For many years, the goal of SEO has been to get your website or ad to appear at the top of Google's search engines, and this year will be no different. Within digital marketing trends in 2022, the main objective will be the same, but to be at the top of searches with zero clicks. Like this? Zero-click searches refer to “zero position on Google”, that is, for the featured snippets on Google pages, and this is where digital marketing and SEO trends with a focus on appearing on Google gain strength,
Position zero works differently from the other results: first, it is separate from the other results and is located in a small part of the top of the page. When users find the relevant information for their search on Google, before clicking on a link on a website, the most important thing is that it directly displays the relevant information waiting to answer the user's questions without having to click on anything. Hence the name “zero position in Google”.
Practical tips to appear on Google
Appearing on Google is essential for any business or website seeking online visibility. Presence in search results can significantly increase your brand's traffic and relevance. Here is a guide to actions you can take to ensure your site appears in Google results:
- Create a Search Engine Friendly Website: Your site should be well-structured, with clear URLs, relevant page titles, accurate meta descriptions, and an XML sitemap to help Google index your pages.
- Use Relevant Keywords: Identify and use keywords that are relevant to your business or content. These keywords should fit naturally into titles, headers, body text, URLs, and meta descriptions.
- Create Quality Content: Google values useful and informative content. Regularly create and publish original and valuable content that meets your target audience's needs and interests.
- Optimize for Mobile Devices: Make sure your site is responsive and offers a good experience on mobile devices. Google considers mobile optimization to be an important ranking factor.
- Use Google Search Console: Set up and verify your site in Google Search Console. This will allow you to submit your sitemap directly to Google, monitor search performance and receive notifications about potential issues.
- Build Quality Backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites that point to yours. They are seen by Google as votes of confidence. Build relationships with other quality, relevant sites to earn backlinks.
- Loading Speed: A website that loads quickly provides a better user experience and may be favored by Google. Optimize images, use caching and minimize heavy scripting to increase speed.
- Comply with Google's Guidelines: Avoid deceptive or manipulative techniques that violate Google guidelines. Practices such as hiding text or creating gateway pages can result in penalties.
- Create and Optimize Google My Business Page (If Applicable): If you have a local business, creating and optimizing a Google My Business page can increase your visibility in local searches.
- monitor and adjust: Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor the traffic and performance of your pages. Make adjustments as needed to improve and maintain your position in searches.
Appearing on Google is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process of optimizing and adapting to changes in algorithms and SEO best practices. With a focus on quality, relevance and user experience, you can build a strong presence in Google's search results.
green marketing
Just like the inclusive digital marketing trend, in 2021 we are even more concerned about the environment than ever before.
This is how the concept of green marketing was born. Consumers want to be sure that the brands they give their money to are as concerned about the state of the planet as they are.
Keep in mind that 81% of consumers believe that companies should help improve the environment, according to a global survey. This explains the rise of sustainable and environmentally friendly brands, especially among younger consumers.
interactive marketing
While not exactly new as a digital marketing strategy, publishing interactive content has recently been recognized as a best practice, which is why we've included it in our list of 2022 digital marketing trends.
Interactive marketing not only helps to attract the audience but also improves the user experience. Content can include quizzes, open-ended questions, surveys, contests, giveaways, widgets, etc., and work wonders for your brand. More brands are now focusing on Twitch and other live streaming platforms.
On Twitch, you can interact with people and really understand the strength of the product/service. If you are active with the streams schedule then it is an easy way to get Twitch followers.
At the very least, it will increase the amount of time users interact with their networks, which could improve your position in Google's search results and algorithms. But this goes far beyond the “green goods” market, as all brands have something to gain by adopting green and sustainable practices.
So the key is to communicate your commitment to the planet through your brand and your content, and if you're a startup, you can still make environmentalism a core element of your brand identity.
There are many ways to do this depending on your brand style, such as placing a prominent banner on your website, talking about it repeatedly on social media, etc. You can even go for more subtle methods like offering reusable bags in your brand colors or conveying environmental messages through your brand's visual identity.
Ever wonder why certain websites rank higher than others? Or why your website is not as high as your competitor's? Why is your competitor able to appear on Google and you are not?
A lot of this has to do with Google's algorithm. It analyzes over 200 ranking factors when determining where to rank a website. As you already know, these ranking factors are not easy to understand, which makes it difficult for you to figure out how to tweak your site to maximize your rankings.
How Google determines where to rank your site
Now that you have a sense of some of the ranking factors that Google considers, let's dive into some more detail.
click rate
Part of Google's algorithm looks at a click through rate. It calculates it as a percentage, reflecting the number of clicks you get out of the total number of people searching for that particular phrase that you rank for.
The higher the percentage, the more attractive your listing is compared to the competition. And if your click-through rate is higher than everyone else's, Google will slowly start moving you up the search engine results page as this algorithm factor tells you that searchers prefer your listing.
However, looking at the click-through rate is not enough as people can create misleading title tags and meta descriptions to boost their results. Therefore, Google also looks at your bounce rate.
It measures the number of people who leave your page by pressing the back button to return to the search listing page. If Google sends 1.000 people to one of your web pages and each of those 1.000 people hits the back button within a few seconds, that tells Google that your web page is not relevant.
Many of the websites that are ranking well on Google that don't appear to be optimized have a high click-through rate and a low bounce rate. And it helps to maintain your rankings.
Age
One of the big factors that make some websites rank well is their age. So most of the places that occupy the top are at least a few years old.
Of course, most of these older sites have more backlinks and content as they have been for longer, but not all of them.
If you take a new site, create tons of relevant links, as well as add high-quality content, you still won't get as much search traffic as older sites.
There's not much you can do here other than just giving him time. The older your site gets, the more search traffic you'll generally get, assuming you're continually trying to improve it.
Backlinks
Google doesn't just look at the sheer number of backlinks a site has — it also looks at relevance and authority.
Many of these non-optimized sites that are ranking well have some high quality backlinks pointing to the right internal pages. For example, if you only have a few links — but they come from .edu and .gov extensions — your site will rank extremely well.
In addition to having the right backlinks, these sites also have spot-on anchor text for those links. Most SEOs think you need rich anchor text links to rank well, but the reality is, you don't.
Google is able to look at the webpage that is linking to you and analyze the text around the link as well as the text on the page. It helps Google determine if the link is relevant to your site and what you should potentially rank for.
Monitor your link profile
Links pointing to your site can make or break it.
Recent research suggests that “high quality backlinks make up 30% of your overall page score on Google”.
It is very important to keep track of which websites are linking to you. Low quality, irrelevant or spammy sites could be the end of your dreams.
Content quality
Since its Panda update, Google has been able to determine the quality of content on websites. For example, it can determine if a site is too thin or has duplicate content, allowing for much better analysis of content quality than before.
Many of these older, well-ranked sites have very high quality content. You may not think so, but Google does. Because?
Because Google doesn't just look at the content on a website. It looks at content on a website and compares it to others within that space. So if you have higher quality content than all your competitors, you are much more likely to outperform them in the long run.
Internal links to appear on Google in 2022
The biggest mistake I see websites making right now is that they tend to forget to use internal links, in which you link one of your web pages to another.
Don't expect immediate results when you start adding internal links. It usually takes more than 3 months for the links to start working. And you can't just go into your old pages and posts and push tons of internal links. You need to do this slowly, over time, and add internal links to new pages as well.
Website speed will make you appear on Google in 2022
Don't you hate it when websites load slowly? I know you do. To make matters worse, have you ever gone back to sites that load slowly? Chances are not!
For that same reason, in April 2010, Google started taking load time into account when ranking websites. It wasn't because you wouldn't go back to those sites that load slowly, it was because they saw a trend that indicated you would decrease your Google usage when Google showed you slow sites. And if you use Google less and start using other search engines, Google would make less money from your ads.
So how do you speed up your site? Here are some tips to improve site speed:
- Content Delivery Network – Your hosting company should have this feature. Call them to have them activated. It puts your website on servers all over the world so your website loads faster.
- Fast server – choose the best website hosting provider. That makes a difference in the world when it comes to site speed.
- Clean your code – hiring a good developer is worth it as they will make your code cleaner. Messy code usually means a slower website.
- A quick way to get started is with a Google Speed Test that will give you tips to improve your website speed.
Social proof will also make you appear on Google
There has been a recent debate about whether or not social actions impact rankings. Whether they do or not, more social actions means more traffic. And the more people visit your site, the greater the chance that someone will naturally connect with you. And more links mean higher rankings.
For that reason, you should try to get more social proof.
Social proof is an important factor in building the trust and credibility of an online brand or business. This is visible evidence that other consumers trust your brand or products, such as reviews, testimonials, likes on social networks, among others. In addition to influencing consumers' purchase decisions, social proof can also play a role in your visibility in Google's search results. Let's see how:
- Reviews and Ratings: The presence of positive reviews and rankings on sites like Google My Business can directly influence your position in local searches. Reviews can also appear in search results, increasing visibility and attraction.
- Testimonials on the Site: Including customer testimonials and recommendations on your site can not only build trust, but also provide unique and relevant content that Google values.
- Engagement in Social Networks: Positive engagement on social networks (likes, shares, comments) can be considered by Google as a sign of authority and relevance. This can indirectly influence your ranking in search results.
- Third Party Media and Publications: Mentions and positive coverage in relevant media, blogs and publications can act as social proof and also contribute to quality backlinks, which are an important factor for SEO.
- Use of Seals and Certifications: Displaying trust seals, awards, and certifications on your site can increase credibility and provide additional signals of trust to search engines.
- Integration with Assessment Platforms: Integration with popular review platforms like Trustpilot or Yelp can expand your online presence and provide additional content that can be indexed by search engines.
- User Generated Content: Encouraging and featuring user-generated content, such as product photos shared by customers, can build an engaged community and provide unique, authentic content for your site.
By implementing and highlighting these forms of social proof on your website and online strategy, you are not only strengthening your brand in the eyes of consumers, but also providing additional signals that Google can recognize and value.
Social proof can be a powerful tool in your SEO strategy, helping to increase visibility, trust, and ultimately conversion by helping you get ranked on Google.
Get active on relevant niche platforms
Another strategy to quickly gain traction is to sign up to “niche platforms”, which are basically websites geared towards a specific industry.
Consistently create high-quality visual content. Consistently distributing high-quality content in all the right mediums will help your SEO on many levels, including building visual content.
These not only help you connect with your audience in a memorable way, but also considerably streamline your brand's signal building efforts.
That's because visual content tends to get a lot of shares and has the potential to go viral.
In fact, “content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images”.
Infographics, in particular, are a great medium to use.
To further maximize your impact, use branded anchor text (where your brand is included in the hyperlink) when linking back to your site.
Just make sure it looks natural — not like you're deliberately trying to brand your hyperlinks.
User experience is a way to make your website appear on Google in 2022
At the end of the day, Google is interested in one thing: providing its users with the best experience possible.
If your website offers a great user experience, you must be in good shape.
No matter what Google throws at you, there should be a level of stability, and your rankings are unlikely to see a dramatic drop. At least try to deliver this:
- fast loading pages
- mobility
- intuitive navigation
- clean interface
- no disruptive popups
- Webspam and blackhat practices
Conclusion on what to do to appear on Google
The key to getting more search traffic is not just building more links or adding more content. It's also about understanding the Google algorithm. And if you want to take it a level deeper, it really comes down to understanding people, as Google's goal is always to do what's best for its users.
So if you want to maximize your search rankings, your best bet is to do what's best for your users. Of course, in the short term your rankings may not go up as fast as you would like, but in the long term you should do just fine.
Brands as well as their marketing teams have a lot of things they need to count on these days. They need to count their number of likes, followers, retweets, comments, shares, tags, mentions, etc.
With over 20 social media platforms available at your disposal just for marketing, it can be hard to take the time to keep track of your Google rankings on top of that. After all, hasn't social networks changed the way people search for information? Maybe we've reached that stage where these channels can replace Google?
Google is still the most popular website in Brazil and receives more than 86 billion total monthly visits. To put that into perspective, Facebook only gets 20 billion total monthly visits, while Instagram and Amazon pull in just over 4 billion respectively. In fact, for the past decade Google has held the top spot as the most popular website.
So yes, in 2022 you should still be concerned about how you rank on Google.
However, even though Google has been such a powerful force in our lives for the last 10 years at least, the top echelon at Google is still one of the biggest challenges. First, it's competitive. Second, you need to find out how Google's algorithm works.
To help you crack the code on how you can rank higher on Google, we at Colors Agency we design SEO strategies, but also brand positioning for large, medium and small multinational companies, all projects are important to us!
