New year, new you — or new SEO game plan.
It’s hard to see the forest through the trees with SEO, given the neverending onslaught of SERP redesigns and Google algorithm updates.
The new year offers an opportunity to step back and reflect on what’s changed this year, and what’s to come. With this knowledge in hand, you can take a breath and plan accordingly.
Here are the top four SEO trends you need to know to succeed in 2022.
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1. Core Web Vitals may not be vital, but are important.
Perhaps no Google update got more attention this year than the page experience update, which solidified Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor. We would call it the Update of the Year, except this update wasn’t as tumultuous as people were expecting — even though Google told us we “should not expect drastic changes.”
Still, this release of this update on mobile, and the rollout of the desktop version in February 2022, makes it clear that a fast, mobile-friendly site experience is paramount to ranking well in the search results.
As a reminder, Core Web Vitals refers to the following ranking factors:
Learn more in our guide to optimizing for Core Web Vitals.
2. Google will continue cracking down on link spam.
If your traffic dipped for some unknown reason during the summer, this may help explain things: Google rolled out a Link Spam update in July of this year.
Link schemes, particularly ones distributing low-quality guest posts, were their main target.
Building relationships with other websites and developing quality content for them is totally acceptable. Spamming the internet with low-quality guest posts? Not so much.
Google’s algorithms are getting increasingly smarter at identifying spammy and low-quality links. To prevent your site from getting hit with a manual action for bad link behavior, make sure to:
- Add rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow” tags to your outbound links as appropriate.
- Ask your guest post partners to qualify your own content with the rel=”sponsored” tag.
- Request your affiliate bloggers and influencers to tag their links to your products with rel=”sponsored” tags.
- Avoid participating in link schemes, and focus instead on creating quality content for your site and others.
- Earn natural links through creating great content.
3. Content will still reign supreme.
Speaking of great content, we’ve been saying “content is king” for years. As a result, we’ve now reached a point where it feels like there is more content than people. So, how can brands stand out?
By making that content incredible.
Creating unbeatable content is the best way to rank higher, engage and convert people on your site, and earn natural links that compound your SEO efforts even further.
When planning new content, don’t just rely on keyword research. Do your competitive research, too. What are the top sites ranking for that query, and what similarities can you spot in their content?
- Do they tackle the query with long- or short-form content?
- Does the topic call for graphics, images, or explainer videos?
- What kind of sites are they linking out to?
- What format does the content follow?
These are the sites Google thinks are worth ranking, so it’s smart to see what they’re doing — and then iterate to make your own version even better.
Next up: make a plan to regularly refresh your existing evergreen content to keep it up to date and increase engagement.
4. Shopping Graph will increase visibility for ecommerce sites.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Google has taken significant strides to make Google Shopping more accessible to online retailers, whether or not you’re paying for shopping ads. For example, retailers can now connect their product feed directly to Google for inclusion in the Shopping results.
Then, in May of this year, Google announced the Shopping Graph, their AI-powered engine for synthesizing the ever-growing universe of products, brands, and online reviews — and making it easily searchable for shoppers.
Take advantage by:
- Keeping your product feed pristine and up to date.
- Linking your customer loyalty program with Google.
- Using promotion extensions to help your deals stand out.
5. SEO success in 2022
In some ways, SEO success in 2022 requires the same things it always has: staying on top of Google updates, and springing into action so your brand reaps the most benefits first.
What’s different is the speed with which Google announces new changes, and increased competition.For help creating your plan for success, contact Your Marketing People.
