The year 2022 is almost finished and you need to be on your way to start ranking in the first positions in Google. In this article, Maryland SEO experts share 5 of the search engine optimization trends that you should be paying attention to in order to improve your strategy into the end of this year.
1. Rank Brain
During the year 2022, Google Announced that Rank Brain was the third most important ranking factor. This technology works by analyzing click through rates on SERPS and time spent on your page (dwell time) to rank you accordingly on specific queries.
“RankBrain uses artificial intelligence to embed vast amounts of written language into mathematical entities. If RankBrain sees a word or phrase it isn’t familiar with, the machine can make a guess as to what words or phrases might have a similar meaning and filter the result accordingly, making it more effective at handling never-before-seen search queries.” – Greg Corrado
According to recent industry study by SearchMetrics, there has been concluded that the optimal dwel time for a page to rank on the first page is of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. So if you want to rank well you should improve your content by making it more attractive, compelling and useful. If you don’t answers your visitors’ questions and you can’t keep them reading your content, your rank will drop considerably.
2. Featured Snippets, Carousels, and Other Types of Results
Every year Google releases more forms of Search Results that enhance searchers experience. However, this results sometimes keep you buried on a less visible spot even if you are ranking in the first page. For this reason you need to create content that screams “click on me!” on the search results.
To do this, you should pay special attention to your keywords in the title and metadescription, making them more attractive to users that want an answer to their questions.
“My favorite tip would be reoptimize your old content to earn Google Featured Snippets. Earning Featured Snippets allows you to occupy position 0 and gain high CTRs against your competitors.” – Aj Ghergich
Also to rank on the Featured Snippet, it is useful to follow the next tips:
- Find keywords you rank for already or improve your position to appear in the first results as these have a possibility to be used for Featured Snippets.
- Create a 40-60 word block of content specifically designed to rank in the Featured Snippet spot.
- Use H2 or H3 Subheaders for every item of your list.
LEARN MORE: How to Increase my Website’s PageRank?
3. In Depth Content
Google shifted from only checking your keywords in the title, metadescription, url, image alt text, h1 tags, and description tag, to now also analyze the context of your content. It has been evident during the last year that Google prefers to show pages that cover an entire content in-depth in the position #1.
“You need to create ridiculously good content – content that is useful, enjoyable and inspired.” – Ann Handley
For this reason, one of the biggest jobs for SEOs this year is to run a content marketing audit to optimize posts with the following characteristics:
- Are at least 2,000 words long.
- Contain authoritative evergreen content.
- Include words and phrases that are strongly associated with your page’s topic.
LEARN MORE: Digital Consulting Tips for Reviewing Content
4. Mobile-First Index
This year the mobile-first index became a reality. Now Google considers the mobile version of your site the “real” version even when searching from desktop. This means that for the year 2023 you need to really focus on getting your site optimized for a mobile version.
In reality this is not as hard as it sounds. You only need to pay attention to three aspects:
- Make your content consistent across desktop and mobile
- Move from the “m.” version to a mobile responsive website.
- Optimize the mobile experience.
5. Voice Search Results
With the raise of mobile and assistants, voice search became one of the biggest trends during the year 2023. Now 20% of all searches on mobile are voice searches, and 41% of adults perform at least one voice search every day.
“People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.” – Brian Halligan
With these impressive statistics, you need to make sure you optimize your content to be featured on the voice search results. To be ready, you only need to follow the next recommendations:
- Rank your content in the first results.
- Optimize your content to appear in the featured snippet.
- Use questions and answers in your content.
LEARN MORE: Mobile Marketing: Voice Search Trends for 2023
Conclusion
The SEO Landscape is always changing, but the 5 trends that we showed you before are proved to work. Not many websites have started to adopt these strategies, so now is the best time to start optimizing your website and improving your rankings.
Do you want more SEO Tips? Contact Us, our Maryland SEO experts will share you their expertice and boost your results to have the best 2023 in rankings.
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