Much like any other aspect of the internet you can think of, Google is always evolving, and therefore SEO is always evolving. There is a fluid nature there that marketers have to keep up with or else they risk losing their place in the rankings.
So, it makes sense that with the new year comes some new strategies. Read our list of the best tips we have to make your SEO soar in 2022.
Create new content
A lot of established social media platforms are releasing features designed to encourage retail and marketing on their sites, but along with the augmented reality fitting rooms and links straight from content to checkout, there needs to be content attached to it – and content is changing.
For one thing, customer habits are changing. Not only are users buying more via social media, but they are researching the products and brands they’re buying. They care about what a brand stands for and will buy products that reflect their own ideals.
Meanwhile, short-form video content is taking over social media. The explosion of TikTok in 2020 has sprouted a range of copycats within Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and more. From a marketing perspective, it allows for a quick and easy insight into the brand.
Therefore, content in 2022 should quickly appeal to users with original content. Product reviews, demonstrations, videos on how the items are made or how services are run, videos on behind-the-scenes antics, and demonstrations of company ideals will all be welcome to your audience on social media.
Optimise the user experience
The basics of keeping a business website are to make sure the path from product to payment is clear of glitches and the graphics are professional looking.
And these are important points. You want to make sure your potential customers can find what they are looking for, aren’t interrupted on their way out the door, and are assured they are on a professional website from the graphics, but 2022 will require a little more work to give the users the ultimate customer experience.
You are looking for as much engagement from as many users as possible, so it would greatly help to optimize your site for every situation. Is your site mobile friendly? Is it easy for users to navigate? Is the site loading time acceptable? Is your content free of typos and mistakes? These are all important things to look for on your site.
There are a lot of features available for websites that are all designed to make the user experience as easy as possible. For example, if your business needs an appointment, like a hair salon or restaurant, you could do with a booking feature that is easy for your users to complete and keeps your staff from taking calls all day.
Focus on position zero
Position zero, or featured snippets, are the coveted top spot for Google analytics. Everyone is vying for that space, because not only is it the top spot, but it allows for an extra snippet of information that answers the question posed to the search and pushes the competition further down the page.
If users know that their answer is within that snippet, they will click on it and find out more. So how do you ensure that you get that spot? The trick is to try and answer the question as best you can, but the problem there is that you won’t know what the user is specifically asking.
However, there are a few tips to remember to make a good snippet. You can cover the 5W’s (who, what, where, when and why), how-to-tutorials, definitions, comparisons, price information, top lists, and FAQs. Apply your keyword research to all of the 5Ws as well and remember that higher-volume terms are likely to get snippets.
Learn to EAT
As much as SEO keeps changing, it can come down to the one core value of EAT: Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness. To put it simply, it is a measurement of your reputation online. Your users and Google have to trust your answers are what they are looking for and give quality information or products.
Smaller businesses can increase trust in their authority and expertise by building their reputation with good reviews, high-quality links from industry sites, activity on public forums, and by keeping your site up to date with relevant information.
Track your site’s vitals
Core Web Vitals is the newest and most important term to SEO. Google is planning to release Page Experience in May 2022, which is a new algorithm that will focus on core web vital scores to determine ranking. They measure speed, visual stability and responsiveness across your site to determine where it will rank in the search results.
You can measure these elements yourself with tools like the Google Search Console and Lighthouse to determine what needs to be improved ahead of the Google algorithm shake-up in May.
For more advice on affiliate marketing, take a look at our blog for everything from social media marketing to featured snippet deep dives, or book a free call with a member of our team for more expert advice.
