It’s hard to believe, but we’re already (nearly!) halfway through 2022.

We’ve seen some incredible changes in the SEO landscape, and there’s no sign of things slowing down any time soon.

Why Is SEO Important For My Business?

If you’re not familiar with SEO, it stands for search engine optimisation.

In a nutshell, SEO is the practice of improving your website’s organic rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) This is significant because higher rankings, indicate more visitors to your site.

And more traffic means more leads and sales.

In other words, SEO is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your business goals, without paying for every click.

What are the Emerging SEO Trends for the Rest of 2022?

SEO Trend #01: User Intent will Continue to be Important

User intent is the driving force behind every search query.

People use search engines to find answers to their questions, solve their problems, or learn something new.

As a result, user intent is one of the most important ranking factors in SEO.

Google’s algorithm is designed to match each query with the best possible result. And, to do this, they need to understand the user’s intent.

There are four main types of user intent:

– Navigational: The user is looking for a specific website or page (e.g., Facebook, YouTube)

– Informational: The user is looking for information about a topic (e.g., “what is SEO,” “how to start a blog”)

– Transactional: The user is looking to buy something (e.g. “buy Nike shoes,” “book a hotel room”)

– Commercial Investigation: The user is comparison shopping or researching a purchase before making a decision (e.g., “best SEO tools,” “SEO prices”).

As you can see, each type of user has different needs. And it’s your job to make sure your website meets those needs.

For example, if someone is looking for information about SEO, you need to provide content that educates and informs them.

If someone is looking to buy a product or service, you need to make it easy for them to find the information they need to make a decision.

The bottom line is this: if you want to rank higher in search results, you need to understand user intent and create content that meets their needs.

SEO Trend #02: Featured Snippets will Continue to be Important

A featured snippet is a brief answer to a search query that appears at the top of the SERP.

It’s designed to give users the information they need without having to click through to a website.

Featured snippets are also known as “position zero” because they appear above the first organic result.

Featured snippets are important for two reasons:

1. They get more clicks than organic results: Studies have shown that featured snippets get more clicks than traditional organic results.
2. They improve your chances of ranking in the top spot: If you’re able to rank in the featured snippet, you have a much better chance of also ranking in the #01 spot.

In other words, if you want to increase your traffic, you need to focus on getting featured snippets.

But how do you do that?

Here are a few tips:

– Use short, concise answers: Featured snippets are designed to give users a quick answer to their questions.

So, make sure your answer is clear and to the point.

– Use lists and tables: Lists and tables are easy to scan and understand, which makes them perfect for featured snippets.

– Use keyword-rich titles: Your title should accurately reflect the content of your article.

But it should also include keywords that you’re trying to rank for.

SEO Trend #03: Voice Search will Continue to Grow

Voice search is a search query made using spoken words, rather than typed out text.

For example, you might say, “Alexa, find me a recipe for banana bread” or “Siri, where is the nearest coffee shop?”

Voice search is growing in popularity for two reasons:

1. It’s convenient: Voice search is quick and easy. You can do it while you’re doing other things, like cooking or driving.
2. It’s accurate: Voice search is more accurate than traditional search, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing.

In other words, voice search is the future of search.

And that means it’s something you need to be prepared for.

Here are a few tips for optimising your website for voice search:

– Use long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are specific, detailed phrases that people are more likely to use when speaking than typing.

For example, rather than typing “pizza,” someone might say, “I’m looking for a pizza place that delivers to my address” or “pizza delivery near (location)”

– Use natural language: When optimising your website for voice search, you need to use natural language.

This means using the same words and phrases that people would use when speaking.

– Use structured data: Structured data is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content better.

Adding structured data to your website makes it more likely to appear in voice search results.

SEO Trend #04: Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure the performance of your website.

They include things like loading time, interactivity, and stability.

In May 2021, Google announced that they will be using core web vitals as a ranking factor in their algorithms.

This means that if you want to rank well in Google, you need to make sure your website has good core web vitals.

Here are a few tips to improve your core web vitals:

– Use caching: Caching is a way of storing data so that it can be accessed quickly and easily.

Using caching can help reduce the loading time of your website.

– Minimise redirects: Redirects are when a user is taken to a different page than the one they were trying to access.

Redirects can slow down your website, so it’s important to minimize them.

– Use a content delivery network: A content delivery network (CDN) is a system of computers that deliver content to users.

Using a CDN can help reduce the loading time of your website.

You can also find out more about Google’s Core Web Vitals, here.

SEO Trend #05: Mobile-First Indexing will Continue to be Important

Mobile-first indexing is the process of indexing and ranking a website based on its mobile version, rather than its desktop version.

In other words, if your website isn’t optimised for mobile, it’s going to have a hard time ranking in the search results.

Mobile-first indexing is important for two reasons:

1. More people use mobile devices than desktop devices: According to Statista, as of October 2020, there were more than three billion active mobile internet users worldwide. That’s compared to just over one billion active desktop internet users.
2. Mobile devices are used differently than desktop devices: People use mobile devices differently than they use desktop devices.

Everyone is way more likely to use them on the go, which means they’re more likely to be looking for quick, easy answers.

So, if you want your website to be successful in the future, you need to make sure it’s optimised for mobile and offers the quick, easy accessibility your users are looking for.

Here are a few tips for doing that:

– Use responsive design: Responsive design is a style of web development that ensures your website looks good on all device types, including mobile devices.

– Use large font sizes: Mobile users are more likely to be looking at your website on a small screen.

So, you need to make adjust certain font sizes on certain areas of your web pages.

– Use short, concise sentences: Mobile users are more likely to be looking for quick answers. So, you need to make sure your sentences are short and to the point.

SEO Trend #05: The Rise of Visual Search

Visual search is a type of search that uses images, rather than text, to find results.

For example, you might use a visual search to find an outfit to wear to a wedding.

Or, you might use it to find a recipe for banana bread.

Visual search is growing in popularity for two reasons:

– It’s convenient: Visual search is quick and easy. You can do it while you’re doing other things, like watching TV or talking on the phone.

– It’s accurate: Visual search is more accurate than traditional search because it takes into account the context of the image.

If you want your website to be successful in the future, you need to make sure it’s optimised for visual search.

Here are a few tips for doing that:

– Use high-quality images: When you’re using images on your website, make sure they’re high quality. That means they’re clear and easy to see.

– Use descriptive filenames: When you’re naming your images, make sure they’re descriptive. That way, people will be able to find them when they’re doing a visual search.

– Use ALT tags: ALT tags are a type of code that helps describe an image. They help search engines understand what an image is about, as well as being an essential resource for the visually impaired.

SEO Trend #06: The Growth of Local SEO

Local SEO is the process of optimising your website for local search.

For example, if you’re a restaurant in London, you want to make sure your website appears when people are searching for “restaurants in London”.

Local SEO is important because it helps you connect with people who are looking for businesses like yours in your area.

More and more people are supporting local businesses, as well as promoting hidden gems via social media etc, and if they can find you promptly and quickly by performing a simple search on their phone, you’re onto a winner.

Here are a few tips for doing that:

– Add your business to Google My Business: Google My Business is a free listing service that helps businesses appear in the local search results.

– Add your business to directories: Directories are websites that list businesses in a specific category.

– Add your address and phone number to your website: Make sure your address and phone number are on every page of your website. That way, people will be able to find it easily.

– Consider A Local Focused Page On Your Website – As well as the above, you could also create a local-focused page on your website.

This is a page that’s specifically designed to attract people who are searching for businesses in your area & can provide you with a standalone way of ranking specifically for your target area.

On this page, you could include:

• A map of your location
• A list of the services you offer to customers
• Information about your opening hours
• A contact form
• Location-based phrases

People want to trust businesses and feel there’s a place they can rely on, and keeping this information up to date, ensures success for retaining customers, and gaining new ones too.

SEO Trend #07: The Rise of Video Content

Video content is continuing to increase in popularity because it’s a quick and easy way to consume information.

People are more likely to watch a video tutorial than they are to read an article.

And, according to Cisco, by 2022, 82% of all internet traffic will be video traffic.

If you want your website to be successful in the future, you need to make sure it’s optimised for video content.

Here are a few tips for doing that:

– Use engaging thumbnails: When people are scrolling through their feed, they’re more likely to stop and watch a video if the thumbnail is engaging.

– Use catchy titles: The title of your video is important because it’s what will make people want to watch it.

So, make sure your titles are catchy and to the point.

– Use transcripts: Transcripts are a type of code that helps transcribe your video. They help search engines understand what your video is about.

And there we have it (phew!)

These are just a few of the SEO trends we expect to see in the second half of 2022.

Make sure to keep these SEO marketing factors in mind, and don’t forget, if you need any help with your SEO and anything mentioned in this blog, our team are here to help!