Your Quick SEO Guide For 2022

Due to consumer behavior and unending algorithm updates, search engine optimization is never the same from year to year.

As you prepare for 2022, it’s important to take a closer look at your strategy and ensure it incorporates all of the latest developments. Not sure where to start? Take a look at this quick SEO guide for the new year.

Here are just a few points you’ll want to address as part of your 2022 SEO strategy.

Improve the User Experience

One of the most important aspects of SEO in 2022 might surprise you. It has to do with the way your website functions.

It’s not enough to just have a website. It also needs to be attractive and help solve a visitor’s problems.

Google has emphasized the importance of websites providing a great user experience. That means a site needs to load quickly without interruption and behave in ways that visitors expect.

In 2021, Google released its Page Experience algorithm update, which further solidified the need for better user experience (UX). If your site is sluggish, has poor security, isn’t mobile-friendly, or is difficult to navigate, you’ll have a tough time improving your rankings. 

Before you work on any other optimizations, you’ll want to take a closer look at your site. We suggest performing a website audit (or at least a mobile-friendly test) to see how you fare. You’ll also want to access reporting on Google’s Core Web Vitals to assess whether your site falls within an acceptable range.

In the end, you can optimize your site as much as you’d like. But if you aren’t providing a positive website experience for users who visit, all your work will probably be for naught. 

By making sure that your site is fast, secure, free of intrusive ads, and fully accessible to users across all devices, you’ll improve your brand perception and eliminate barriers that might otherwise cause customers to look elsewhere for solutions. Best of all, you’ll be more likely to impress Google and rank well in relevant search results.

Use Google Business Profile

Any reputable white label SEO company will tell you that you need to focus on both on-site and off-site optimizations to improve your rankings.

So while improving the user experience is necessary, you’ll also need to increase your online presence elsewhere.

One of the most effective ways to do that is by leveraging the power of Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).

This is a free tool that business owners can use to communicate with customers, amplify their brand awareness, and show up more prominently in search results.

By claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile, you’ll provide the valuable information that local customers need to get solutions to their problems.

Be sure your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is accurate, your hours of operation are listed correctly, and that you add services, images, and regular updates. You should also encourage your customers to leave a Google review to boost your reputation. 

A well-optimized Google Business Profile will often appear more readily in relevant searches conducted by consumers in your area. Complete your profile and optimize it for relevant keywords so that customers can easily find you!

Not only will this increase web traffic and phone calls, but it will heighten your prevalence in search results and allow you to outpace your competition on a local level. 

Embrace Video Content

You’ve probably heard the phrase that “content is king.” That’s still true in 2022. It’s just that the most popular types of media have evolved a bit.

Written content is still tremendously important, as it provides you with an opportunity to optimize for search engines while providing value to web visitors. However, you’ll also want to consider adding visual media into the mix.

Graphics and other images are great, but video is even better. According to recent data, 84% of people surveyed say they’ve been convinced to purchase a product or service after watching a brand’s video. That’s a major reason for businesses to try out video marketing in 2022. 

Video content can be intimidating for many business owners, but the reality is that you don’t need a fully-equipped film studio to make captivating content for your brand.

As long as you have some basic equipment, great lighting, and a worthwhile message (e.g., discernable value to the viewer), that’s a great place to start.

To begin with, create a few video explainers that educate your audience about solving a common issue. You can also share some behind-the-scenes footage of an event or a day-in-the-life of someone within your company. Help viewers get to know your culture and your people, as a personal connection can go a long way. Don’t forget to use humor when appropriate!

When you promote video media on social networking platforms or your website, be sure to add a transcript and/or subtitles. That way, your videos will be both accessible and optimized for search engines.

Don’t Forget About Voice Search

In recent years, we’ve changed the way we perform searches online. While traditional web searches are still happening, voice-powered searches have become even more popular.

Being able to ask Alexa or Siri to gather information on your behalf is really convenient, particularly when you don’t have full use of your hands or fingers. When you’re on the road or cooking up something in the kitchen, it makes sense to rely on a digital assistant.

But SEO has changed as a result. We now need to optimize for the kinds of queries we see in voice search technology, as well as the ones used in conventional web searches.

With voice search, users will ask a longer question out loud instead of typing a few chosen words. We speak in complete sentences, so optimizations need to mimic this style to increase your chances of appearing in voice-powered search results.

Adding an FAQ page on your website is an excellent way to start optimizing for voice search. Find out the questions your customers are most likely to ask and make sure they’re included. You should also add some long-tail keywords to your other content, as voice searches tend to be more specific. Including locations or “near me” phrases can also help.

Finally, since voice powered searches are usually performed on mobile devices, you’ll automatically optimize your site for voice search when you focus on mobile-friendly design (as outlined in the UX section of this post). 

Reference This Guide When Creating Your SEO Strategy

While this guide doesn’t cover everything you’ll need to know when developing your SEO strategy for 2022, these are elements you shouldn’t leave out. If you’re able to keep up with evolving trends and improve how Google perceives your site, you’ll be well on your way to impressing your target customers.