Staying on top of the latest SEO practices is extremely vital to appease the Google algorithm gods. These SEO related efforts constantly change and most practices that were useful a while back may not be applicable today. For your content to be rendered effective and attract viewers, you must apply appropriate SEO strategies, only keyword research and application is not going to make the cut. While this may seem like a tedious and overwhelming task as the world of SEO is ever-evolving, here is a list of some of the best SEO practices for 2022 that you can utilize for faster growth.
- Mobile-Friendly interface
Google officially made mobile-friendliness a ranking factor in 2015 and to date, it remains a major one. In 2019, Google also came out with mobile-first indexing, implying that while ranking; the search engine looks at the mobile version of the website rather than the desktop version as the former is considered the “primary version”. There is a significant increase in mobile users which is only set to increase and thus optimizing your website and making it mobile-friendly is crucial. To solve your SEO issues and reach a wider audience, create a website that is easily accessible from all devices.
- Focus on UX
In 2021, Google rolled out a new ranking update called the Core Web Vitals emphasizing the importance of UX. Google tracks the time a person spends on a website from the search engine, therefore if people are not spending a significant amount of time on your website and quickly bounce back, it’s probably going to be rendered irrelevant. Your chances of ranking in the coveted Google SERPS are impacted negatively if your website has an unpleasant user experience. To ensure this does not happen, try designing your website from the visitor’s point of view, giving out answers they require. Don’t be afraid to switch things up and get rid of anything that users might find unpleasant.
- Loading Time
Your website’s loading time has a direct impact on your Google SERP ranking. In order to achieve a higher ranking, your website must have a quick loading time. The recommended time for a page to load should be under 2 seconds. According to a study conducted by Neil Patel, the websites that rank higher on the Google search engine load notably faster than those that rank lower. But don’t we all require high-resolution images, videos and materials that are large which directly contribute to websites taking more time to load? You must aim to strike a balance between the two wherein you do not compromise on your wants but also have a significantly lower loading time.
- Quality Content (EAT Principle)
Google has reiterated the fact many times that your ranking depends upon the quality of your content, so whoever said “Content is King” was not joking. To rank higher in Google SERPS, you must generate quality content. If you’re confused as to what qualifies as ‘quality content’ for SEO practices, you must refer to the EAT principle. EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. These three things are what Google uses to determine the quality of your content and where you stand in terms of ranking. Therefore, you must generate content keeping this principle in mind.
Furthermore, in order to create content that is both appropriate and compelling, you must place yourself in the shoes of the ideal buyer or potential client. Focusing on the user intent, finding solutions to users’ specific needs is going to bring in an organic crowd and ensure that they stay longer on your website.
- Emphasis on Interactive Experience
Giving users an interactive experience is on the list of SEO trends for this year. A great way to increase organic traffic and keep users engaged is through the use of videos. Plenty of research shows that websites with video content generate a greater amount of traffic than those which rely on written content. On average, a user spends 88% more time on a page that contains video content. Even featuring one video on your page has a 45 times more chance to rank higher on the SERPs. Interactive experiences like quizzes, videos or guides help visitors obtain the information they are searching for in an easily navigable form. The combined package of attracting traffic and boosting user experience culminates in an improvement in the ranking.
- Long Format Content
We have already emphasized the importance of content and what qualifies as quality content, but in order to engage users, you need to adopt a long-form content strategy. Your search ranking will be impacted greatly and you will be able to rank higher when you adopt long-form content, usually of 3000 words or more. But this comes with its own set of problems as you need to engage your users and not make them feel overwhelmed. Your content should be easily readable on all devices, especially mobile phones and users should not feel intimidated by the amount of it. For this, try to break your content into smaller chunks of information and use different headings for the same. Another important thing to remember is to make it easy to share to further improve SEO.
It is also equally important to generate content that is latest and fresh. Do not be afraid to repurpose your old blogs, update them with the latest information as well as renewed keyword research. Blogs, FAQ sections are places where you can put information that has a high visual impact like infographics and charts or data-based information as this has proved effective for SEO.
- Role of AI in SEO
RankBrain, Google’s AI-powered algorithm, is the third most important factor in deciding which page ends up where on the search engine. In 2022, the use of AI in SEO strategy is also set to grow. We are all aware of how imperative it is to use relevant keywords to rank higher, however, Google can now analyse if these keywords are actually relevant or qualify as mere keyword stuffing. RankBrain analyses the content and ranks high-quality and high-value content higher in the SERPs, thereby getting rid of keyword-stuffed content. The amount of time users spend on your website is also a primary factor that helps RankBrain rank a website. While there is no single way to optimize for RankBrain, generating content that’s authentic and addresses the users’ needs is going to help you push your content towards the top of any SERP.
- Voice Search
There is a remarkable rise in voice searches that is all set to grow even more in 2022 with smart speaker devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo taking a prominent place in almost every household. You should make adequate changes to your website for it to be discovered via voice search but you need not throw your entire SEO strategy in the trash, optimizing voice search will, in turn, benefit your SEO.
Voice searches by audiences are done in a conversational manner that consists of long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords contain more specific terms of 3 words or more, and since they are not searched as much as target keywords, they are easier to rank for.
Since many voice searches are for local information, it is important to focus on local SEO, creating content by incorporating local keywords. A vital part of local SEO is Google Business listing. People are going to use voice searches for important business information like phone numbers, addresses and working hours, therefore Google must have updated information about these details.
- On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO optimization is crucial to the users’ experience and helps in increasing the efforts of your SEO strategy to rank higher in SERPs. Internal linking between website pages is a great way of optimizing on-page SEO. A good meta description (tags that describe a page’s content) can be used by your website so that it is found in the search results. Keeping in mind the users’ intent, rewrite your meta descriptions with the answers users require. Including target keywords in the title, using a short but descriptive URL, optimizing images by writing alt texts are all going to help optimize on-page SEO.
- Google Discover
Google Discover is one of the latest addition to SEO trends. It is an AI-based mobile news feed that gathers information based on the user’s interest and search behaviour. Websites that fall into the categories of E-commerce, sports and entertainment, hobbies and activities have a high chance of appearing on it. High-value and engaging content is a must for your website to appear on Google Discover, however, another strategy that can get your website on it is the use of an image that is relevant to your title. When supplemented with an existing SEO strategy, this can prove very effective in increasing organic traffic.
CONCLUSION
Adapting to the latest SEO trends is going to mark your relevance in the SERPs. It is continually growing and becoming more complex. Constantly adapting to these trends and optimizing your webpage according to the latest developments is a continuous process.
We do believe this requires constant efforts and we at Studio Rudra can help you out. We are a creative agency comprising Digital Marketing professionals and SEO experts. We stay on top of the current trends and make sure that your SEO requirements are thoroughly met. We believe in figuring out and delivering what works best for our clients. So, get in touch with us today.