The only constant in search engine optimization is change. If you are still using the same SEO playbook from five years ago – or even one year ago – you may be missing out on important opportunities. With that in mind, we’d like to dive right into some of the top SEO trends to watch for in 2022.

#1 – Focus on Video

We already know that video plays a prominent role in the modern internet. With fast internet speeds available for many users, it’s easier than ever before to stream your content onto the devices of your prospective audience. With that said, it might be time to think about your video efforts from an SEO perspective. YouTube alone processes 3 billion searches a month, so having a notable video footprint on the internet, optimized for search, is a major opportunity to drive engagement.

#2 – Be Relevant

One of the persistent themes that has been unfolding in recent years on the SEO front is the need to be topically relevant to your site. For example, if you have a site that is largely about one topic, but you sprinkle in some articles on an unrelated topic because you find low-competition keywords you’d like to go after, that effort may not be successful. The new content won’t be relevant to the site you have built, and the search engines may not rank it well as a result. While building a site, establish clearly what kind of content you offer, and organize that content logically so search engines, as well as users, can understand it and explore it easily.

#3 – Speed, Speed, Speed

Without a doubt, speed should be one of your top SEO priorities in 2022, if it isn’t already. Google launched its Core Web Vitals initiative in 2020 to evaluate the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of websites. Sites that score well can see a boost in rankings, but slower sites are now at a disadvantage and can experience a decline.

Fortunately, working on your page speed is something that is more easily controlled than factors like backlinks and other technical SEO elements. You can strive for improved page speed by upgrading your hosting, compressing files, and using other techniques that are relatively quick and easy to implement.

#4 – Matching Search Intent

Hopefully, you are already on the right track with the importance of search intent and what it can mean for your SEO campaigns. Basically, the idea behind search intent is that the content you provide the user should line up nicely with what that user was hoping to find when they performed the search in the first place. Not only will hitting on search intent help you rank better, but it can also help you improve your click-through rates on the search result pages. For each keyword you target, think about what that searcher was likely looking for, and then create content around answering that question or solving that problem.

#5 – Content Continues to Reign

This isn’t so much a new trend as it is a continuation of an ongoing theme. Content has long been essential for SEO, and that isn’t changing in 2022 – and it’s not likely to change anytime soon. Content is where you feature your keywords, add value for your visitors, and so much more. Specifically, consider working on long-form content pieces that are able to include not only your main keyword but plenty of other words and phrases that are related. Steady production of long-form content can serve as the backbone of a healthy SEO campaign.

You don’t need to throw out everything you know about SEO with each new year that arrives, but you also can’t be stuck in your old ways. Staying on course with tried and true methods while also keeping yourself up to date on new trends and tactics is the best approach. We hope this list of 2022 SEO trends will give your rankings a boost in the new year.

To help get you started, check out our Core Web Vitals checker we built out at the end of last year in anticipation of the upcoming changes!