2021 saw three major core updates to the Google Algorithm with a significant shift towards improved user experience.
Undoubtedly, Google will have many more changes in store over the coming year. It is crucial to stay on your toes and up to date with the latest information about the algorithm.
If you want to find out more about the newest SEO marketing trends, keep reading. We have three critical trends that you need to be aware of to succeed in SEO this coming year.
Keyword Clusters
You know that you need to create killer content to rank well in the SERPs, and now you also need to think more significantly than a singular article. Targeting a particular keyword is no longer sufficient for effective SEO. You need to be looking at the bigger picture, which is where keyword clusters come into play.
Keyword clusters look at groups of keywords that cluster around a singular topic. For example, you may write a pillar article on a topic such as marketing.
Off that pillar, you will have more articles based on keywords relating to that topic, such as digital marketing or social media management.
You keep breaking each keyword down until you have clusters of keywords related to the topic. You use this list to build your articles and capture everyone searching on a topic with related keywords.
Using this technique, you can target more interested searchers, keep them on the page longer and drive even more traffic to your site. To learn more about keyword targeting techniques, read this article.
Target Long-Tail Questions
The ‘People also ask’ tool within Google has blown up over the last year. SEO metrics show that these additional, related questions are now showing up in 48% of searches.
This is excellent news because it is another part of the Google results pages that you can target with your marketing efforts.
The box is placed at the top of the SERP and answers questions related to your search topic. Often the box appears above the first search result for the original keyword.
Their prominence on the page should not be overlooked. Your content needs to answer commonly asked questions if you want to be featured in the box.
Using questions in your headers and then answering them in the body corporate content marketing solutions is a good way to get noticed by the ‘People asked’ feature. Google will also give more credence to pages with an FAQ section as these will often be the answers people seek.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals is now a Google ranking factor following last year’s significant page experience update.
These SEO metrics look more closely at the user experience on the page, including load times, time to interaction, and the amount of shifting about on the page your content does.
Google wants all users to experience a fast-loading website with a clean and straightforward layout. They want their customers to have minimal interference (looking at you, cookie pop-ups) to get to their content quickly.
They will penalize websites that provide the correct info but a terrible web browsing experience.
You can find all the info you need in the Google Search Console to help you start investing in experience-based SEO as part of a new innovative marketing plan.
This Year’s SEO Marketing Trends
SEO is constantly shifting the goalposts and keeping the marketing industry on its toes. Hopefully, this insight into some of the most important SEO marketing trends that will be impacting us this year will help you stay ahead of the competition.
Remember, Google wants the user to have a great web experience, so make this your priority in both design and content.
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