SEO is constantly changing. Every year, more updates are made, and the rules surrounding the best SEO practices evolve. It’s crucial to recognize this, because as SEO changes and adapts to new technology and user expectations, your website is expected to follow suit.
The changes in SEO trends can be frustrating for any business. It can be hard to keep track of what does and doesn’t work, especially when you finally nail a certain aspect of SEO, only for it to change yet again. If you aren’t dedicated to staying up to date on SEO trends, then it’s certainly going to show.
Every year, certain SEO trends seem to dominate the web, and as we are already partway through the fourth and final quarter of the year, it’s much easier to see which trends are worth following and which ones should be left behind.
As we close out 2022 and get ready to head into a new year of SEO trends and changes, here are some of the most important SEO trends that we’ve seen in 2022 and the ones we think are the most beneficial for your company’s website.
Search Engine Optimization Trends for 2022
Search Intent
Something that very few businesses seem to think about is a user’s search intent. What do your users want from your website? What do they expect when they navigate a certain page or type a certain search inquiry?
Throwing keywords into your content does not guarantee that your content will fulfill user intent, and Google is really taking this into account. If Google only took into account the keywords of a search query, the content that would appear would be all over the place.
For example, a search with the keywords ‘coffee’ and ‘best’ may pull up content on how to make the best coffee, which coffee brands are best, the best coffee beans, etc. With user intent in mind, however, Google will scan content containing these keywords to match what it thinks the user’s intent is.
This means that a search phrase such as ‘best coffee brands’ will only pull up content that meets the intent of the user. It won’t pull up search results with only ‘best coffee’ and it won’t display recipes.
Since Google and other search engines are really taking into account user intent, it’s important that your content keeps it in mind too. Don’t try and write content that is vague or may cover a variety of different questions. Stick to a question and write high-quality content about it.
Create separate web pages and posts so that you can be sure your content meets user intent and ranks higher in Google search results.
‘People Also Ask’
Almost 50% of search engine queries in 2022 were based around “people also ask” questions, making this a huge gold mine for website owners that know to take advantage of it.
When you write content, it’s vital to stick to your main topic, but don’t hesitate to include a FAQs section at the end of other related questions. It is important that your headings and questions are related to your initial topic, but including these can also help your content appear in other search queries.
For example, if you’re a dental business and write a post about what patients can expect when getting braces, you may also include subheadings that answer other questions such as ‘will getting braces hurt’, ‘how long with treatment with braces last’, ‘what issues may not be solved with braces’, etc.
A good way to determine what other questions to include in your web page with your main subject is to do a quick Google search. You can also use a keyword tool to give you more data about the common questions that users ask.
Content Strategy and Quality
Ever since the dawn of SEO, content quality has played one of the biggest roles in SEO rankings. Poor quality content will not get your site ranked very high in the search results, and even with all the changes to SEO, this remains true.
A good content strategy involves creating long-form content that’s well-elaborated, informative, and fulfills Google’s standards for high-quality content. Ensure that your content is easy to scan and read by using ample headings and even a table of contents.
You also have to prove to Google (and your readers) that you’re a reliable source of information and can be trusted. Quality content is trustworthy in the eyes of Google and will help you establish better search rankings.
Writing with SEO and content quality in mind isn’t always easy. Good content writers don’t always have relevant SEO experience or knowledge, while great SEO professionals may not have experience writing quality content. This is something to keep in mind when you implement your SEO strategy.
If you have separate writers and SEO experts working on your website, ensure that they work together to produce the best results, ie. good content that’s well-optimized. Most of the time, SEO agencies already have skilled content writers who know how to create content that also fulfils SEO principles.
Search Engine Results Pages
There are a number of things to keep in mind with SERPs. First and foremost, we’ve seen a few changes to the setup of SERPs and how results are presented, so it’s crucial to keep that in mind even as we finish out 2022 and begin 2023. Additionally, we’ve learned that SERP localization has started to play a more significant role in result rankings.
Even if your business has no physical location, Google is taking into account the country where information is coming from and the audience intended. Content that is country-specific has been ranking higher in many cases.
For businesses targeting multiple countries, this may be slightly complex, but it certainly isn’t insurmountable. You will need to put effort into creating localized content, though.
Visual Content
No one wants to read an article that resembles an essay: no pictures, no videos, and only paragraph after paragraph. Google recognizes this.
Pages with images, videos, or graphics will rank higher in search results, but when those images and videos are original, you’ll rank even higher. By creating an incentive for original and unique images, Google Lens is encouraging more sites to move in that direction.
On some mobile devices, Google Lens is even the primary search engine. This is only another incentive for your business to incorporate unique images within your content. Authentic photos of your office or storefront, along with photos of your team, will only help you better connect with your audience.
Mobile Experience
We’ve seen Google really prioritizing sites with mobile optimization. Just because it’s an aspect of SEO that has been around for a few years now does not mean it is any less critical.
Websites that have been optimized for mobile device users rank higher in results, even if the search is conducted from a computer. Using Google’s new mobile optimization tools, you can create a great mobile version of your website, leaving you with little to no excuse for excluding mobile users.
Mobile usability affects more than just mobile users. It also impacts your Core Web Vitals, another key aspect of SEO that should not be forgotten.
Take Note of 2022 SEO Trends and Keep Optimizing!
SEO will remain an important part of effective website management and content marketing even as search engine algorithms change. As machine learning and natural language processing evolve, they, too, will play a bigger role in SEO.
The most important SEO trends will vary from year to year, but it’s crucial to have a basic understanding of the most vital aspects. By keeping an eye on SEO trends and changes, your company will have the upper hand even when changes get a little confusing.
If you’re too busy to keep up with SEO changes or don’t have the technical know-how to create effective SEO strategies, call Get The Clicks for the best SEO in Orlando today and let our SEO experts handle the work for you and bring your site more traffic!
Stephan Boehringer is the CEO of Get The Clicks, a web marketing company. Stephan has over 20 years of experience in the field of web marketing, and has been a speaker and consultant for many years. Stephan is passionate about web marketing and helping their clients be the best they can be.
Stephan Boehringer graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services.
