Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a process in which a business works to optimize its website’s rankings on various search engines. These rankings are crucial in boosting the relevance and popularity of the website, which in turn will make it more easily findable to Internet users. The importance of SEO can be seen to be invigorated with the pandemic, forcing businesses to compete on a more online and technological playing field.
With customers flocking to the Internet as seen in the last 2 years, businesses are anticipating more growth in customer engagement through websites and online stores moving into 2022. Hence, SEO will be at the forefront of the success of any business website in the new year. Businesses should already be crafting SEO strategies with the goal of boosting their numbers, with consideration of the emerging trends that may prove to be a catalyst in achieving these goals. With this in mind, we have broken down a few SEO trends for 2022 that businesses must pay close attention to.
1. Voice Searches
With a staggering 55% of homes in the US expected to own a smart speaker in 2022, voice searching is a trend that is here to stay. The way businesses approach SEO has seen a drastic change, with this technology proving to be of great influence through the introduction of wonderful smart speakers like the Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri. This technology offers users comfort, which ultimately enhances the overall user experience.
To capitalise on this trend, businesses must place a higher priority on improving their website’s speed and performance. The idea here is that when customers ask their smart speakers a question to find a product or service on the Internet, your website must be quick to respond. Another aspect of SEO that would work perfectly with voice searches is longer keywords. As speech varies from that of when people type, longer phrases are uttered more frequently as they are commonly found in natural speech patterns. Thus, businesses should lean towards building written content with longer keywords to take full advantage of this technology.
2. More Video Content
As the years have passed, it can be seen how a preference for video content as opposed to traditionally written content has formed amongst customers. Video content platforms such as YouTube and Tik Tok have risen in popularity over the years, which businesses see as a goldmine there for the taking. Big names on these platforms have increased collaborations with businesses through brand deals that essentially allow a business to gain more attraction.
The proven use of video content must now be implemented on a business website where customers will tend to seek out and stay on such a website for a longer period of time. Your SEO strategy must include video content that is not only aimed at educating customers on what your business offers, but in addition to that, it should have some entertainment value to it. Informative videos can only go so far without being a joy to watch. Therefore businesses have to keep in mind the length and tone of the videos posted on their website. Video descriptions are to be maintained at a shorter length with emphasis placed on including keywords, which are yet again an important part of SEO.
3. Artificial Intelligence
Lastly, and probably the most crucial trend businesses should keep an eye out for, is that of AI, which has forever changed how people view and interact with online content. It is often understated how AI has the potential to greatly influence one’s website on the different search engines through its role as a facilitator of the millions of daily searches. RankBrain, an algorithm that was unveiled not too long ago, will be a great ranking factor for search engine result pages (SERPs) results.
This revolutionary AI is paving the way for more dynamic SEO strategies and structures, where businesses are now forced to flex their creative muscles in catering their content to work hand-in-hand with RankBrain. Experts have pointed to user experience as a factor that will influence how RankBrain chooses to showcase and prioritise content. This means that businesses will need to produce content that holds the attention of customers while at the same time attracting new customers to their website. More time spent on the website and the more clicks it garners, the more it will pair well with RankBrain.
2022 is a year of exciting prospects for businesses, with organised websites and online platforms becoming a big part of their entire business strategy. The 2 years that have passed should provide a valuable lesson to business owners in that more care must be placed on digitising their businesses. Customers are looking to carry out their activities online more than ever, and SEO is the key for any business to survive today.
These trends, along with many others, must be meticulously researched and understood by businesses for them to enjoy any form of success in operating a website. When done right, SEO can ensure long-term success for businesses in their respective fields, and as such, the trends mentioned are key to that success.
If you enjoy reading pieces like this and are interested in learning more about what SEO can do for you, do contact us at +60 11 5625 3291 or info@cerebellar.my as we assist in crafting exceptional written content for your business.
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