5 Key SEO Trends to keep an eye on in 2022
Through the years, search engine optimization proves to be one of the most effective digital marketing strategies for businesses operating in the online world. With its ability to help websites receive high search engine ranking, many good things can happen to businesses. For instance, ranking highly in the search engine page results can help websites generate more web traffic which can eventually turn to leads and sales. It can also help promote brand awareness and credibility by making websites credible to consumers.
With all these things being said, there’s no question about the importance of SEO in the online business world. However, like other digital marketing strategies, the SEO sector is predictably unpredictable, much like Google's algorithm adjustments. Because of this, SEO experts usually conduct testing to evaluate certain web pages and determine how to boost your current strategy. As the digital world continues to evolve, effective SEO techniques before may be outdated today and in the future. This makes the use of 6 SEO testing methods more beneficial.
With the help of modern technology like software tools, you can use these testing methods to check several elements of a webpage to know if the SEO strategies used are still delivering results or not. Also. SEO testing may be used to get a clear idea of which trends are in and out. Besides, so much is also going on in the world of SEO, and you need to stay on top of it all to ensure that things (rankings) are in your control.
Below are the five key trends to keep an eye on in 2022:
1. Indexing of passages
Have you heard about Google's recent revelation concerning a new algorithm known as Passage Indexing?
According to Google, while indexing web pages, it will now employ the natural language processing feature to try to comprehend the meaning of each paragraph inside the page.
This means that a specific section (passages) of your content will now appear in search results for relevant search queries, even if it's buried deep within the scope of the main topic. By the end of 2020, Passage Indexing will have impacted 7% of all search queries in all languages.
The Passage Indexing Ranking Algorithm is more or less verified to benefit web pages with highly organised content. This also suggests that in 2022, Google will place a greater emphasis on boosting the ranking of holistic content.
A holistic content strategy examines a topic in depth and attempts to answer the most frequently asked questions by the target audience. Furthermore, for long-tailed and question-based search queries, Passage Indexing will have a significant impact on search results.
The Importance of Content Structure
It's critical to divide the content into several sections, each of which should cover a different sub-topic. In this method, you inform Google about the breadth of your material and how it will satisfy users' search intent.
We would recommend that you utilise heading tags to structure your text.
When it comes to extremely competitive search queries, 9 out of 10 of the top-ranking pages on Google are long-form material that surpasses 2000 words.
Also, keep in mind the user experience of long-form content by including a table of contents right at the top.
Users don't want to be kept waiting, and you can't make them read the entire text. Users quit login-form pages with inadequate navigation because finding the information is time-consuming and difficult.
2. Video SEO Gets Two Structured Data Pages
If you're interested in video SEO, Google has announced the debut of two new structured data formats: Seek Markup and Clip Markup, which will assist video content appearing in search results with crucial moments.
The Key Moments feature is currently only accessible for YouTube videos. Any platform that hosts video in the future will benefit from employing one of the two new structured data markups.
While the Clip Markup manually informs Google about the time stamps in your movies, the Seek markup informs Google Search in an automated manner.
These two markups are a boon if you want to enhance the click-through rate to your video content from the search results page.
3. Mobile SEO Is Everything
In 2022, you must continue to ensure that your website operates well on mobile devices. All SEO specialists will pay close attention to the user experience on mobile devices.
The cornerstone to a user-friendly site design is simplicity. You must also tailor the content of your website to the needs of your visitors. To determine your ranks, Google will eventually overlook your desktop site and rely solely on your mobile site.
4. Core Web Vital
Page Experience Algorithm has been around for a while, and starting in May 2021, core web vitals will be added to it.
This means that existing Page Experience indications like HTTPS, Intrusive Interstitial, Safe Browsing, and Mobile Friendliness will be combined to determine page rankings.
Core Web Vitals is a collection of three core page experience metrics that give Google information about the user experience provided by particular web pages.
The following are the Three Core Web Vital Factors:
1. The Most Contented Paint (LCP)
2. Delay between the first and second inputs (FID)
3. Layout Shift in the Long Run (CIS)
Starting in May 2021, Google has confirmed that Core Web Vitals would be used to rank pages. However, Google stated in a FAQ on Core Web Vitals in December that the impact would be limited to mobile search results.
5. Changes to SERP Layout and Functionality
Since Google Passage Ranking was published, there will be a significant change in the way information is seen or laid out on the page. Rather than having numerous pages on a subject, why not have a single page dedicated to that subject?
Strong page and schema structure, as well as the existence of material with a high readability score all aid page optimization.
Consistently generating long-form and meaningful content on your website is one trend that will help you outrank your competitors in 2022. The content should conform to show “Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness” - (E.A.T) and be at least 2000 words long.
Long-form content will continue to grow in importance in 2022, aiming for a standard of
So, in conclusion, to stay ahead of your competition, you'll need to switch to a more strategic SEO strategy. We suggest that you move your focus away from just user behaviour and into a two-step process of first understanding the market in which these customers operate and then taking a more strategic approach to change demands - real-time.