While the fundamental principles of SEO remain constant, algorithm modifications and evolving search trends continuously shape how we implement optimization strategies for our web pages.
As search engine technology progresses this year, what implications does it hold for your strategic approach? Outlined below are the top 10 SEO trends to prioritize in 2022 to maintain an upward trajectory for your traffic and keyword rankings.
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The most important SEO trends of 2022
Navigate to a specific trend…
- Core Web Vitals
- People also ask
- Keyword clustering
- AI-generated content
- Content optimization software
- Rich snippets
- Long-form content
- Good ol’ boring SEO
- The democratization of search
- Another search engine?
1. Enhancing Core Web Vitals
Last year’s page experience update was arguably the most significant change in search in recent years. Page experience, now quantifiable through Core Web Vitals, has become an official Google ranking factor. Core Web Vitals encompass the following performance metrics:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This metric measures the time it takes for the largest content element on a page to load.
- First Input Delay (FID): This measures how long it takes for your website to respond to a user’s initial interaction with the page.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This metric quantifies the number of unexpected layout shifts that occur during a page’s lifespan.
Among all the areas to allocate your SEO investments in 2022, enhancing Core Web Vitals signals across your web pages is likely to yield the most substantial impact on your search engine performance. This endeavor might necessitate the expertise of proficient web developers, but the following free tools will be instrumental in identifying areas where your web pages require improvement:
- Google Search Console: The Experience feature within your Google Search Console account allows you to see which pages meet or fall short of Core Web Vitals standards. Additionally, it provides a list of the specific issues affecting your pages.
Example of Core Web Vitals Report in Google Search Console
- PageSpeed Insights: Supplementing Core Web Vitals data, PageSpeed Insights reports offer further insights into the performance of your web pages from a user’s perspective.
Example PageSpeed Insights report
Within the SEO industry, we can anticipate agencies and SEO providers expanding their service offerings this year to include page experience and Core Web Vitals optimization. If you lack the internal team to implement these more technical optimizations, consider outsourcing to a specialized SEO service provider.
2. Leveraging “People also ask”
A recent study of 2.5 million search queries revealed that Google’s “People also ask” feature now appears in approximately 48.6% of searches.
With its prominent placement at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), often even surpassing position one, securing a spot for your content within this coveted SERP feature is highly desirable.
Example of the “People also ask” SERP feature
To achieve this, your content needs to comprehensively address frequently asked questions. Analyze the SERPs or utilize a keyword research tool to pinpoint long-tail question keywords relevant to your audience.
Next, provide detailed and thorough answers, incorporating the questions into your H2, H3, and H4 headings or by integrating a dedicated FAQ section.
This strategy will prove invaluable in gaining increased visibility at the top of SERPs in 2022, even if the web page containing the answer ranks lower on page one or even appears on page two!
3. Implementing Keyword Clustering
Keyword research forms the bedrock of SEO. However, as Google’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology has advanced, effective keyword targeting has evolved into a more intricate and nuanced process.
The days of optimizing landing pages and blog posts for single keyword targets are fading. Since Google already ranks our landing pages for multiple keywords, 2022 presents an opportunity to elevate our ambitions.
Keyword clustering offers a more sophisticated keyword strategy to elevate your overall keyword rankings. This approach involves identifying multiple keywords that share similar search intent and developing web pages that target these “clusters.”
In the illustration provided below, we could create an “interview software” keyword cluster incorporating keywords like:
- Interview scheduling software
- Interview scheduling tool
- Online interview software
- Virtual interviewing software
Example of keyword clustering using spreadsheets.
Keyword clustering is a more efficient method for expanding the total number of keywords your web pages rank for and for establishing your website as an authoritative source within key topic areas. While more time-intensive, the outcomes can result in Google displaying the same web page for hundreds of additional keywords.
>> Utilize our Free Keyword Tool to initiate the formation of your clusters.
4. Exploring AI-Generated Content
The machine learning model GPT-3 (third-generation Generative Pre-trained Transformer) became publicly accessible last year through OpenAI. Consequently, we are witnessing a surge in AI-assisted SEO content tools like CopyAi, Headlime, Jarvis, and others, empowering content teams to generate more SEO-optimized content at an accelerated pace.
These tools possess the capability to generate topics, titles, meta tags, paragraphs, and even entire articles with minimal input.
Example of blog content generation with SearchAtlas
While I strongly advise against completely substituting human SEO copywriting with robots, AI-generated content can serve as a valuable springboard. In 2022, we can expect to see more content teams integrating AI copywriting tools into their workflows.
Here are some of the most effective ways to leverage AI content tools:
Title/topic generation: Unsure about what to write? Accelerate the ideation and brainstorming process by utilizing AI-generated titles and topics.
Meta tag generation: If you’re tasked with creating numerous meta tags, AI copywriting tools can assist in generating original and distinct page titles and meta descriptions at scale.
Outlines/first drafts: Once again, these AI-generated outputs should be treated as initial starting points, not replacements. AI tools still exhibit telltale signs of their robotic nature, often producing noticeable errors and unnatural phrasing. Therefore, it’s crucial to refine and build upon these AI-generated drafts to ensure quality and a human touch. This approach can still save time and expedite content production.
5. Harnessing Content Optimization Software
Content optimization tools empower you to craft high-quality, semantically rich content that ranks higher in Google.
Leveraging NLP algorithms similar to those employed by Google, these tools effectively identify keywords, subtopics, synonyms, and even common questions that search engine crawlers seek on web pages when promoting content.
It’s highly probable that we’ll observe more websites capitalizing on the capabilities of content optimization tools this year. Personally, I’ve witnessed content optimization yield an almost instantaneous impact on both the total number of keywords and the average ranking positions a web page achieves.
Immediate increase in impressions and average position after using content optimization software.
6. Embracing Structured Data and Rich Snippets
Schema markup, a specialized vocabulary of microdata, plays a crucial role in helping Google comprehend and extract content from your web pages more effectively. This enables your content to be displayed as rich snippets, which are visually appealing and tend to attract more clicks from users.
Google favors rich snippets because they enable its crawlers to present users with the precise content they are seeking, resulting in an enhanced user experience. With Google introducing support for new schema markups annually (including video schema and education sites), this trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
Businesses that already leverage schema markup are at a significant advantage over their competitors, as a considerable number of digital marketers have yet to adopt this practice. It’s highly recommended to review the available schema markups at Google’s full list of rich results to determine which ones align with the content on your website. Set a goal to incorporate the appropriate schema markup throughout 2022.
7. Creating High-Quality Long-Form Content
Google prioritizes ranking high-quality content. While content length itself is not a direct ranking factor, a strong correlation exists between longer content and improved search rankings.
Why is this the case? Longer-form content has a higher likelihood of exhibiting E-A-T signals that Google associates with quality, such as:
- In-depth and comprehensive information
- Original research and insightful analysis
- Expert authorship and credible sourcing
As Google continues to refine its NLP algorithms, its ability to discern and reward quality content will only become more sophisticated. Therefore, investing time in crafting comprehensive and informative content related to your targeted keywords is likely to result in higher keyword rankings and improved average positions.
8. Sticking to the Fundamentals of SEO
Despite Google’s algorithm updates and advancements in search engine technology, the core principles of SEO have remained remarkably consistent. To achieve SEO success in 2022, adhering to the fundamentals is as crucial as ever:
Content Quality: Prioritize the creation of accurate, up-to-date, original, and comprehensive articles focused on keywords that are relevant to your target audience.
On-page SEO: Ensure meticulous optimization of your meta titles, meta descriptions, header tags, images, and body text. This optimization helps Google better understand the content on your web pages.
Backlinks: Concentrate on acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable websites through strategic content marketing, guest blogging opportunities, and effective public relations efforts.
Technical SEO: Develop fast-loading, responsive web pages that provide a seamless and high-quality user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). Ensure that all your web pages are indexed correctly by search engines.
Industry-Specific Ranking Factors: Align your SEO strategies with industry-specific ranking factors, whether your business operates in local search, credit lending, legal services, healthcare, or other specialized sectors.
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9. Embracing the Democratization of Search
With Google’s enhanced ability to recognize and reward content quality and page experience signals, the influence of website authority is expected to diminish in the coming years compared to its historical significance.
While backlinks and Domain Authority will continue to play a role in achieving favorable rankings in 2022, the search landscape is becoming more egalitarian.
Established websites will no longer be able to solely rely on their authority signals to maintain top keyword positions. Conversely, newer websites with less established authority will have increased opportunities to rank well if they deliver exceptional content quality and a high-performing user experience.
10. Anticipating the Emergence of New Search Engines
The widespread availability of open-source technologies like GPT-3 paves the way for more key players to enter the arena and create their own search engines.
While I don’t foresee Google losing its dominant market share in the near future, we are already witnessing companies like Apple investing in developing their own unique search experiences for users.
Google’s dominance is arguably well-deserved, given its track record of delivering high-quality search results. However, with both new and existing search engines gaining access to cutting-edge NLP technologies, we can anticipate that Google’s competitors will refine their own search products to enhance their competitiveness.
This development bodes well for the SEO industry as a whole, as an increasing number of businesses and brands will seek to be discoverable through these evolving avenues that users may employ to search for content.
The Most Effective SEO Strategies for 2022
In summary, site owners and digital marketers should prioritize the fundamentals of SEO this year. However, it’s essential to remain attentive to emerging tools and technologies that can enhance your team’s efficiency and drive more impactful results.
Considering the trends discussed above, here are the most effective SEO strategies to implement in 2022:
- Conduct a thorough audit of your Core Web Vitals and make necessary improvements a priority.
- Target long-tail question keywords strategically to gain visibility in the “People also ask” section of search results.
- Implement keyword clustering to expand the range of search queries for which a single page can rank.
- Explore and utilize AI content tools, but treat them as supplementary aids rather than complete replacements for human writers.
- Experiment with content optimization software to enhance the quality and relevance of your content.
- Incorporate structured data markup and aim to earn rich snippets for your content.
- Produce high-quality long-form content that provides comprehensive information.
- Consistently maintain and refine your “good ol’ boring SEO” fundamentals—they still matter.
- Capitalize on the democratization of search and focus on creating a great user experience.
- Stay informed about new search engines and emerging search experiences.
Interested in exploring more SEO trends? Browse through our archive:
- 2021 SEO Trends
- 2022 SEO Trends
- 2023 SEO Trends