results, this may be where the majority of your problem lies.

Therefore, make sure you shift your focus from desktop to mobile as soon as possible.

6 factors to consider when building a mobile-friendly website

1. Make sure your theme is responsive
2. Update regularly
3. Keep things simple
4. Optimize and compress images
5. Get rid of ads and pop-ups
6. Go with the lazy frame loading

Also

• Get rid of bad backlinks – they can compromise your reputation. Replace them with high-quality links instead.
• Choose fonts carefully – so that they’re easily-readable on any device and screen size.
• Offer seamless navigation – everything needs to be easily-findable and accessible.
• Separate links properly – the size of the fingers of mobile users, as well as the screen size can vary greatly. Keep that in mind when placing your links.

4.  Keep EAT principle in mind

Since the quality of your content is one of the key ranking factors, you need to make sure that your content is not lacking in any sense.

One of the best ways to ensure that the content you create is of top quality is to follow Google’s EAT principle. According to this principle, quality content is the one that shows:

Expertise

Simply being the expert in your industry is not enough. Instead, you’ll need to know how to showcase and communicate it effectively.

This also means that you will need to become an expert on your audience. By learning who your audience is and what they’re looking for, creating quality content that will cater to their needs will become significantly easier.

Authoritativeness

Aside from proving that you’re the expert in your field, you also need to establish yourself as the authority in your niche.

This can be achieved easily by citing relevant sources and other industry experts in your content, as well as by linking back to authority websites.

If other experts from your industry link back to your content as well, this will only further boost your authority and unlock an additional way to showcase your growth.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is arguably the most difficult thing to establish. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Here, reviews and testimonials are some of the best tools to use. But keep in mind that too many negative reviews can be as harmful as too many positive ones. So, instead of getting rid of all the negative feedback, make sure you respond to it and turn it into a tool you can use to improve your business.

Additional ways you can promote trustworthiness

• Clearly display your business’s contact information
• Include the physical location of your business – if you have one
• Make sure your domain is safe by securing it with a TLS/SSL certificate
• Clearly display your privacy policy
• Be transparent about your return and refund policies
• Make sure your product/service pages are detailed and accurate

Pay special attention if your content covers YMYL topics

Needless to say, if your content is centered around “Your Money or Your Life” topics, such as news, laws, financial and medical advice, to name a few, you need to be extremely careful.

If any piece of the information featured in such topics is inaccurate, untruthful or deceptive, it can seriously diminish your trustworthiness.

What’s more, not only can it negatively affect your reader’s satisfaction, but it can also seriously compromise their health, safety or financial stability. Therefore, if the content you create regularly deals with YMYL topics, you need to make sure that every piece of information you provide is 100% accurate.

5.  Include video content

The popularity of video content and video platforms significantly increased lately. Platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok have become some of the best places to promote your business.

That’s why you should definitely consider including this form of (of course, optimized) content in your SEO efforts as well.

Also Read How Can Video Content Help With SEO Strategy for a Brand

But in order to do this properly, you first need to understand how the majority of searchers browse the SERPs. Most commonly, people looking for something online won’t go further from the first page of search results. Even fewer of them will click on the video tab in Google search. That’s precisely why you need to make sure that your video content is well optimized and easily findable on the universal search.

Here’s how to do it

Keep in mind that the authority of your website will significantly affect your video’s rank on search engines. Aside from this, your video must also be direct and easily-distinguishable from other videos in related searches. That why you should:

Be careful when choosing the platform

For instance, YouTube is a great platform for businesses that wish to boost their visibility. However, it can often happen that the video following your own is of your competitor, so this can be a bit tricky.

For businesses looking to attract more traffic to their website and raise their brand awareness, Instagram and TikTok may present a better fit.

So, know the platform you’re choosing, as well as the type of video content that matches it best.

Include closed captions when possible

By adding closed captions to your videos, you’ll automatically expand the audience that can enjoy your content. Deaf and hard of hearing people oftentimes get overlooked. So, by adding CC to your videos, you can ensure that this part of your audience gets to enjoy your content as well.

Create a stellar thumbnail

The thumbnail of your video plays a role that’s very similar to your content’s meta-description. It often determines whether or not people will click on your video. Naturally, the more high-quality thumbnail you create, the higher the chances are that your video will get clicked on.

Final thoughts

As the SEO trends constantly change, staying on top of them becomes the priority of online businesses. So, make sure you explore these 5 SEO trends and rely on them to help you improve your SEO efforts in 2022.

Author bio:

Tomas is a digital marketing specialist and a freelance blogger. His work is focusing on new web tech trends and digital voice distribution across different channels.