7 SEO Trends to Leverage in 2022

As we move further into the 21st century, more and more businesses are realizing the importance of online marketing. The days of relying solely on word-of-mouth and local ads are long gone; in order to stay competitive, companies must have a strong web presence. And while SEO is constantly evolving, there are a few trends that are likely to remain important for the next few years. Here are seven of them:

1. Mobile-First Indexing

With over half of all web traffic coming from mobile devices, it's no surprise that Google is now using a mobile-first index. This means that your website's mobile version will be the primary version used to determine your ranking in search results. If you don't have a responsive design, now is the time to invest in one.

Mobile-first indexing is not only important for SEO, but for user experience as well. A study by Google found that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor's site instead. Creating a positive user experience should be a top priority for any business, and with more people using their phones to access the internet, it's more important than ever to have a mobile-friendly website.

2. Voice Search

Voice search is another trend that's here to stay. With the rise of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Home, more and more people are using their voices to search the internet. And as voice recognition technology improves, so does voice search.

One of the benefits of optimizing for voice search is that you can reach a wider audience. That means there are potential customers out there who you could be reaching with your content if you optimize for voice search.

3. Featured Snippets

A featured snippet is a brief answer to a search query that appears at the top of the search results. They're meant to give users quick and easy answers to their questions without having to click through to a website.

Featured snippets are becoming more and more common, with Google displaying them for over 30% of all searches. And while they may seem like they would take away traffic from your website, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, according to HubSpot, websites with featured snippets actually see an increase in traffic.

Optimizing your content for featured snippets can help you reach a wider audience and get more clicks to your website.

4. Visual Search

With the rise of Pinterest and Instagram, visual search is becoming more and more important. People are now searching for images instead of keywords, and businesses need to be prepared for this change.

One way to optimize your content for visual search is to create infographics. Infographics are a great way to provide information in a visually appealing way, and they're also easy to share on social media. You can also use visuals in your blog posts and website pages to break up text and make your content more engaging.

Including visuals in your content can help you reach a wider audience and improve your SEO.

5. Local SEO

As the world becomes more connected, businesses are no longer limited to a local audience. But that doesn't mean local SEO isn't important. In fact, it's more important than ever to optimize your website for local search.

Local SEO is all about making sure your website appears in search results for people in your area. This can be done by including your city and state in your titles and tags, as well as creating location pages for each of your locations. Optimizing for local SEO will help you reach a wider audience and attract more customers.

6. Schema Markup

Schema markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand your content. It's a way to give search engines more information about your website, and it can help improve your click-through rate.

Adding schema markup to your website can be a bit technical, but it's worth the effort. HubSpot found that websites with schema markup see an increase in organic traffic of up to 30%.

Schema markup is an important tool for SEO, and it's one that you should be using on your website.

7. Paid Search

Paid search is a form of advertising that allows you to pay to have your website appear in the search results. This can be done through Google AdWords or other paid advertising platforms.

Paid search is a great way to get your website in front of more people, and it can be an effective way to improve your SEO. According to Moz, businesses that use paid search see an average ROI of 13:01.

Paid search is an important part of any SEO strategy, and it's one that you should consider for your business.

As you can see, there are many different trends that you can leverage in 2022 to improve your SEO. Each trend has its own benefits, and by using them, you can improve your website's ranking in the search results. Implementing even just a few of these trends can make a big difference in your traffic and conversions. So, start planning your SEO strategy for 2022 today!