7 SEO Trends And Changes That Will Impact Businesses in 2022
Search engine optimization has taken a central stage in the success of all businesses that have an online presence. Every eCommerce store owner strives to have excellent SEO strategies to propel them to the top search engine results pages. Thanks to the fast internet connectivity and excellent eCommerce platforms, we are witnessing a massive migration from brick-and-mortar stores to eCommerce stores. What is even more interesting is how small businesses have embraced these trends, which explains why we hear more of “small business SEO.”
But if there is one thing that has characterized SEO is how fast it has evolved over the past few years. I will be right to say that the SEO strategies that worked five or ten years ago might not work today. SEO trends have been changing dramatically, and we should anticipate even more SEO trends to come up in the future. And with 2022 around the corner, it would be wise to start thinking about the SEO tips and trends that will be relevant. This article has explained some of the top trends we should look out for in 2022 and beyond.
Website Security To Continue Dominating
Data Risks are showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Hackers are relentless and will always look out for more sophisticated methods to reach out to their victims. As more and more data risks crop up, Google calls upon web admins to have essential website security practices that will help safeguard their websites and website visitors from security threats.
As you know, HTTPS has been one of the most vital SEO ranking factors. Websites with SSL certificates will continue to rank higher than those without the SSL certificate. We expect more and more web admins to purchase SSL certificates to try and reach the top pages of search engines.
Small businesses have for a long time been the prime victims of cyber attackers—43% of data breaches that have happened in the past all targeted small businesses. With this knowledge, such cash strapped businesses will likely continue acquiring premium yet cost-effective cheap SSL certificates to strengthen their security walls and build on their small business SEO.
The Popularity of Voice Search
According to Google, 27% of the global population now uses voice searches on mobile devices. The comparison chart below will note how the voice search market has grown in the US and UK between 2017 and 2022.
Today, we already have the Google Voice Assistant, Alexa, and Siri, playing crucial roles in the voice search industry. With the introduction of voice search technology in mobile devices, desktops, and internet of things devices, it might just be a matter of time before voice search takes over typing as the primary mode of searching.
Voice search technology has a significant impact on the future of SEO for businesses. Businesses and organizations are now called upon to focus on conversation marketing by incorporating voice search technology in their SEO models. We are bound to see this happen in 2022 and beyond as eCommerce store owners try to reach out to new customers by incorporating voice search technology in their SEO strategies.
Artificial Intelligence to Play a More Significant SEO Role
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have continued to dictate how audiences interact with online content. AI will also take centre stage in search engine optimization. One of the elements of artificial intelligence that are worth noting is the RankBrain, a Google AI algorithm. The algorithm will undoubtedly become one of the most crucial ranking factors in 2022.
Since its revelation, most web admins have yet to know how and why RankBrain will impact SEO. Indeed, Google has yet to share any pertinent information on how RankBrain will work and affect search engine optimization. However, most SEO experts believe that UX will be one of its most vital ranking factors. It means that RankBrain will pay more attention to click-through rates and the amount of time website visitors will be spending on a page. Such factors will be critical when prioritizing the content and pages that come first in the SERPs.
Although we can only speculate on how RankBrain will affect SEO, we must stay prepared at all times by having captivating and engaging content.
Long-Form Content To Become More Prevalent
One of the SEO tips that you must adopt in preparation for 2022 is the adoption of long-form content. In the past, most websites have stuck on short-form content of between 1000 to 1500 words, and most SEO experts now believe that long-form content of 3000 and more words tends to attract more traffic than short-form content.
Therefore, you need to shift your attention to creating long-form content. The working strategy with long-form content is to divide the content into multiple headings and H2 and H3 subheadings. In doing so, you will be making your content easy to read and scan. Additionally, you can further your SEO strategies by making the content easy to share. You can do so by including shared links at the start or end of your content so that your readers can easily share the content with other sources with the click of a button.
Mobile-Friendliness To Become More Important
According to projections by Statista, by 2022, there will be over 6.6 billion smartphone users. It means that the number of traffic coming from mobile devices will continue to rise.
Google made mobile-friendliness an SEO ranking factor in 2015. With Google rolling out the mobile-first indexing in 2019, mobile-friendliness has become more vital than ever before, and it is now one of the most critical ranking factors that Google looks at. As mobile phone usage increases, more and more webmasters will try their best to optimize their websites to share the web traffic.
Increased Emphasis on Google’s EAT principle
The quality of content has for long been a critical factor in search engine rankings. Although search engines have always emphasized “good quality content,” most webmasters are left wondering what content qualifies to be termed as “good quality.” To elaborate on what good quality content means, Google has brought in the EAT principle. EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. The three factors are used as the threshold to determine whether content qualifies to be called “quality content.”
Businesses will have to adopt the EAT strategy going forward to ensure that they are creating great content. A good strategy that you can adopt to create quality content is by creating buyer personas. Buyer personas will help you to understand the type of content that your audience will find helpful. Buyer persona and the EAT principle are being adopted widely, and we expect them to continue dominating the world of SEO in 2022.
The Need For Videos and Graphics in Content
If there is one thing you should know about content is that users dislike plain texts. You must develop content that includes videos, images, and graphics. You must have noticed that most businesses are now leveraging the power of YouTube and TikTok to create engaging video content that will keep their visitors glued to their screens. Most website owners are adopting such content as an integral part of their SEO strategy. Brace yourself to see more of such in 2022.
Conclusion
Search engine optimization continues to play a vital role in deciding where your content falls in search engines. However, SEO is continually evolving. You have to ensure that you keep up with the trends, and it starts by understanding the trends, which this article will help you with.