Five key SEO trends impacting small businesses in 2022

Google’s changing algorithms have made SEO challenging for marketers across the board. To add to this complexity, the online behaviour of consumers is constantly evolving.

While keeping up with the latest SEO trends is a task, it is always worth the effort to maintain a prominent position on search engine results pages to reach searchers that are looking for your products and services. Here are five key SEO trends small businesses can implement to optimise their website in 2022.

  1. The rise of Information Hubs, aka content marketing 2.0
    Gone are the days when your content strategy just included creating blogs using a bunch of keywords. Creating quality and rich content hubs on your website signals to search engines that you are a genuine expert on the particular topic that searchers are looking for. Start expanding the types of content you produce within the information hubs. Take for example, a phone cover business – create content such as a guide on types of phone covers, a video showcasing different designs, an infographic on the materials used to create the product, case studies and testimonials from users, a podcast on the benefits of using phone covers and the like.
  2. Focus on user intent vs search volume
    While keywords remain at the centre of an SEO strategy, the focus on its search volume has moved onto the user intent behind the keywords. Optimising for user intent involves making sure that your content matches the specific goal that an individual had in mind when searching for something. In order to drive traffic that ultimately has a higher conversion rate, businesses should spend more time thinking about the users and how they will interact with the content on the site. Are customers looking to buy? Are they looking for information or for entertainment?
  3. Importance of a backlink strategy
    Backlinks to your website indicate to Google that your site is trustworthy and considered an authority by other sites. While generating high-quality backlinks can be an expensive and time-consuming exercise, small businesses don’t need to hold off on implementing a simple backlink strategy. The fastest and easiest way to generate backlinks is to ensure that your business is listed on several local directory websites. This goes beyond just white pages, there are many other sites on which you can register and list your small business to generate local citations.
  4. Pay attention to user experience
    A major trend sweeping the SEO world is the significant shift from traditional SEO to a greater focus on user experience. To reach your potential customers through search engines, you need to be more considerate about the users, in terms of how they use your website. Small businesses could consider optimising the navigation and the structure of the webpages as well as improving the quality of the content to make it easier for customers to access the information they need. Additionally, take measures to improve the speed of your site on both desktop and mobile, so your SEO rankings can be higher.
  5. Consistency in SEO implementation
    A successful SEO strategy in 2022 can’t take a “switch-on-switch-off” approach. Unlike other paid channels such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads, businesses need to commit to SEO for the long term to reap the benefits. Consistently improving your site, producing quality content, and generating quality backlinks is what will put your business on top of Google and in front of your perfect customers.

The market is more interconnected than ever before and so all businesses should be using SEO to their advantage. Adjusting your digital SEO strategies today is the best way to ensure success in the future. Your users are out there and searching for businesses just like yours, and you need a digital strategy that’s ready to meet these users and convert more customers.