Navneet Kaushal / 5 Mins Read
Updated: February 17, 2023
SEO is a growing field in the digital marketing era. In this blog, we look at the leading SEO trends you need to keep an eye on in 2021.
As you know, SEO rules are ever-evolving as a mutating virus. Old tactics won’t cut it anymore. As you work on ranking on top in 2022, here are 9 leading SEO trends that will definitely set you on your way to becoming a trending name on the web.
As SEO best practices evolve, a very unlikely ranking hack is emerging.
Snippets:
Yes, snippets, but not just any snippets. Rich Snippets. Perhaps before we go further, some quick definitions are in order.
A snippet is the result search engines show on the results page for a query made. Here’s an example:
A rich snippet shows more information, helping the user to select the more relevant result. Take a look below:
If you haven’t started, now’s the time to employ rich snippets in your SEO strategy. Careful structuring of your snippets will give you that much-needed boost in SEO ranking.
According to Google, page speed is a major ranking factor. Slow-loading pages (3 seconds or more) have detrimental consequences:
Improving your page load time is critical if you want to rank well. Let’s look at some tweaks that can help bring your site up to speed.
As we step into 2018, your main task is to work on your page loading speed.
Page relevance will never become outdated as a ranking factor. Search engines want to give users the best experience possible on the web. That means showing relevant results.
“When dealing with search engines, the term ‘relevance‘ describes the extent to which a website's content corresponds to the search term used.” Search Metrics.
Search engines place great value on relevance when it comes to query results. For example, pizza recipes will not be included in the search results when searching for pie recipes. Even if the pizza recipe tops in other SEO ranking factors, because that page is not relevant to the search query, it won’t appear.
In short, page relevance is decided by your content. To optimize for relevance:
If your page is irrelevant to the categories you want to rank for, your publishing efforts will be wasted.
“Voice search is characterized by its prevalence on mobile devices and its focus on local searches.” Search Engine Watch.
Because talking is more natural than typing, voice search is fast becoming the way people search the internet. A simple voice command and the answers will be right at your fingertips. To rank better in 2022, make sure to consider optimizing for voice search. How?
The future of search is the voice. Take advantage of this technological advancement and smoothly talk your way to Google’s top listings.
This sounds like an oxymoron but yes, there is such a thing as a “linkless” backlink. And these are fast becoming strong ranking factors as we head into 2018.
A “linkless” backlink is simply a mention of your name or brand by other web users. Search engines pick these mentions and use them as trust signals. They work the same way that “real” links work, thus they are “linkless” backlinks.
“Duane Forrester, formerly Sr. Product Manager at Bing, points out that unlinked mentions can be just as strong a signal as regular links…..”. linkassistant.com.
Not all mentions will be positive, though. To protect your brand's reputation, you must invest in “mention monitoring” software like AWARIO. Track all mentions of your brand and reply to them. If negative comments are made, quickly implement damage control measures.
As search engines evolve, they are making strides to making a search as natural as possible.
Enter natural language queries.
This is the search that is carried out in everyday natural language. And it’s on the rise, typed or spoken. Because it’s easier than keyword-based searches which may require different combinations of keywords before you get the right results, natural language queries are becoming popular.
Search engines have become so advanced they can process longer, complex queries. Take a look at the example of a natural query below:
“Your keyword strategy must now be more conversational and mimic how real people talk and ask questions verbally.” Search Engine Land
Search results are becoming more personalized. Search engines give “personal” and tailor-made results for the user. Besides the generic search results, search engines include results based on the information they have about the user, such as:
The three main pillars of personalization are:
If you thought link building was dead, you are dead wrong. Contrary to all the fake news of link building being obsolete, it’s still your number one SEO hack.
Link building still reigns supreme because it’s the #1 trust factor for search engines. Be warned, though, not all links are good. , It’s not the number of links but the quality of links that matters.
Though getting quality backlinks is becoming more difficult, you can still get them through:
These and other link-building techniques applied properly will set you on your way to position #1 on the SERPs.
“The combined traffic from mobile and tablet devices tipped the balance at 51.2 percent, vs. 48.7 percent for desktop access, marking the first time this has happened since StatCounter began tracking stats for internet usage.” Tech Crunch.
People are spending more time on mobiles than they do on desktops. So if you want to be found on the web you have to rank well for mobile, otherwise:
Factors To Help You Rank Better On Mobile.
Is your SEO strategy ready to compete for position #1 on Google? Put these tips to work and watch your ranking improve.
Happy ranking.
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Navneet Kaushal is the CEO and founder of India’s most award-winning SEO Services Company: PageTraffic. Navneet's expertise has established PageTraffic as one of the most respected and successful search marketing agencies in Asia. Navneet also conducts corporate workshops and is a much sought-after speaker at prestigious events. You can follow him up on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
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