SEO Trends of 2022: It is possible for an SEO to fall into hibernation and wake up after a year sensing a gap in the industry.
SEO is a constantly changing industry. It is essential to keep up-to-date with all developments in SEO.
This blog will discuss some SEO hot topics and speculate on the future of SEO.
It is possible to wonder why anyone would speculate. It is quite simple. SEO can’t be fully data-driven until Google discloses all ranking factors.
These practices can help you take your clients to new heights. Google’s testing has shown that minor adjustments can make you more ready for 2022.
Some of the SEO trends of 2021 could be repeated in 2022. Because some trends will continue for as long as the SEO industry is around,
Voice Search was removed from this list due to the significant impact that the pandemic had on Voice Search’s growth prospects. This could be because of the widespread use of masks. It’s not obvious, but we do know that people don’t speak as much to their smartphones or computers anymore. They only use voice search while driving.
Google Trends also shows a decreasing trend in keywords used for Voice Search.
1. IndexNow
Recent reports indicate that Google is the next search engine to use the IndexNow protocol.
IndexNow is an open source engine search engines can use to find new content. It uses the push approach instead of the pull method.
IndexNow API allows websites to integrate with it. The API pushes information to search engines, updating, deleting, and publishing new content.
Microsoft created IndexNow API in October 2021.
Yandex and Bing both support IndexNow. IndexNow’s fast indexing allows search engines to reduce crawl load and makes the whole process more efficient.
Google spokesperson confirmed that Google participates in IndexNow. They are currently testing its efficiency to determine if it will increase Google’s sustainability efforts.
Google’s 2030 goal is to become a 100% renewable energy-based company. Google will likely adopt IndexNow’s Carbon Neutral initiative. This will make indexing pages easier for Google.
Garry Illyes, a Search Advocate at Google, confirmed that Google’s indexing and crawling processes would be sustainable in an episode on Search Off The Record.
He stated that indexing leaves a large carbon footprint. It is possible to reduce it. IndexNow was one his suggestions.
Martin Splitt, John Mueller’s search advocate, supported him. Illyes said that Google could test IndexNow and choose to use a similar form but could also change the functionality.
He also said that the Google bots’ crawler doesn’t necessarily need to spend as much time updating pages which aren’t being updated. However, this is not what’s currently happening. According to Illyes, Google can crawl only updated pages to save energy.
He also mentioned news publishers like CNN and NYT that update their homepage content frequently but don’t update the About Us page. Illyes believes that bots could be trained not to refresh pages such as this one.
Anyone can enable IndexNowAPI in three easy steps
- Get an API key from Bing and create it.
- Next, you’ll need to upload your downloaded text file into the root folder on your server.
- With the following URL parameters, you can submit URLs individually or in bulk to search engines.
Both Yandex and Microsoft recently announced that IndexNow will be used for sharing URLs submitted. Yandex and Microsoft can receive URLs instantly. IndexNow, a WordPress plugin by Bing, automates the whole process.
Bing data shows IndexNow is used on around 80,000 websites. Cloudflare supports IndexNow and is used by more than 60,000 websites. It is likely that more websites will join the initiative if Google is involved.
2. Make sure you take MUM into consideration in order to improve your rankings
Google uses advanced Artificial Intelligence to enhance the quality of its search results.
It was the launch of RankBrain and then BERT in 2019. RankBrain was responsible for the greatest ever increase in search engine usage. Multitask United Model (MUM) is the next epoch for the search engine giant.
Prabhakar Raghavan revealed that the new Natural Language Processing Model MUM was a 1000x faster than the BERT. Multitasking is possible, which allows it process video, images, and text in 75 languages. This gives users the answers they need to complex search queries.
MUM will combine different elements from your search query to attempt to understand the context and sentiment of the user. MUM will attempt to understand the user’s intent to provide answers that are close to their expectations.
Raghavan demonstrated the power of MUM by using a complex query: “I’ve hiked Mt. Adams, but now I want Mt. How can I prepare for Fuji next autumn?
This video shows MUM’s search, which returned a far superior result than those we are used to.
Raghavan asserts that MUM is a deep learner of the word, can understand, generate, and train across 75 languages simultaneously, as opposed to other models who can only operate in one language.
Google is still testing MUM. However, it is expected that MUM will soon be released from the laboratory and integrated into Google Search. Google should keep us informed about the integration as it did with BERT.
Webmasters need to understand search’s impact. Despite our collective ignorance, the community does have some suggestions.
- Google Answers may offer a new type of result, which is an improved version. This combination combines all information to provide users with the answers they are looking for.
- This could lead to more click-throughs for your search. This is already happening.
- Structured data is a good idea. Google takes all this data from Knowledge Graph and feeds it through the markups of each site.
- Longform content is a hit because one source can provide a lot information.
- Avoid keyword stuffing. Instead, you should be focusing on natural content that addresses your audience’s pain points.
- It is not yet known what the MUM’s power might be. Keep the content brief and simple to understand. MUM may not be able find the relevance of content if it is too dense with jargon.
LaMDA is another Language Model introduced by Google I/ in 2021. This Language Model to Dialogue Applications is important for search and will impact the Google Assistants search.
LaMDA stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications and is setting new standards for natural AI conversation. It can access Google’s Knowledge Graph information to make conversation natural.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, presented LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) during the company’s I/O conference. LaMDA allows users the freedom to have an open-ended conversation, without having to repeat the exact same information.
LaMDA is a transformer-based model similar to MUM or BERT. It can be trained to read words and understand the relationships between them.
Google places more emphasis on training it to produce sensible and specific responses than generic ones.
3. Passage Indexing
Google just announced Passage Indexing, a new algorithm.
If you’ve ever regretted writing long-form content that didn’t get traction, Passage Indexing might be the answer.
Google claims it will index web pages using natural language processing. It will try to understand the meaning of each page.
This means that search results for related queries will show your article if it includes a section or passage.
Google’s Cathay Edwards states in the Search On video that Passage Indexing will impact 7% of all searches in all languages by 2020.
Similar announcements were made in 2018 for BERT, if you remember. It was announced that BERT would affect 10% of all search queries.
Prabhakar Raghavan confirmed in the same video that BERT can deliver results for almost every query typed.
The SERP results will be more affected by the Passage Indexing. This is a system that acts more like an internal ranking system.
It is almost certain that Passage Indexing Ranking Algorithm can be of benefit for web pages with well-structured contents.
Google will also be focusing on holistic content ranking in 2022.
A holistic content strategy is one that focuses on a topic and addresses the most pressing issues of the target audience.
Search results for long-tail and question-based queries will also be affected by Passage Indexing.
This is because it is natural that specific questions require a needle-in a haystack approach to find the right answer.
Google is trying to achieve exactly this by using Passage Indexing.
What’s the secret?
Google claims they find 15% of all new search queries each day. These queries tend to be question-based or long-tail.
Passage Indexing can provide you with the most reliable answers from a variety credible sources.
Google wants to provide the best answer to a query from a forum page and not redirect the user to another site.
The current indexing system takes into consideration the context and relevance of the entire page. Passage Indexing, however, allows Google to search specific pages within a page to find more relevant answers.
Passage Indexing does not replace other indexing processes. Google’s Advance Natural Language Processing algorithms allow you to read individual passages while Google crawls and indexes pages.
Google Passage Indexing
Let’s say you search for “how do I know if my windows have UV glass?” This topic is covered on many websites, including how to apply a special film. None of these sites can help the layperson get ahead. Our algorithm can focus on one section of DIY forums that answers this question. It uses the reflection of a firefly to determine this and ignores all other posts.
Structure your content is an important aspect of content design
Passage Indexing will go live in the coming weeks. The structure of your content is just as important than its quality.
It is important that the content be broken down into sections. Each section should address a subtopic.
Google will tell you how deep and useful your content is for the search query.
Heading tags are a great way to organize your content.
If your article is too short, Passage Indexing may not show its benefits. Google claims that Passage Indexing will benefit sites with valuable content.
Writing shorter content can reduce your chances of being able to cover sub-topics and smaller passages. Google will rank you based on the core topic, but not for specific queries.
It is evident that 9 of 10 Google pages with the highest ranking for highly competitive search terms have long-form content over 2000 words.
Long-form content can have a negative impact on the user experience. You should have a table or sticky at your top.
Users won’t wait for you to link. You can’t force them into reading all the content. Users abandon login-form pages when they are not able to navigate properly. It can be difficult and time-consuming for users to locate the information.
4. Core Web Vitals
The Core Web Vitals were the buzzword in the SEO community before Passage Indexing was even announced.
Google is pushing webmasters to provide a better user experience, as you may already have noticed.
This was done to make sure that people who visit a page via Google search results don’t leave the page because they have a poor experience.
Since its inception, the Page Experience Algorithm has been around. Core web vitals will be available starting May 2021.
It will now join the existing Page Experience signals (HTTPs, IntrusiveInterstitial, Safe Browsing, Mobile Friendliness) to determine the page ranking.
Core Web Vitals gives Google data on user experience for individual web pages. It contains three metrics that are crucial to understanding page experience.
These Core Web Vital Factors
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).
- First Input Relay
- Cumulative Layout Shifts (CIS)
Google has confirmed that Core Web Vitals will be a part of ranking pages starting May 2021. Google made the announcement in December via an FAQ at Core Web Vitals.
Google has confirmed that websites with AMP enabled need not worry about Core Web Vitals compliance. AMP-enabled websites usually meet this requirement.
Google renders AMP pages by using its server. These pages are minimally structured, which can slow down loading.
Google warns webmasters against using heavy images and external elements in AMP as it could affect web vitals scores.
Core Web Vitals won’t be used as the primary signal to rank pages in SERP. Google promises to continue ranking web pages that have high-quality links and information, even if they do not meet Web Vitals standards.
AMP activation allows you to save time and money when optimizing your site for Web Vitals.
5. Concentrate on User + Search Intent
2022 will mark the beginning of the year where you start to place the search intent first and user behavior last.
People’s search intentions and behaviors are changing all the time. Google and other Search Engines can be used to help them find the answers they are looking for or get more information on a topic.
Users and businesses can benefit from understanding the needs of their users so they can offer content that meets them.
Britney Muller, Britney Muller LLC believes that SEO professionals must abandon traditional techniques as they are no longer relevant today. Algorithms keep getting more powerful.
Instead, search intent should be more important to businesses. Companies can create content that appeals to their target audience online by paying more attention to search terms.
Mary Hynes (CEO, Marie Haynes Consulting Inc.) says that SEO will be a competitive field in 2022. You must be an expert in providing users with the right information.
Google will increase its understanding of expert advice searches. It will place content that follows the E.A.T guidelines at the top of its search results. SEO professionals cannot dominate the search engines in 2022 without understanding search terms.
Brands must be responsive to their customers’ needs, not just promote their products. This means not requiring users register on your site, showing them pop ups or redirecting to registration forms.
Steven van Vessum is ContentKing’s Vice President of Community. He believes that users must not only understand the content they are looking for, but also be able to identify their preferred content types (videos or podcasts etc.). Deliver accordingly.
Alexander Kesler (CEO INFUSEmedia), provided additional guidance on search intention. Businesses should examine the on site journeys and search data from organic leads, according to Kesler. This will help them not only understand the search term they used to locate your content, but also the keywords they used on every page they visited within your website. This data aggregation will enable brands to map it back to their content path.
6. SEO Localization
Local businesses will see greater traction from Google, as there is a clear push towards highly localized searches.
It’s now time to concentrate on getting quality reviews on Google My Business, and other authentic review platforms.
We have noticed that search results are more beneficial for businesses than global entities in the last few months as we have seen content tailored to each country. T
Google wants users to see results that are beneficial. The results I receive for “solar panels for homes” in the US differ from the ones in India.
This is because sites ranking in the US don’t serve Indians, at least not directly. It ranks lower than its Indian counterparts despite having greater authority.
Although this is a macro example of Google’s search engine, it is also doing the same at the micro-level. This means that the search results (not the Map pack) will change depending on the user’s location.
Websites that target local audiences will need to include the name and state of the country or city in order for Google to rank your website higher.
7. Two dedicated structured data to video SEO
Google I/O 2021 offers lots of video SEO info. Google announced Clip Markup as well as Seek Markup structured data to help video content in search engine results.
YouTube videos can benefit greatly from the Key Moments function. Any platform that hosts videos can now use any of the new structured data markups.
Clip Markup provides Google with information manually about timestamps in your videos. However, the Seek Markup automatically sends this information to Google Search.
These markups may be of benefit if you are looking to increase click-throughs to your video content via search engine results pages.
Clip video Markup
clip must first be manually set-up to tell Google what timestamps are used to show key moments. These properties need to be included in Video Object element.
Seek video
‘s video markup differs from its sibling.
It tells Google about the URL structure. Google can then automatically display key moments in your video using the following properties: Your VideoObject
Although SeekToAction properties can be added without any additional requirements, they are essential if Google needs to understand your URL structure in order to link users directly to the relevant part of the video. This markup remains in beta. We anticipate more features to come soon.
8. Analytics, retention and lifetime value for customers
SEO has evolved significantly over the years. In 2022, brands will have to do more to bridge that gap between web traffic and ROI. This year, data on behavioral analytics will be a key area of focus.
Google’s constant evolution means that conversions and revenue are increasingly important. Keyword volume will decline this year and behavioral analytics will get more attention.
Brands must pay close attention to their customers’ actions and what they are doing. To create content, this information must be reverse engineered.
COVID-19 demonstrated that keyword research is not always successful when the world is in reflux. Behavioral analytics can reveal hidden content opportunities that keyword searches miss.
Businesses will need to be more focused on customer retention, increasing customer life value (LTV), and offering possible solutions through content. You risk losing customers to businesses that do.
Izzi Smith, Technical SEO Analyst at Ryte urges companies offer better customer service online. Brands need to establish a formal process with support staff and sales personnel in order to ensure that customers are happy with the service they receive.
You can search your Google Search Console keyword data with common question modifiers to find relevant topics. These questions should be clearly answered and posted to relevant FAQ sections on the website.
It is easy to lose customers’ trust and attention if you don’t provide value to them. Brands that offer useful, detailed, and factually correct content should be appealing to customers. It takes dedication and focus to create this content.
9. SEO for Brands, Knowledge Graphs & Entities
It is important to monitor brand SERPs and knowledge panels this year. It will be valuable for other businesses to know who you are and what your offerings are.
Personalized knowledge graphs could be possible by 2022. Google could personalize knowledge graphs using the huge amount of information it holds about you, including your search history, behaviour, and email.
What does all this mean for SEO in 2022? It means optimizing every aspect of a brand’s digital presence such as its Youtube channel or social media profiles to get Google to show it what they want.
Your website and its content are no longer the most important thing. It is now about your digital brand and how it interacts with SERP. SEO professionals need to be able to recognize the importance of NLP (natural language processing) and entities in Google rankings.
While keywords are important, they are not the only thing that is essential to understand the topic or intent behind the query.
Google Discover is the only website where keywords cannot be used. You can optimize for it by creating an entity in Google Knowledge graph, and focusing on its connections within topic layers. According to Jes Scholz (International Digital Director at Ringier), it is possible.
Scholz suggests focusing on these activities:
- Assuring a complete and accurate organization markup
- Establishing a strong presence at knowledge bases such as Wikidata.
- You must create your knowledge panel in order to use the Google posts feature.
- Google My Business Profile brick-and-mortar businesses
10. All SEO must be mobile-friendly
Your website must be mobile-friendly by 2022. Mobile device experience will be a key focus for all SEO professionals.
For user-friendly web design, simplicity is key. It is important to personalize your website content for your users. Google will soon stop looking at your desktop site and focus on your mobile website to rank you highly.
Your current focus is on mobile device user experience, and it’s time to change your focus. If you have separate desktop and mobile websites, it is time to move to a responsive mobile website.
11. Assess, Adapt, and Execute
In 2021, it is more important to think outside of the box than ever. You must be open to the possibilities. It is important to plan, organize and then follow that plan.
It is crucial to develop a strategy for SEO to stay ahead of your competition. It is important to move your focus from user behavior to understanding the market. This will allow you to respond more strategically to changing needs as they arise.
You can use a variety of platforms and resources to understand the psychological, economic, and social factors that affect search demand. Next, dig deeper into the consumer.
behavior.
12. More automation
Based on the number of SEO tasks we were able to automate in 2021, it is clear that there are more opportunities in 2022. We can expect an increase in quality and quantity of AI-generated content this year. This will pose greater challenges for search engines when it comes to weeding out spammy material.
Industry-leading tools now offer automated features that enable site changes. This is particularly beneficial for SEO professionals who can now concentrate on site performance and strategies.
13. SERP Layout Changes and Functionality Modifications
Google Passage Ranking has been first announced. This will bring about a major change in the way content is viewed on websites. Instead of creating multiple pages about the same topic, why not create one page?
Cindy Krum, CEO of MobileMoxie and founder believes that Google ranking will be a major trend in SEO in 2021. She also believes that identifying passages and identifying them will be important. It is because of Google’s ability to extract the exact information that the audience requires that passages are so important.
Passage optimization is possible only if there is strong page structure and schema structure. These structures also ensure that text is easily readable and easy to evaluate using NLP.
Google has tested several layout modifications, including inclusive autosuggestion. This allows users to find the information they are looking for without having scroll through results or click on the search button.
Google is likely to add continuous scrolling in search results. This feature was initially implemented in the US in mobile searches in 2021. It may also be available in other countries or regions.
14. Long-Form Content
Your website’s consistent publication of relevant, long-form content will allow you to rank higher than your competition by 2022. It is important that your content follows the E.A.T guidelines. It should not exceed 2000 words
In 2022, long-form content will still be very important. Long-form, well-written content could even exceed 2000 words.
15. SEO Scalability
If you want to be in the same league as your competitors in 2022, then you must scale your SEO services.
Mark Traphagen, Vice President of Product Marketing & Training at seoClarity is Mark Traphagen. He suggests that you first list all tasks and workflows, then identify which steps can be automated using SEO tools.
To monitor any changes in ranking for keywords and URLs, set up an alert system. Create Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for any other tasks you can’t automate.
Conclusion
These are the SEO trends of 2021. These SEO strategies will help you stay ahead of your competition. Which one of these SEO strategies do you believe will be most effective in 2022?
Tim Sabre
Tim Sabre have helped over 11,000 businesses and counting. A search and social expert, assisting many businesses and brands get the most from their online presence Trained and led teams in 3 countries with over 27 Certified Google AdWords Specialists. Currently offering my services as a freelance digital consultant.