While the goal of SEO remains unchanged, that is to boost your presence in search results, the strategies for getting there change from year to year.
In this Blogpost, we will cover the top challenges that marketers are facing in 2022 and 3 of the hottest trends to keep track of this year.
Top SEO Challenges in 2022
1. Keyword Research
The building blocks of SEO are keywords. However, Google doesn’t only scan for a keyword, but also takes a look at your website to get a sense of its relevancy and scope. This means that keyword stuffing is out of date. Therefore, the goal is to understand the intent of users and the problems they wish to solve. With this understanding, you can write content based on this insight.
2. Changes in Algorithms
One of the biggest problems for marketers is keeping up with changes in algorithms. Google has identified more than 4,000 changes to search in the last year. The key here is to be able t0 respond tactically to these changes.
3. Low Rankings
SEO is not a short-term game. Organic results take time to show and it’s usually a compound effect of tiny efforts. What you can do to fix a low ranking is by developing a long-term strategy that focuses on 2-3 things at a time.
3 SEO Trends to Watch in 2022
1. Voice Search
Voice search is becoming more and more important in our daily lives. More than 40 percent of internet users use voice assistants. So, how can we optimize our content for people searching with Alexa or Google Assistant?
The answer is very simple. You should optimize your site for mobile because most voice searches occur on mobile and tablets. Google prefers mobile-friendly websites. Another simple strategy is to focus on long-tail question keywords in your H2 or H3 headings.
2. Compelling Headlines
A lot of research on clickable titles is being done in 2022. Recent studies have shown that highly emotional headlines, whether positive or negative, had a higher click through rate than neutral headlines. Therefore, emotionally charged headlines can drive a lot of clicks, up to a certain point where it becomes clickbait. Compelling headlines aren’t “insane” and “unbelievable”.
3. “People Also Ask” Content
You may have come across “People Also Ask” while browsing Google. As a matter of fact, more than 40% of searches now include a “People Also Ask” box. Everyone wants to be ranked there, and there are few things you can do now to increase your chances of getting your content there. Almost all “People Also Ask” boxes start with question words like why, when, where, how and what. Therefore, it’s a great idea to add questions and their respective answers into your content. Identify long-tail question keywords and place them in your page headers.
Another good strategy is to include a FAQ section at the bottom of your pages. A FAQ section has 2 benefits:
- It summarizes your key points.
- It’s useful in terms of SEO.
Conclusion
Even if SEO is constantly changing, there is still so much in your control. And what’s in your control is mainly how you react to these changes. It’s very important to keep watching trends and to adopt the best strategies presented in this blogpost to help you adapt to the changing environment of SEO.