What is something that people who understand love but people who don’t understand strongly dislike? Yup, SEO. One marketer’s best friend and another’s worst nemesis. It makes sense! It can show some outstanding results when you grasp how to take advantage of it. When you don’t, you’re left wondering if it is affecting how many people discover your business and what you need to change. With over half of all website views coming from search, it is important to get at least a basic understanding of SEO to make sure there are as many eyes on your business as possible. We’ve put together a list of tips and predictions for SEO in 2022. It’s game time!

Optimize Your Content For Other Languages

This tip will be either more or less relevant depending upon where your business is located and what your customer base looks like. Sure, English is the world’s most spoken language, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who wants to buy something from you says it. We don’t call a touchdown in the NFL a “try” as we do for rugby. That would be silly. If you’re not sure which languages to target, you can search your city’s demographics to see the next most popular language. You can also use Google Analytics to see which countries your website visitors live in. Make sure your website content is hermoso!

Optimize For Voice Search

Another new trend is emerging, and that trend is voice searching! Siri, where can I get a haircut nearby? Alexa, where can I get a burger? Pretty soon, we’ll be saying, “Hey Google, make me a sandwich.” And bang, it’s lunchtime. But for now, people are using voice search to find products, services, and stores in their area. In fact, according to Google, 40% of adults and 55% of teens use voice search at least twice a day. For this reason, your website needs to be optimized for voice search. “Cool, but how” is probably what you’re thinking. We’re getting there, sheesh! What is this, a 40-yard dash?

Long-tail Keywords

Let’s say you run a rug shop. Fancy ones, vintage ones, fluffy ones, all of them. Unlike a 40-yard dash keyword that would simply say “rugs,” try something more like a mile run. Something like “Where to buy a vintage rug near me.” Also, consider using the actual question a person would ask if they were looking for your product or service. “Where can I buy a fluffy rug?” Make sure to include your city in your keywords as well. Don’t just sweep your keywords under the rug! Eh, we know. Swing and a miss.

Featured Snippets

Have you noticed Google’s featured snippets? They are Google’s attempt to answer the searcher’s question without them having to actually click a link. It might sound like a bad idea because it means fewer clicks to your site, but it can prove your worth to a potential customer. Most featured snippets are pulled from the first page of Google search results, so you’ll need to find a way to get there. That battle is for another article entirely, but just know that you’ve hit the bullseye if you’re there. Or the strike zone? Have we used enough sports puns for you yet? Don’t worry if you’re not on the first page; you still have a good chance of your snippet appearing in the search results.

For those who are not super highly ranked in Google search results, focus on longer-tail keywords that are specific to your business. For our rug shop example, something like “What are the most common rug types for homes?” It’s also important to note that the most common forms of featured snippets are as follows: definitions, lists, steps, and tables. In the end, Google just wants to give the best answer to the user, so think about what questions potential customers would ask when you’re writing content for your site. And don’t forget to do keyword research on your biggest competitors so you can figure out how you can beat them. It’s like watching the game film on the other team before you play them. Nailed it.

Those are our tips for SEO for this new year, and we hope you found them helpful. Don’t worry if you’re still feeling overwhelmed by it all or just don’t have the time to overhaul your site for SEO optimization. We understand! We can help you hit a game-winning SEO 3 point shot at the buzzer that will have your business ready for the Stanley Cup. We can picture you sports fans’ faces right now and we sincerely apologize. But give us a shout when you’re ready to take your SEO to the next level. SEO on 3! 1… 2… 3 – SEO!