The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the world’s adaption to the digital age, especially in marketing to consumers that chose to stay at home. Among the most effective digital marketing techniques is search engine optimization or SEO. It is a necessary strategy for any business to reach more people and get more customers.
However, new ranking strategies and changes in search engine algorithms will change the way businesses do SEO. If you want to find out what might change this year, check out what we’ve written below:
Local SEO
Local SEO is the search engine optimization strategy that aims to attract local customers and make it easy for them to contact businesses in their area. This strategy focuses on making the website appear on the search engine results pages (SERPs) in a specific location. Search engines can normally rank a business on the fourth or fifth result page, but implementing local SEO can help it appear in a much higher position.
WebFX found that 97% of users use search engines to find local businesses near them. This highlights the significance of local search marketing strategies. If the business is not optimized for local search, it could be missing out on potential clients who are ready to buy in their region. This implies that it is time for companies to concentrate on Google My Business and optimizing their local profiles.
Video and Image Search
The popularity of visual SEO is growing. In the past decade, SEO has been focusing on written material rather than pictures and videos. But through the years, Google has been getting better at seeing and comprehending photos and videos behind the scenes.
Visual search engines now allow users to look for information based on a visual display from actual search results. The information could be web pages, location, documents, or other images. AI and machine learning analyze intent and patterns to create visual results that are similar and help search engine users find what they are searching for.
Google revealed a number of algorithm modifications, one of which improved the system’s capacity to interpret and accurately serve user search intent. Multitask Unified Model (MUM) is an AI that can analyze photos, videos, text, and 75 additional languages. It enables Google to provide even more complicated, comprehensive, and nuanced search results. As a result, the user’s search results may eventually feature a mix of text and imagery-based results.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals is a set of Google metrics that show the performance of web pages based on speed, user interactions, visual stability, responsiveness, and other aspects. A major core web vital was implemented in mid-2021 and early 2022. These changes will affect both mobile and desktop site competition as page experience is now a quantifiable Google ranking factor.
These updates will influence SEO strategies this year. Companies are expected to require the assistance of web developers in meeting the new SEO standards. In response, SEO companies will most likely expand their services to cover Core Web Vitals page experience optimization.
Google Discover
Google Discover is a new way for users to discover tailored information without searching for it. It shows users hand-selected information that is relevant to their interests and previous searches.
In Google Search, the user must first enter a query, and Google will respond with a list of results. However, with Discover, Google provides a highly tailored feed without searching. Google’s algorithm automatically updates the feed when new information is produced.
Although Google hasn’t stated that Discover is an SEO component, it does have qualities that could assist companies in boosting their SEO strategy. Primarily, it can be a valuable source of organic traffic. Users can find the company website through their Discover feed. Increased traffic through Google Discover can be quite beneficial, as organic click-throughs are crucial in improving a website’s SEO rating.
IndexNow
IndexNow is a service that allows website owners to instantly notify search engines about changes to their site’s content. It is a simple ping protocol that notifies search engines when a URL and its content have been added, modified, or deleted, allowing search engines to refresh their search results faster.
Presently, Bing and Yandex are using IndexNow, while a handful of other search engines like Google are still testing their protocols for it. Content Management Systems (CMS) and Content Delivery Networks (CDN) like Cloudflare and Akamai are supporting IndexNow. WordPress now offers an IndexNow plugin, and Wix plans to integrate it soon.
IndexNow benefits companies and publishers in that they no longer need to wait for search engines to crawl and discover the content. It will eliminate exploratory crawls, thereby increasing overall internet efficiency.
Adapting with the Latest Trends with SEO Support
SEO is a fast-paced industry with a lot of changes on a continual basis. Even from the beginning, companies that are quick to adapt gain an advantage over the slower-moving competition. Embracing new trends allows businesses to can maximize the value of all other SEO actions and provide their website the best chance for long-term success. With the right plan, technology, and support from SEO agency Philippines, the organization can adjust its strategies and deliver a better user experience.
References:
https://www.stanventures.com/blog/seo-trends/
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2022/01/25/seo-trends
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/indexnow-what-we-know/439679/#close
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.