Here’s Everything You Need to Know About SEO in 2022
Think of the Internet as a spider web with billions of interconnected sites, each offering products, services, or information, and all wanting your undivided attention.
How is this massive web navigated so that you can find exactly what you want?
Through the use of search engine crawlers that index and map each site through a series of links. Google, Bing, Firefox, and Yahoo are all examples of search engines that people use to locate the answers they are looking for indexed in a usable format. And Google gets over 90% of worldwide search engine traffic (Bing is a not-so-close second at 2.75%).
So how does your website stand out in this maze of information? Search engine optimization — or SEO for short!
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
The art of SEO enhances a website encouraging search engine crawlers to visit and catalog your site pages, thereby increasing your organic rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO is a three-fold process:
- Technical SEO — Ensure your website runs securely (HTTPS protocol), has excellent loading times, is mobile-friendly, has no broken links, presents an up-to-date site map, and includes limited 404 errors, among other factors. The technical aspects of SEO are best monitored routinely through Google Analytics or another program that measures functionality and effectiveness.
- On-Page SEO — These are the coded instructions within each website page that guide the search engine crawlers, enhance indexing, and demonstrate continual relevance. On-Page SEO includes keyword-focused URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, and alt image tags. These can be within specific pages, like your Home Page or About Page, or blog posts, case studies, or any thought leadership content that you post on your site.
- Off-Page SEO — From link building and sharing on social media to creating sharable content and guest posting, links are created to lead back to your website. These links play a valuable role in demonstrating authority in your field or industry to the search engine crawlers.
Perhaps you can think of it this way — search engine companies like Google have customers too. Their customers (you and me when we use their search engines) want to find relevant information quickly and easily. SEO is a giant leap forward in helping potential customers find your website through organic search results.
Why is SEO Important?
Before this starts to feel overwhelming — let’s keep things in perspective. Over 90% of all websites get zero traffic from Google, and another 5% get less than ten visits per month. Most companies don’t use any SEO or aren’t using it constructively.
That means the opportunities are practically unlimited if your website harnesses and focuses SEO.
To be beneficial, it helps immeasurably to engage an SEO digital marketing expert — someone to help keep your site current with the latest changes employed by the search engine companies. An expert can look beyond ‘What is SEO?’ and delve into a comprehensive strategy.
As an example, an expert can help navigate the most recent algorithm update. Google released a Broad Core Algorithm Update in mid-2021 that has had a significant impact on web pages across the Internet.
A Quick Word About the Recent Google Algorithm Update
Getting into a complete explanation of the most recent core changes is beyond our scope here, but “The Page Experience Update,” as it’s being called, is meant to provide users with better experiences through superior page performance. Introducing three new metrics (referred to as Core Web Vitals), Google hopes to keep website owners focused on loading speed, site stability, and responsiveness as a way to build a better user experience (UX).
Google’s Martin Splitt further points out, “Improving page experience should be about bringing up the overall quality of your web page. So, this means you don’t want to abandon quality content creation efforts or other UX practices in the process of optimizing for this update.”
Reasons Why an SEO Strategy is Worth Gold
Done well, a powerhouse SEO strategy helps your website gain organic search results delivering customers to your door. Think of your on-site SEO as little marketing snippets that Google picks up and delivers directly to your customers, reaching users you might never have had access to any other way.
According to Google, companies get five times the value from SEO-enhanced organic search results than they do with Google Ads.
So, let’s look at some vital elements of an effective SEO Strategy.
How to Market Your Business Using an SEO Strategy
The basis of any successful SEO strategy is rooted in quality content.
Current, up-to-date content posted frequently using solid SEO techniques is key to any good marketing strategy in 2022.
Google (as well as the other search engines) is getting better at identifying relevant content that is accurate and reliable. And they reward that with ever-improving rankings on their SERPs.
Start with Keywords and Phrases
Strong keyword/phrase research is the first step in crafting an effective content strategy. While it is common for companies to choose keywords based on their name or specific product, keywords should focus on the potential customer’s intent.
Unless you are Nike or Amazon and your name is synonymous with your brand on a national level, it’s best to use keywords or phrases that replicate the answer a person is looking for. Instead of searching for ‘ABC Computing Services,’ a person would be more likely to search for ‘data migration services.’
Also, in 2022, keywords and phrases are becoming more conversational. This is based on the rapid rise of personal assistants like Alexa and Suri. Instead of searching for ‘yoga mat,’ people use phrases like, ‘Where can I find good yoga mats?’ Your SEO strategy should incorporate these types of changes to stay on top.
Content is Still Crucial
New algorithms may focus on performance, speed, and rendering times, but Google also focuses on content. There is a renewed effort to use E-A-T as a guide when crafting new or updated content: Expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness!
Whether written content, videos, or audio content (like podcasts), it should capture the imagination and draw visitors further into the story. When producing new content or updating existing information or pages, ask these questions when looking with a critical eye:
- Is it, first and foremost, helpful to the reader? Content should be something that people learn from and, hopefully, return to your site for more. It should be unimpeachable, original, and well-written.
- Does it contain internal linking to other pages or posts on your website to increase dwell time? The longer a visitor stays on your site, the higher ranking Google attributes to that content. The last thing you want is people bouncing back to the SERP immediately.
- Is it optimized for voice search using strong keywords?
Local Search is a Powerhouse if Your Customers are Nearby
When it comes to Local Search, over 75% of smartphone users search for a local business and visit that business within a day, and 45% buy online and pick up in the store. Consider these local search possibilities to capture a place in the ‘Local Pack’ on Google:
- Remember ‘customer intent’ when developing keywords and phrases, e.g., ‘pizza that delivers near me’ or ‘bicycle repair shops near me.’
- Be sure you have a Google My Business profile and use it to its fullest extent. Your My Business profile can be used like other social media to engage customers while also helping to improve your local search results.
- Diligently manage reviews. Customer reviews are critical to your business, whether on Yelp, Google, or some other site. If you receive a negative review, actively respond, and try to resolve the issue. Remember, Google incorporates their reviews into your listings and your rankings.
Tracking Your SEO Success
Today, there are various programs and services that track important SEO performance results for you (and your competitors), including:
- Page Speed
- Paid and Organic Traffic
- Backlinks
- Site Authority
- SERP Rankings
- Click-Through Rate
- Keyword Ranking
- Bounce Rate
- Pages/Blogs with Most Views
However, be sure that you have the expertise to understand your scores and how to improve them if needed. This is where an experienced marketing team that is well-versed in SEO brings great benefit.
Get a free SEO audit
At Lounge Lizard Worldwide, we offer an expert SEO team that is well-versed in developing and implementing solid strategies that positively impact your website and business. Our team can proactively monitor your results and make adjustments or improvements based on the latest technology changes happening within the industry.
Want a free website audit? Click here to get started!
Contact the Brandtenders at Lounge Lizard to learn more about SEO, building a successful strategy, and positioning your business to capture more site customers.
