Search Engine Optimization (SEO) continues to evolve each year. Google’s algorithm updates are becoming more frequent than ever and you need to know the latest SEO predictions to keep up.
SEO is all about creating an ideal website environment for consumers and providing them with the best possible search results. The entire online landscape tends to shift when Google announces major updates to their algorithm or when they change preferences to ranking signals, without a thorough SEO understanding this is hard to understand and adapt to.
Even in 2022, it’s still possible to get ahead of the latest SEO trends, but first, you need to learn SEO from an expert.
Just remember how the mobile-first indexing update changed everything in a blink of an eye. Only those who were prepared could get ahead and continue to rank. With that in mind, here are a few of the top SEO predictions for 2022.
Keyword clustering
Keyword research has always been the foundation of an effective SEO strategy. However, Google’s natural language processing (NLP) is far more advanced now. In other words, there’s no longer the need for optimizing your website or blog pages for a single keyword. That said, one of our top predictions for SEO is that we are entering the age of keyword clustering.
Simply put, it is an advanced form of keyword research where you identify multiple keywords with similar search intent and you optimize your pages to target those clusters instead of targeting a single keyword.
E-A-T factors
E-A-T or simply EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These are the factors Google checks to determine if the content on a page provides adequate quality to match user intent. Businesses need to be aware of the EAT principle when creating content for their websites or blogs.
If you don’t match the EAT criteria, Google won’t recommend your content to consumers. It is as simple as that. The EAT principles especially apply to content that provides life-altering advice, such as medical, financial, educational, and so on.
Voice optimization
One of the latest SEO trends is voice optimization. Optimizing for voice search will become a much more relevant factor. Since mobile-first indexing came to life, mobile traffic has been on the rise. Consumers prefer convenience so they talk into their smartphones instead of typing in search bars.
That’s why businesses need to place an emphasis on voice optimization because Google certainly will. That means that your content will have to be optimized for long-tail phrases that involve more focus words, such as near me, where, what, why, and when, among others, of course.
Conclusion
SEO continues to change and search engines like Google want to change things around once again. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the latest SEO trends and the upcoming SEO predictions so that you’re ready when the changes finally occur.