With the incredible growth of online business and eCommerce, many entrepreneurs are searching for the secret to standing out from the competition. While there is no magic wand for digital marketing success, search engine optimization (SEO) is the next best thing. In this blog post, we’re going to look at why your business needs an SEO strategy in 2022 and share some SEO tips from the experts to help you succeed.
The Importance of SEO
Before we explore why SEO is important in 2022, let’s start with the basics. What is search engine optimization?
Search engine optimization is the process of upgrading your website and online content to improve your rank in the search results from search engines, like Google and Bing. The better you perform on the search engine results pages (SERPs), the more people will see – and click on – your website. By simply getting a higher Google rank, your business can attract more high-quality traffic.
While most people associate SEO with long-form blog content (like this post), it can be applied to any form of online content, including YouTube videos, podcasts, product descriptions on sales pages, and even social media posts.
Benefits of SEO
In addition to improving visibility for both online businesses and local brick-and-mortar shops, SEO is a key factor in boosting your brand awareness online. By ranking higher in the SERPs, more users will be introduced to your brand.
The more they see your high-quality content, demonstrating your expertise and trustworthiness as a brand, the more likely they will stick around and potentially convert to a paying customer.
In addition, one of the biggest benefits of SEO is its success rate compared to other marketing channels. Leads from search engines boast a 14.6% close rate, while outbound marketing methods, such as cold calling or print, have a close rate of just 1.7%.
Trends and SEO Best Practices in 2022
What are some important SEO trends in 2022 to watch out for when focusing on SEO for small businesses? How can you incorporate these best practices into your marketing efforts? Our experts have a few suggestions.
Local Search
Don’t shy away from digital marketing and local search opportunities if you run a brick-and-mortar business. By focusing on Google My Business and other local digital marketing services, you can attract traffic in your geographic area. Try connecting with a marketing agency in your area to help you target a local crowd. For example, a digital marketing agency will better understand online customers, how to reach them, and where they are spending time online.
Voice Search SEO
With Alexa, Siri, and other AI-powered digital assistants growing in popularity, more people use voice search to find answers to their problems. This is important to remember as it impacts how keywords and queries are worded. A potential customer may type “shoe stores near me” but ask, “What shoe stores are open in my area?” using voice search.
Understanding the phrases will help you position your content to rank higher in organic search. Known as natural search engine optimization or organic search engine optimization, this strategy allows you to target phrases that you know your potential customers will be searching for. In turn, you can offer your content as a solution to their problem and increase the quality of traffic coming to your website.
EAT: Expertise, Authority, Trust
When discussing what you need to know about SEO in 2022, EAT should be top of mind. EAT, or Expertise, Authority, Trust, is an important factor used by Google to determine the quality of a website or piece of content. To ensure that they are returning high-quality and valuable results to the searches on their site, Google assesses the expertise of the website, the creator, and the content itself.
When optimizing your content for organic search, improve your EAT score by linking to quality third-party content, offering your expertise, and focusing on publishing informative content for your website visitors.
Content Is Key
Never forget the importance of content. It doesn’t matter what type you’re offering, whether written, video, or podcasts. If the user can’t find what they are looking for in your content, they will move on to the next option. Check and double-check that everything you publish is easy to navigate and offers value to the user. For example, mobile SEO is growing, so your content should be optimized for users’ phones as well as desktops.
Link Building
While the importance of link building isn’t new, it continues to be important when discussing our top 2022 SEO tips. For best results, include internal links to relevant webpages and outbound links to high domain authority websites. The best way to earn backlinks from other sites in your industry is to create valuable content that they will want to share. Then, you can position your website as a resource.
Start Your SEO Strategy Today
Make 2022 your year by utilizing SEO to improve your online business performance! Reach out to Zero Gravity Marketing, a digital marketing agency in CT, to begin your SEO process.
