Trends in SEO

Search engine optimization is one of the most essential tools business owners should utilize in 2022. What is it? Simply put, search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines.

Search engines use bots to crawl pages on the web and collect information about those pages. Type a question or phrase into Google, and you’ll see dozens of pages related to that search query. If your website shows up on the first page, you are far more likely to get traffic to your site. This is especially important if you are attempting to be noticed in a saturated market.

There are notable trends in SEO that have an effect on nearly every industry. Some of them are:

  • Local SEO
  • Featured snippets
  • Core web vitals
  • Google BERT model
  • Testing and improving user experience
  • Mobile-friendly websites

Trends in SEO to Watch

What do these terms mean? We’ll briefly touch on each general category below.

Local SEO

More and more people are using Google to find businesses near them. For example, users may search for “shoe store near me,” which will return shoe stores in their city or state. Google allows users to search for businesses in their locale with ease. Using keywords on your website for your city, state, and county will generate more web traffic, leading to more potential profits.

To optimize for local search, you must first create a Google My Business page, include a Schema Markup to your blog or website, update all the names, addresses, and contact information, and ask for reviews on your Google page.

People love to hear what others have to say about businesses and provide feedback to others. It enables them to make a more informed decision about spending their money. This is especially helpful in fields with a high degree of risk and trust. For example, law firm SEO and dental practice SEO are just two examples of many that can benefit significantly from positive online reviews since people constantly search for these services.

Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are those small excerpts of text that appear underneath a suggested webpage. These snippets are essential because they give users a snippet of information related to their search. Webpages that include snippets receive more traffic than those without, which is excellent for business. If you have a product page featuring a snippet from that page will take users right to your product.

Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals are a specific set of factors Google considers necessary in a user’s overall experience. For example, it determines how fast a website loads, when it becomes visible, and when it is ready for use. This information will create a better user experience because users will know they have access to faster websites.

Google BERT Model

Google has what is called the BERT model. BERT stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. Essentially, if your website does not contain content that focuses on search intent, Google will display your competitor’s webpages over yours. By creating content that is SEO friendly, users will see your webpage more often than those of your competitors, driving more traffic to your website.

Testing and Improving User Experience

Google has made it apparent they want their users to have a pleasant experience each time they use the platform. Therefore, tests must be essential to improving your site user experience, such as running SEO ranking tests. In addition, the content you produce should be valuable, easy to consume, accessible to those with disabilities, and contain keywords.

Mobile-Friendly Websites

One of the most frustrating things for mobile users is that some websites are not optimized for mobile use. Having a mobile-friendly website is one of SEO’s ranking strategies. Mobile devices account for 54.8% of website traffic globally. That’s more than half the users! So the best thing you can do for your business would be to create mobile-friendly websites. And since positive user experiences and first impressions with your business are key to client satisfaction, it’s best to keep your website in line with those priorities.

Optimizing for Trends in SEO

While it might seem like you should be focusing on your regular business activities rather than optimizing your SEO, the latter can be essential to your business’s long-term success. Therefore, finding the balance between the two activities is key, and your web traffic should certainly not be overlooked.

Search engine optimization is a vital tool for businesses to gain more web traffic. It boosts your credibility, drives high-quality traffic to your site, and measures your success with real numbers. Your customers and profits can grow exponentially if you follow the trends above and incorporate them into your website.

Image Credit: Startup Stock Photos; Pexels; Thank you!

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