Just like the trends keep changing in the marketplace as per customer preferences, SEO trends also keep evolving as per user intent. While business owners must update themselves about current market trends to satisfy their customers, they also need to fulfill the current SEO trends to convince the Google algorithm to do a successful business online.
If you want your business to get discovered by your targeted customers in the vast digital landscape, your business needs to be atop the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Most people will not go past the first page of Google. Plus, the search engine giant Google constantly updates its algorithm to keep the search experience relevant and efficient for the users.
So, SEO is not a one-time process. What was working last year may not work now. You have to keep upgrading your website to meet the current SEO trends.
Here are some top SEO trends to rank your website in 2022:
1. Passage Ranking Outweighs Keyword Ranking:
Passage ranking was a recent update from Google in 2021, and the feature is available now worldwide. If you wonder what exactly is passage ranking, here you go. Passage ranking is Google’s ability to grab the specific passage from long-form content that provides precise answers to niche queries.
In other words, Google examines the context of the content and returns more relevant and meaningful results to the searchers. For instance, if you search how to set up a shop on Instagram, you will see the top result that answers your question succinctly.
Passage ranking is Google’s attempt to help users to find what exactly they want. You can improve your passage ranking by following the below tips:
- First and foremost, analyze your target audience. What are their needs, and how can you provide the solutions?
- Now, focus on creating high-quality content that answers your target audience’s questions concisely.
- Writing a heading with long-tail keywords is crucial as Google understands the context of the content through them.
2. Video Content continues to Override:
Video content receives the maximum engagement in 2022 as well. So, make sure to include video content in your SEO strategy. Video marketing can help your brand reach its target audience instantly. But, of course, your video needs to have a relevant storyline that is in sync with your audience.
Nevertheless, video is not cost-effective content, but it helps you reach the maximum number of people, aiding you with a high ROI. Plus, online video viewers are on the rise worldwide, and it will only grow more in 2022.
In short, video marketing is a win-win for both brands and customers. For instance, videos enable business owners to create versatile content that gives an authentic picture of their products while customers can consume video content easily, unlike spending time reading a lengthy article.
3. Artificial Intelligence will have a huge impact on SEO:
No wonder artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology that has enhanced many industries. That advanced technology has also made a significant impact on SEO strategy.
Google recently announced RankBrain as the third most important ranking signal. For those who are not aware of RankBrain, it's an artificial intelligence system applied to Google’s current search engine algorithms to provide relevant results to user queries.
So, how to tailor your content strategy to an AI algorithm? Though Google has not revealed details on how RankBrain learns and analyzes content, experts emphasize user experience as one of the prime ranking factors. That again reinforces the importance of click-through rates and the number of time users spend on your website. All of that calls for high-quality content on your website that is valuable enough to retain the audience.
4. Core Web Vitals Optimization:
Page experience has been the primary ranking factor for search engines for the past few years. Page experience, which is now measured by Core Web Vitals, is a Google ranking factor. Core Web Vitals include the following performance metrics:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP is nothing but the amount of time taken for the largest content on the page to load.
- First Input Delay (FID): FID indicates how long it takes your website to respond to a user's first interaction with the page.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS implies how many unexpected layout shifts occur on your webpage. Visual stability is crucial for optimal user experience, and a low CLS means the page is delightful.
5. Content must convince Google’s EAT Principle:
Content quality is a top-ranking factor, and Google has always emphasized it. But, what exactly is quality content? How to create high-quality content to crack the SEO and claim atop the SERP? All you need to do is to apply the EAT principle. EAT means expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Google examines your content based on these factors.
So, first, start creating buyer personas, and that will help you understand the content your target audience expects. It goes like this. When you know more about your target audience, the better content you can create that resonates with their interests.
Nevertheless, make sure you adhere to the EAT principle while you create content. You should also comply with statistics and facts by linking your content to reputable sources. You can improvise your credibility by having authoritative links in your content while adhering to the EAT principle.
6. Responsive to Mobile phones is Crucial:
With half of the world’s population accessing the internet via smartphones, making your website mobile-friendly goes without saying. Moreover, Google itself said mobile-first indexing in 2019. That means that Google will check the mobile version of the website when ranking content. With the rapidly increasing smartphone trend, mobile usage will drastically increase in the coming years. Thus, optimizing your website for mobiles becomes crucial.
Testing your site for mobile-friendliness becomes easy with Google with its free mobile-friendly test. You can also check Google’s mobile usability report to find out any issues with your mobile website. Leverage these free yet effective tools to optimize content for mobile devices.
7. Say YES to Long-form Content:
Long-form content of around 3000 words has seemingly received more traffic and more shares than short-form content. Hence, include a long-form content strategy for improved search rankings. However, always remember it is not about the words; your content must keep readers engaged.
You can break up your long-form content into multiple sub-sections using h2 and h3 subheadings, as it will make the content more readable. Ideally, the users must consume content seamlessly on all devices as it can be intimidating for people to read a long blog post on mobile screens if it is not mobile-friendly.
Apart from readability on mobile phones, make sure your content is shareable readily. That will further improve your SEO rankings. You can always add links to share at the beginning and the end of your content, fostering readers to share instantly with a click of a button.
Wrapping Up:
In today's digital era, all customers rely on search engines to find products/services. Thus, every business from every other industry is investing in SEO to crack Google's algorithms and get listed on top of the SERP. Moreover, SEO is not a one-time process, and businesses need to upgrade themselves according to the current SEO trends, or else they will go outdated among their competitors.
Google constantly adjusts and upgrades its algorithm based on user preferences, SEO developments, and best practices. As a business owner, it might be challenging for you to keep an eye on constantly evolving SEO trends and apply them to your digital marketing strategy. Often Google algorithm updates stay under wraps until they launch, and paying close attention can be impossible for busy entrepreneurs.
How about leaving the work to our digital marketing experts so you can focus more on your business? At Cypherox Technologies, we have our digital marketing experts who know the nooks and corners of the current SEO trends and strategies. Connect with Cypherox Technologies for all Digital Marketing andSEO services. Undoubtedly, with our fool-proof digital marketing strategies, you can fuel your business growth and generate excellent ROI.
