Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a fluid, ever-changing field that marketers need to stay on top of. Although the core elements remain the same, new trends arise every year that can be utilised to improve SEO.
Now that we’re well into 2022, what are the best SEO trends of the year shaping up to be?
Core Web Vitals – More Important Than Ever
Core web vitals have always been a key part of a great SEO strategy. The three core web vitals are:
- Largest contentful paint (LCP) – how long it takes your web pages to load for your audience.
- First input delay – how long it takes for your users to interact with your page, such as clicking on a link or choosing from a drop-down menu.
- Cumulative layout shift – how stable your page is when it loads, meaning that your images load where they need to be and do not push other content out of the way.
Improving your core web vitals should be a large part of your SEO strategy, as last year, Google introduced a page experience update that made them even more important than before.
You can take many avenues to improve these three key areas, from using set sizes for your images to investing in better hosting for your site. Still, whatever improvements you make, they are sure to have a significant impact on your SEO strategy.
Image Search
Some experts have hailed 2022 as the advent of image and visual searching. Visual search tools such as Google Lens and Pinterest garner hundreds of millions of visual searches per month. Although the technology is still developing and improving, it looks set to become a fundamental way for consumers to search for new products and services.
There are several ways to optimise your content to reach those who are using visual searches:
- Make everything mobile-friendly – most people who are searching for images are browsing via their mobile phones. Sites and results that are not mobile-friendly suffer, so optimise your content to be seen from mobiles as well.
- Stick to traditional SEO – optimising your image captions and alt text help with rankings on image searches, so don’t neglect conventional SEO tactics!
- Create content-rich pages – research has found that many results on visual image searches are content-rich, with the average word count hovering at approximately 1600 words.
Long-Form Content
Google enjoys ranking content with high expertise, authority, and trust (EAT). Although the length of content is not a ranking factor, longer content provides more EAT factors, which Google reviews and ranks higher.
Try and aim for your web pages and blogs to be at least 1,500 words long and fill them with helpful content that your audience is searching for. Some ideas for great long-form content include:
- Guides – an in-depth guide on a topic in your niche is an excellent resource for your audience to return to time and time again.
- ‘How to’ articles – pick an evergreen topic that your audience consistently searches for and write a detailed ‘how to’ guide that provides a lot of value and draws in new customers.
- Case studies – case studies provide great value for your audience and can position your products and services as a great solution to a potential problem.
Search Is Becoming Democratised
Although backlinks and domain authority are still important elements of an SEO strategy, they are slowly losing their chokehold in the SEO world. This means that high-authority websites will not be able to rely on their authority alone to stay in the top spots of Google. Instead, they will have to work harder on their user experience, content, and performance.
This means that newer and smaller websites will be able to slip into the top positions more easily, provided that they provide quality and trustworthy content for their audience. However, this will still take work, so your content must be stellar to beat some of the bigger sites!
Video Content Is Booming
Videos are in a boom era right now, with video expected to make up 82% of online traffic this year. If creating videos isn’t a part of your content strategy, it might be time to include it – you might be missing out on valuable customers otherwise!
Google shows many featured snippets of videos when people search for content. To get your video content featured on the first page of search results, try:
- Breaking down your video into defined sections – by including sections within your video, Google can find and pull out relevant snippets easier.
- Using video SEO – the title, tags, and description of your video will play a significant role in your video SEO and allow your content to be discovered by more people.
- Include a transcript – keep your video accessible and clear by including a transcript to ensure the subtitles are accurate.
AI-Created Content
Artificial intelligence (AI) will never replace copywriters, but it can be a great springboard for content creation that can speed up your process. Tools such as Jarvis and Headlime use AI technology to generate SEO-optimised content at a rapid rate, which can be used for:
- Title and topic generation – if you’re stuck on what to write, an AI tool can generate topics and titles for you to start on.
- Outlines and starting points – AI content can be a great outline for a first draft that copywriters can edit and expand upon.
- Meta tags – copywriting tools can generate unique tags and page descriptions to enhance your SEO.
Using AI to enhance your copywriting can save time and improve your SEO with minimal experience. AI continues to grow, learn, and develop, so try out a few tools in 2022 if you haven’t already!
Conclusion
Many SEO trends are emerging in 2022, and it may be impossible to try them all. Instead, pick a few that align with your marketing strategy and keep your finger on the pulse. Don’t forget to look out for new developments in the SEO world that align with your strategy.
