10 Of the Best SEO Trends

Although the basic principles of SEO remain the same, algorithm updates and search trends evolve and affect the way we optimize our web pages.

So as search engine technology evolves this year, what does that mean for your strategy? Below are the top 10 SEO trends to watch out for in 2022 to keep your traffic and keyword rankings in an upward direction.

The best SEO trends in 2022
Jump into a trend...

Vital Core Websites
people also ask
keyword groups
AI generated content
content optimization software
rich snippets
long content
Good old boring SEO
The democratization of search
Another search engine?

1. Core Web Vital Optimization
Last year's page experience update was arguably the biggest change for search in recent years. Page experience now quantifiable by Core Web Vitals is now officially a Google ranking factor. Core web vitals include the following performance metrics:

Largest Content Paint (LCP): The time it takes to load the largest content resource on the page.
First Input Delay (FID): How long it takes for your site to respond to a user's first interaction with the page.
Cumulative Layout Change (CLS): How many unexpected layout changes occur during the life of the page.
Of all the areas where you need to manage your SEO investments in 2022, improving Core Web Vitals signals on your pages will definitely have the most tangible impact on your search engine performance. This will most likely require the help of expert web developers, but these free tools will be crucial in identifying where your web pages need improvement:

Google Search Console: The experience feature of your Google Search Console account allows you to see which pages do or do not meet Core Web Vitals standards. It also shows the types of issues affecting your pages.

PageSpeed Insights – In addition to Core Web Vitals data, PageSpeed Insights reports can give you additional insight into how your web pages are performing for users.
In the SEO industry, this year is likely to see SEO agencies and providers expand their service offerings to include Core Web Vitals page experience and optimization. If you don't have the in-house team to perform these more technical optimizations, consider outsourcing to an SEO service provider.

2. People Ask Too
A recent survey of 2.5 million search queries found that Google's "People Also Ask" feature now appears in about 48.6% of searches.

With its prominent position at the top of the SERP (and often above position one), everyone wants to get their content ranking in this coveted SERP feature.

To get there, you need to provide answers to common questions in your content. Look at the SERPs or use a keyword research tool to identify keywords with long tail questions among your audience

Then provide comprehensive answers, including questions in your H2s, H3s, and H4s, or add a FAQ section.

This strategy will be a great way to get more visibility at the top of the SERPs in 2022, even if the webpage where you provided the answer ranks lower on page one (or even page two!).

3. Keyword grouping
Keyword research is the foundation of SEO. But as Google's natural language processing (NLP) technology has become more advanced, effective keyword targeting has become a more detailed and complex process.

The time of optimizing your landing pages and blog posts for individual keyword goals is over. Google still ranks our landing pages for more keywords, meaning 2022 is the year to aim higher.

Keyword grouping is a more advanced keyword strategy to increase your overall keyword ranking. It involves identifying multiple keywords with similar search intent and creating web pages that target those "groups".

In the example below, we were able to create a keyword group for interview software with keywords like:

conversation planning software
conversation planning tools
online interview program
virtual interview software

Keyword grouping is a more effective way to increase the total number of keywords that your web pages rank for and establish your website as an authority on important subject areas. Although they require more time, the results may mean that Google displays the same web page for hundreds of additional keywords.

4. AI-generated content
The GPT-3 (Third Generation Generative Pretrained Transformer) machine learning model was made publicly available last year via OpenAI. As a result, AI-assisted SEO content tools like CopyAi, Headline, Jarvis, and others are on the rise, allowing content teams to generate more SEO-optimized content at a faster rate.

These tools can generate topics, titles, meta tags, sections, and even entire articles with just a few inputs.

While I highly recommend against completely replacing your human SEO copywriting with robots, AI-generated content can be a good starting point. By 2022, we are likely to see more content teams incorporating AI writing tools into their workflows.

Here are some of the most effective ways to use AI content tools:

Title/topic generation: Do you have doubts about what to write? Speed up the idea and brainstorming process with AI-generated titles and topics.
Meta tag generation: If you need hundreds of meta tags, AI copywriting tools can help you produce original and unique page titles and meta descriptions at scale.
Sketches/First Draft – Again, these should serve as a starting point, not a replacement. AI tools still work like robots with obvious flaws and unnatural phrases, so build AI-generated drafts to save time and produce content faster.

5. Content optimization software
Content optimization tools can help you create high-quality, semantic-rich content that ranks higher on Google.

Using similar NLP algorithms like Google, these tools identify keywords, subtopics, synonyms, and even common questions that search engine crawlers look for on the page when promoting content.

We'll likely see more sites harnessing the power of content tools this year. I've even seen content optimization have an almost immediate impact on the overall keywords and average rankings a web page ranks for.

Instant jump in views and average position after using content optimization software.

6. More structured data and extended snippets
Schedule Markup is a microdata vocabulary that helps Google better understand and extract content from your pages so they can appear as extended snippets that are more engaging and clickable to users.

Google loves extended snippets because it helps their crawlers better show users the exact content they're looking for, which means a better user experience. And since Google supports new timestamps every year (including video times and educational sites), these won't be slowing down anytime soon.

Businesses that take advantage of time stamping are already way ahead of their competitors, as many digital marketers still don't use it. Take a look at Google's full list of expanded results to see which ones are relevant to your site's content, then set a goal to add the appropriate 2022 schedule markup.

7. Elongated content
Google likes to rank high-quality content. Although content length is not a ranking factor, there is a strong correlation between longer content and higher rankings.

Why? Because long content is more likely to display the E-A-T signals Google associates with quality, such as detailed content, original research and analysis, and expert writing and sourcing.

As Google continues to improve its NLP algorithms, it will continue to get better at recognizing quality. So take the time to provide comprehensive information about the keywords you're targeting, and you'll likely see higher keyword placements and higher average placements.

8. Good and boring SEO
Although Google is updating its algorithm and search engine technology is improving, the basic principles of SEO have always remained the same.

Content Quality - Create accurate, up-to-date, original, and detailed keyword articles relevant to your audience.
On-page SEO: Make sure your meta titles, meta descriptions, header tags, images, and body text are all optimized so that Google can better understand the content of your pages.
Backlinks - Focus on getting high-quality backlinks from other sites through content marketing, guest blogging, and PR.
Technical aspects: Create responsive and fast-loading web pages with high-quality UI / UX and make sure they are indexed correctly.
Industry-specific ranking factors: Tune in to these, whether for local businesses, credit loans, legal services, healthcare, and more.
9. The democratization of search

Because Google is so much better at recognizing signs of content quality and page experience on web pages, the role of authority will not play as big a role in the coming years as it used to.

While backlinks and domain authority will still be crucial to a good ranking in 2022, search is becoming a more democratic place.

Headlines will not be able to rely solely on their authority signals to maintain top rankings on keywords, and newer sites will have a better chance of ranking if they provide users with a high-quality, high-performance web experience.

10. Another search engine?
With open source technologies like GPT-3 becoming more widely available, it means more opportunities for key players to create their own search engines.

I do not see that Google will lose market share for the time being, but we are already seeing companies like Apple investing in creating their own search experiences for users.

Google's dominance is undoubtedly well deserved because it produces the highest quality search results. But with new and existing search engines that can access the best in NLP technologies, we'll likely see Google's competitors refine their own products so they can compete better.

This is good news for the SEO industry as a whole, as more companies and brands want to be discovered through the new ways users can search for content.

 

thank you for your comprehensive contribution. i am curious how the future will develop. In my opinion, the SEO industry is constantly evolving, and it is important to stay ahead of the changes in order to remain competitive and maximize the visibility of your website. 2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for SEO, with several new trends emerging that will have a significant impact on the way we optimize our web pages.

Core Web Vital Optimization is an important new ranking factor, and improving Core Web Vitals signals on your pages will have the most tangible impact on your search engine performance. People also Ask is a feature that appears in almost half of all searches and provides a great opportunity to get more visibility at the top of the SERPs. Keyword grouping is a more advanced keyword strategy to increase your overall keyword ranking. AI-generated content tools can help you generate topics, titles, meta tags, sections, and even entire articles faster. Content optimization software can help you create high-quality, semantic-rich content that ranks higher on Google, and extended snippets will be essential in order to create more engaging and clickable results. Longer content is also likely to perform better, as it is more likely to display the E-A-T signals Google associates with quality. Finally, the democratization of search means that backlinks and domain authority will not be as crucial in terms of ranking, and newer sites will have a better chance of ranking if they provide users with a high-quality, high-performance web experience.

Overall, it is important to stay ahead of the trends in order to take advantage of the opportunities provided by new SEO strategies. By keeping up with the changes in SEO, you can ensure that your website is performing at its best and reach more potential customers.

 

nice tips

 

Such a best important ranking factors you mentioned here on the perspective of SEO. I think rich snippet is the one of the best ranking factor now a days. AI generated content is not good for the future, i personally suggest to use unique content written any human. In the future Google algorithm has changed for the AI generated content, and you might be lost your ranking in SERPs.

 

Thanks for mentioning the details. But I personally think AI-generated content will not help in the SERPs. Relevant and quality content will win at any time!

 

good tips, thanks)

 

nice tips, but how do we know a high quality backlinks?

 

Absolutely, I'd love to share the top SEO trends based on my vast experience as a blogger and SEO expert.
1. **User-focused Optimization**: Google's algorithms now prioritize the user experience. I'm ensuring my content is easily navigable, engaging, and responsive to diverse devices.
2. **Core Web Vitals**: In recent times, Google has stressed the importance of Core Web Vitals. I'm consistently monitoring page loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
3. **Voice Search Optimization**: With the rise of smart speakers, I've started optimizing my blog posts for voice search. It's all about understanding and targeting long-tail keywords and natural language.
4. **Video SEO**: People love videos. Optimizing video content has become essential, and I'm making the most of this trend by creating engaging videos and ensuring they're properly indexed.
5. **Mobile-First Indexing**: Google now considers the mobile version of any site for indexing and ranking. I've prioritized a mobile-friendly website to maintain and improve my SEO rank.
6. **AI and Machine Learning**: Google's AI algorithm, RankBrain, is a game-changer. I'm constantly working on providing high-quality, relevant content to appeal to this AI-driven approach.
7. **Long-form Content**: My experience has shown that long-form content tends to rank higher. I aim for comprehensive, value-packed posts of at least 2000 words.
8. **E-A-T**: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) is critical. I ensure my posts reflect my expertise, gain authority backlinks, and provide accurate information to establish trust.
9. **Featured Snippets**: They're a great way to stand out. I structure my content to answer specific questions, aiming to secure that coveted "position zero."
10. **Semantic Search**: Google's getting better at understanding intent. I focus on topics over keywords and strive for holistic, in-depth content that meets users' needs.
These trends have proven effective in my journey, and keeping an eye on Google's ever-evolving algorithms is key to staying ahead in the SEO game.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

I find AI generated content to be pretty obvious. Everything is a poem. ha ha

For example: I just asked chatgpt to rewrite what I just wrote with more words. Here it is "In my personal experience, I have observed that AI-generated content tends to be quite conspicuous in its nature. It often presents itself in the form of poetic expressions, which I find to be a rather common occurrence."

Sounds like some British Aristocrat from the early 1900s.

 

Great ideas . Thanks for your work

 

I find the priority on mobile to not be suited for all websites. For example, my site was built to be response but once you are logged in some of the screens just cannot be squeezed down to mobile format. Furthermore, serious professionals are actually on their PC's when they are working on their project. So, I turned off my Adsense on all mobile phones and tablets. I am still maxing out my daily budget and getting better conversion.