What is SEO?

 What is SEO? Search engine optimization is an effective way to attract consumers to your online platforms — if you use it right. SEO is constantly evolving, and staying on top of the latest updates can be a challenge. However, it’s worth the effort: Some 70% to 80% of users focus exclusively on organic results and ignore paid listings. What’s more, some 28% of those searches convert, resulting in a purchase.

Top-ranking SEO performance requires attention to many metrics, including traffic, backlinks, and social shares — to name just a few. Our guide gives you insights into some of the most relevant and timely search engine optimization trends to anticipate for 2022, allowing you to prepare your SEO strategy accordingly. Let's dive into the 12 SEO trends to watch for in 2022.

1. Artificial Intelligence Will Play a Larger Role in SEO

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how people interact with online content. Google’s AI algorithm is especially worth noting. Unveiled a few years back, the algorithm — called RankBrain — plays an important role in Google’s ranking factors for search engine results pages (SERPs) results.

Greg Corrado, a senior Google scientist who helped develop RankBrain, has previously highlighted the tool’s unique ability to learn: “The other signals, they’re all based on discoveries and insights that people in information retrieval have had, but there’s no learning.” This presumably means that RankBrain will only improve with time, making AI a top SEO trend to watch.

So, the big question is, how do you optimize your SEO for RankBrain? While the search engine giant won’t share details, experts believe that user experience signals are the primary determinant. These could include factors from click-through rate to time spent on page. You need to captivate and engage readers with useful, well-organized content. An on-page SEO checker can help you assess page strength based on points like readability, backlinks, and more.

2. Voice Search Will Impact Search Queries

Thanks to innovations like Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa, voice search technology has come a long way. As technology has gotten better, it’s also gotten more popular. In fact, the percentage of households predicted to own a smart speaker by 2022 is 55%.

To optimize for voice search, consider your keywords. Identify longer phrases that people use in everyday conversation. Voice searches tend to do better with longer, more natural-sounding phrasing. When people type, they tend to abbreviate. For example, a person might voice search, “What are the new SEO trends for 2022?” but type the words, “new SEO trends 2022.”

3. Mobile-Friendliness Will Impact Search Rankings

In 2019, Google rolled out mobile-first indexing, meaning the search engine looks primarily at the mobile version of a website, considering this the “primary” version instead of the desktop version. This change makes sense, given that nearly 73% of internet users will access the internet solely via mobile devices by 2025. Check how effective your mobile site is with Google’s free mobile-friendly test. Next, take a peek at the “mobile usability” report in Google Search Console.

To make sure your page is user-friendly, you have to ensure that Google can crawl your URLs, so make sure you don’t have a “disallow directive” in place. Also, beware that Googlebot won’t load content requiring user interactions, like clicking or swiping. You have to make sure Google can see this so-called lazy-loaded content. Finally, ensure you use the same meta robots tags on the desktop and mobile sites.

4. Content That Fulfills the Google EAT Principle Will Rank Higher

Google has reiterated that content quality is critical for ranking success. But just what does “quality” mean to Google? Refer to the EAT principle: expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These factors help determine if a webpage has useful quality content. This principle is especially relevant in business niches that fall under the “your money, your life” (YMYL) label, such as health care and finance.

There are a few ways you can ensure quality content. First, create buyer personas, which let you understand what kind of content your clients value. Second, conduct search intent research, which helps you map out the consumer journey. Third, use this information to create content that fits the format that your users prefer. For example, if you’re catering to teens, video is probably preferable. If you’re catering to an older audience, video may be less appealing.

Finally, keep EAT in mind as you craft your content. Back up claims with statistics and facts. Link to reputable sites, such as “.edu” and “.gov” URLs. Having authoritative sites link back to you is another way to prove that you fulfill the EAT criteria.

5. Long-Form Content Will Help Improve SERPs

According to our State of Content Marketing Report, long reads of 3,000-plus words get three times more traffic and four times more shares. They also achieve 3.5 times more backlinks than articles of the average length of 901 to 1,200 words. Start focusing on long-form content to achieve higher search rankings. That said, your content must maintain quality. The aim is to provide users with shareable information that keeps them engaged.

How do you achieve this? First, break up your content into sections with H2 and H3 subheadings to make it more scannable. Subheadings are especially important for mobile sites. Second, ensure that you link to relevant, authoritative sources with a solid authority score. Finally, ensure your content is easy to share. Include obvious sharing links at the headline and again at the conclusion so that readers can share with a quick click.

Our SEO Content Template Tool can help optimize your content for search. Enter the query you want to rank for, and you’ll get recommendations on content length, semantically related keywords to include, and a closer look at the top-ranking pages. 

6. Featured Snippets Will Become More Prominent

Don’t panic. You won’t have to generate long-term content exclusively if you want to climb the Google rankings. Featured snippets, which were rolled out in 2017, are a sort of shortcut to gaining prominence in Google — and they’re very brief. Sometimes, when you type something into Google, you may notice a box at the top of the SERPs, above the actual results. That’s a snippet.

Scoring a featured snippet is a great way to get on that coveted first page of results. What’s more, snippets steal significant traffic from competitors.

Featured snippets show a chunk of information, often structured as a Q&A or brief bullet-point, how-to guide. There are also rich snippets, including images, star-based reviews, product prices, and similar bits of information. To create snippets, focus on question-based queries and relevant keywords. You can use the Google search function “ people also ask” for inspiration. 

7. Predictive Search Is Set to Improve

Google Discover was launched in 2017, unleashing a new kind of search — one that doesn’t even require a user query. Discover is another one of Google’s AI-driven tools. The content recommendation tool identifies user behavioral patterns over time and gradually learns these habits. With this information, Discover can identify the most accurate content most likely to interest the user.

Google Discover already claims more than 800 million active users. To appear, you don’t have to do anything special. If Google indexes your page, it will be included. Content is ranked based on algorithms inspecting content quality, and user interest. Although Google has communicated no precise factors, it seems that location history, browsing history, app usage, calendars, search history, and home and work locations are all relevant.

8. An Effective SEO Strategy Will Need to Include Video

Online video seems to be the way forward. YouTube has more than 1 billion users. If you aren’t creating video content, now is the time to get started. Not convinced? Here’s food for thought: According to Cisco, video is projected to surpass all other content forms in terms of consumption.

How can you optimize that video content, though? Make sure to optimize your video channel name and description. The description shouldn’t just be crammed with keywords but provide a user-friendly overview of what your channel is about.

Beyond this, keywords are crucial. For example, if you’re optimizing for YouTube, you can get inspired by the platform’s auto-complete feature. Start typing in your video's topic and see what pops up in the search field, which is essentially a list of suggested keywords, telling you precisely what people on YouTube are searching for.

9. Image Optimization Will Play a Larger Role in Search

Visual image search has evolved drastically. It used to be that people could just look at images. In the future, people will be able to use images to purchase products, obtain information, and more. Google has long insisted on the proper marking and optimization of images, so it makes sense that this is part of their long-term plan.

If the images on your website aren’t optimized, take care of it now. Use high-quality, relevant images, and make sure to customize the file name, labeling the photo file so that it’s relevant to the content on the corresponding page. Use alt tags, which crawlers use to classify images. Finally, add images to your site map, where they are even easier to crawl. You can check out other posts where we discuss image SEO for more tips, too.

10. There Will Be More Importance Placed on Semantically Related Keywords

SEO professionals used to focus on primary keywords as if they had blinders on. Now, we know secondary keywords are just as important. Semantic search and intent optimization will gain further prominence in the future. Google isn’t just looking at strings of words anymore. It’s analyzing query context and trying to discern a user’s search intent, meaning that the more relevant information provided — via logically related primary and secondary keywords — the better.

We offer a comprehensive keyword tool to identify semantically related keywords and keyword difficulty to prioritize which queries you want to target first. 

To truly address the semantic search, create content designed to answer a question that your target audience would pose. Optimize content for topic clusters instead of focusing solely on keywords. Finally, use structured data when logical. Most importantly, don’t write for bots but people.

11. Local Search Listings Will Play a Larger Role in SEO Strategies

When people think of the internet, they often think of its global nature. The fact is, most people use search engines to find localized goods and services. They might be hunting for a neighborhood restaurant, for example. Local SEO is important — and it’s evolving. This evolution is in part because of the rise of zero-click searches — which some SEO marketers are dubbing the new normal.

In a zero-click search, the user’s query is answered via the SERP itself. They thus don’t click on any of the ranking results. One reason for the rise in zero-click searches is the increase of featured snippets. Many zero-click searches are local searches that show the results on the SERP in what’s been dubbed a “local pack.”

How do you get your business into that local pack? Start by creating a Google My Business page. Having a strong backlink profile is also important. You can check what kinds of backlinks your competitors get for inspiration and target those yourself.

12. Data and Analytics Should Become Your Priority If You Want to Remain Ahead in Rankings

Data science lets you understand buyers, visualize campaigns, and create targeted messages. Analytics can help you verify which URLs are getting crawled, identify referral sources, check page loading times, indexing, redirects, response errors, bounce rates, and more. You can also use data science to identify pages that you do not want crawlers indexing and pinpoint unusual traffic sources, such as potential spam sites (which will hurt your EAT credibility).

How do you capture all of this information? There are many SEO industry analysis tools out there. The SEMrush SEO Toolkit gives you the technology you need to tackle everything, from rank tracking to competitive research, on-page SEO, technical SEO, link building, and more. Staying on top of these details lets you see where you are succeeding and, just as importantly, failing. This method lets you address problems and continuously improve your web presence.

Learn More About the Latest SEO Trends and Techniques

SEO is only getting more complex, as the above list makes clear. The days of simply optimizing keywords and meta titles are long gone. With SEO’s current trends, you have to think about everything from voice control to video SEO. Metrics are constantly changing, and it’s critical to stay on top of your place in the rankings. The right SEO tools can help you get the information you need to guide a smart SEO strategy.

 

10 Digital Marketing Trends for 2022, According to Experts

With each coming year, digital marketing gets more complicated. In addition to fundamentals like SEO, PPC, branding, and UX, marketers now have to juggle emerging social channels and evolving regulations, along with content, automation, and personalization, to name a few.

As we look ahead at what’s to come in the new year, we asked 30 marketers for the most important strategies they’re employing this year to extend reach, boost awareness and maximize revenue.

Here are the top 10 digital marketing trends of 2022 that it boiled down to.

You may also be interested in our 19 best marketing strategies for 2022.

2022 digital marketing trends to watch

These first three trends are of a more emergent nature in that they may not be feasible for your business just yet, but they indicate the direction we’re headed in. So while you’re not going to create a $600,000 NFT gif, you should still keep an eye on them. Plus, the reasons behind these trends can help inform your approach with the strategies you’re using now.

1. The metaverse

So we’re not referring to Facebook [entirely] here. The metaverse refers to the virtual world of augmented reality, virtual reality, 3D holographic avatars, and video—and not just one-off experiences like with gaming, but a persistent environment where people work, play and socialize.

Image source

Per Patrick Casey, director of growth marketing at digital health brand Felix Health, there’s a good reason the metaverse is generating so much buzz lately—and brands should be thinking about this virtual space as part of their 2022 marketing strategies.

That’s in part because it has the potential to offer an entirely new set of performance metrics.

“Marketers will be able to experiment with how long virtual objects are held, how much space they take up in a user’s peripheral vision, and even where users are looking when experiencing an ad,” he said. “These insights have the potential to completely re-map what you know about your audience, providing invaluable direction going forward.”

Kent Lewis, president of digital marketing agency Anvil Media, agreed many brands will dabble with virtual worlds in 2022 and even though consumers “maybe a few years from caring about the metaverse,” brands can still benefit from a first-mover advantage.

2. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

Beyond figuring out where brands fit in the metaverse, they’ll also have to experiment more with blockchain technology to prepare for Web 3.0—the next evolution of the web, which will be more decentralized, added Zach Passarella, marketing director of nutraceutical brand Supplement Manufacturing Partners.

“This preparation taken will pay off in the near future when the web turns into more of this type of realm after 2022,” he said.

One trending aspect of blockchain is non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Non-fungible means it can’t be exchanged for something of equal value, because it doesn’t have any equals. For example, the U.S. dollar is fungible. You can exchange a $100 bill for five $20 bills. But you can’t exchange your grandmother’s wedding ring—a non-fungible—for anything of equal value, because there’s an authenticity factor.

NFTs are the digital version of non-fungibles—uniquely created digital assets like animation, graphic design, GIF, audio/video file, or meme—that exist on a blockchain.

With brands like Campbell’s, Charmin, and Coca-Cola issuing NFT collectibles last year, Jeff Mains, CEO of consulting firm Champion Leadership Group, noted it’s a good time for other brands to figure out how they can tap into these digital assets so they aren’t left behind.

In addition, as brands like Adidas start to partner with NFT collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Faizan Fahim, marketing manager at cloud hosting platform Breeze.io, noted we can expect more partnerships—and even brands starting to sell or give away their own NFTs as a way to build community among their customers.

3. Cryptocurrency

In a similar vein, we’ll continue to see the proliferation of cryptocurrencies in 2022 and savvy marketers will keep their eyes on this trend toward decentralized finance.

While still only used by a niche U.S. audience, accepting cryptocurrency now could help brands attract new customers—but only if the demographic is the right fit, said Andrea Chapman, marketing manager at cannabis site Nature and Bloom.

“In relation to payments, for example, cryptocurrencies are driving massive changes in relation to the biggest processors like Visa, PayPal, and MasterCard,” added Shaun Heng, vice president of growth and operations at price-tracking site CoinMarketCap. “This has big implications on how products and services engage with their customers and marketers will be eager to align themselves with the potential for increased demographic reach.”

2022 digital marketing trends to continue

These two trends should come as no surprise to you. You most likely already are doing something along these lines, and you should absolutely continue.

4. Zero & first-party data

Marketers still have another year until Google phases out third-party cookies, which means 2022 will be the most important year for data and privacy yet.

“A lot of really good marketers still fail to realize that, in reality, your audience is owned by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media network you use,” said Brian Snedvig, CEO of Jofibo, which helps job seekers create resumes and cover letters. “You don’t have control over them. That is why 2022 should be the year you begin to own your audience.”

That means brands must integrate data collection methods that prioritize consumer privacy.

“Make sure your campaigns in 2022 assist you to create first-party data so you don’t have to rely on others’ data as much,” said Dan Close, CEO of real estate business We Buy Houses in Kentucky.

Options include email, newsletters, social media, and CRM tools.

Zero-party data, or data given directly by the consumer through online interactions like surveys, is also important, said Michelle Ebbin, founder of clothing brand Jettproof.

“While it will take more effort upfront, the data marketers are able to collect directly from their consumers can play a huge role in creating more personalized and tailored campaigns,” said Justin Smith, CEO of digital agency OuterBox.

In addition, brands must ensure their agencies “have a clear plan in place for ad placement and measurement after the shift [away from third-party cookies],” Close added.

Marketers can also experiment with Google’s Privacy Sandbox to find new ways to access consumer information without jeopardizing privacy, Ebbin said.

5. Supply chain buffering

The 2021 holidays may be over, but headlines continue to blare about supply chain bottlenecks and their negative impact on the customer experience. That’s why Chelsea Cohen, co-founder of Amazon inventory management platform SoStocked, recommends aligning marketing goals with stock capacity.

In addition, brands will benefit from maintaining 30-day buffer stock.

“Your buffer stock, or backup inventory, safeguards you from stocking out during unexpected upsells,” Cohen added. “It ensures that there’s always enough product available to meet shipping deadlines, so customers won’t have to wait extra time for their order while you restock.”

2022 digital marketing trends to try

These two trends are super doable, no matter your business size.

6. Social commerce

In 2021, retailers ranging from Walmart to Saks experimented with social commerce on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. This, too, will continue in 2022 as brands seek to shorten the distance from discovery to conversion.

“It gives marketers a whole new way to get their items in front of potential customers,” said Steve Pogson, e-commerce strategy lead at e-commerce firm FirstPier.

But this 2022 marketing trend isn’t limited to big brands.

According to CEO Jena Joyce, clean skincare brand Plant Mother saw a 100% increase in revenue and a 1280% increase in referral traffic after launching an Instagram shop in November 2021.

“Being a new brand who can’t compete with large beauty companies with hefty advertising budgets, Instagram shopping proved to be a profitable alternative to paid ads,” she said.

…particularly, Shoppable livestreams

Livestream commerce offers plenty of potential, too.

Rob Illidge, CEO of social media agency Social Republic, noted consumers spend three times longer watching live videos than pre-recorded visual content, which is in part why so many platforms are making a push into what he estimated to be a $70-billion space.

Livestreams have also gotten a boost from the pandemic by offering a safe alternative to in-store shopping.

Per Jeff Moriarty, marketing manager of Moriarty’s Gem Art, the jewelry brand started doing shoppable Facebook and YouTube live videos in 2021 to allow viewers to see products, ask questions, and, of course, buy merchandise.

“We are now getting about 1500+ viewers watching our show each time,” he said. “Not only has it helped to stay connected with our customers via social media and YouTube, it has generated a ton of sales for our business.”

In fact, in November 2021 alone, Moriarty’s made $30,000 from its livestream show.

7. Simple content

While content marketing has long been a cornerstone of digital marketing, 2022 will be the year marketers embrace simplicity and clarity in content.

“The internet is now flooded with content,” said Hilda Wong, founder of content agency Content Dog. “Your customers have a long list of content to choose from and yours needs to stand out to be noticed in the first place.”

How do brands accomplish this? Hint: They don’t need a lot of flowery prose.

“You need to maintain clarity with your content,” she added. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. It needs to be understandable for the general public. Clear content will get you a more effective reach.”

Tim Clarke, director of sales and marketing at SEOBlog.com, agreed brands should focus on providing meaningful experiences to users—and they want simple content.

“In 2022, everything will be algorithm-driven and brands should provide a user experience that customers want, or their content will be less relevant,” he said. “The amount of information on the internet is enormous and it’s becoming increasingly challenging to absorb all the data presented. So, to stand out from the crowd, delivering informative yet straightforward content will be a wise choice.”

2022 marketing trends to hop on ASAP

These are your non-negotiables.

8. Sustainability & DEI

In recent years, brand values have become increasingly important to consumers and this, too, will continue in 2022.

Per Laurel Mintz, CEO of marketing agency Elevate My Brand, this includes both being transparent about sustainability, as well as DEI efforts, within brand messaging.

“As a result, core values will need to permeate all levels of a company in order to appear legitimate and show a real impact,” she said.

It could go as far as even partnering with a nonprofit. That’s according to David Bitton, CMO of rental management platform DoorLoop, who said brands can both increase their customer bases and make positive impacts by teaming with a relevant nonprofit.

“It’s a win-win situation where you can make a significant contribution to humanitarian efforts while simultaneously improving your brand and reach,” he said. “However, merely expressing your support for specific NGOs would not suffice…consider affiliate marketing, giving a portion of your revenue or profit to the organization and corporate funding as part of your marketing strategy.”

Indeed, Talyah Regusters, assistant account manager at digital marketing firm LMR Marketing, pointed to Google’s 2021 Year in Search report, which showed interest in “how to conserve,” “impact of climate change,” and “sustainability” reached all-time highs.

“If your company or product can speak to any of these issues, 2022 is the time to proudly own it,” she said.

Research shows consumers are otherwise willing to vote with their wallets and switch to brands that do reflect their values. Or, as Kevin Froehlich, paid media manager at the agency Duckpin, put it, “What a company believes has become as important as what a company does.”

He pointed to Lego’s recent donation to the German Red Cross to help build kindergartens and a family aid center in a flood-stricken region of Germany. “It’s nice to know that all my unabashed spending on toys is helping to make part of the world a better place,” he added.

9. Gender neutrality

In 2021, we saw brands like Old Navy and Pacific Sunwear release gender-neutral clothing collections. This trend toward inclusivity is ongoing.

In fact, Damien Buxton, managing director of web design firm Midas Creative, expects to see more brands shy away from traditional gender roles in their marketing efforts to prevent alienating any customers.

“The dynamics of households and people have changed and continue to change,” he said. “Marketing will become more gender-neutral and less focused on pre-conceived ideas of what sex an individual is and what they should be seeing.”

Stewart McGrenary, director at mobile recycling comparison site Freedom Mobiles, agreed it is now vital “for brands to authentically reflect a range of backgrounds within their marketing messages” as the population diversifies more and more.

That’s in part because showing customers other individuals who look and live like they do helps consumers feel represented and therefore drawn to that brand, added Nathalie Walton, CEO of wellness app Expectful.

10. Accessibility

We can also expect to see more accessibility from brands, like department store JCPenney, which released an inclusive line of children’s clothing, including pieces for kids with disabilities, last year.

Consultant Svetlana Kouznetsova, who works with businesses on improving their accessibility strategies, noted there are nearly two billion disabled people worldwide, who have $1.9 trillion in disposable income.

“If our needs are ignored, businesses will lose not only us, but also our family, friends, and colleagues that that make up another 3.4 billion potential customers,” she said. “Together we control $13 trillion.”

Carter Seuthe, CEO of Credit Summit Payday Loan Consolidation, agreed the push for accessibility “widens your audience and allows people who wouldn’t normally consider your products the chance to be exposed to them.”

2022 digital marketing trends [recap]

Some of these trends will may be easier for your business to hop onto than others. In some cases, you can note them as general directions to keep an eye on—but remember, the sooner you can take action, the better. Your current year’s strategy should always have future years in mind!

To recap, the top digital marketing trends for 2022 are:

1. The Metaverse
2. Non-fungible tokens
3. Cryptocurrency
4. Zero and first-party data
5. Supply chain buffering
6. Social and live stream commerce
7. Simple content
8. Sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
9. Gender neutrality
10. Accessibility