SEO in 2022 is all about the build!

When I started working with SEO in 2010, nobody knew what it was. SEO in 2022 is very different!

Most business owners know the three little letters, but unfortunately, I would guess that over 90% of businesses have little knowledge of what goes into getting those top three organic search placements that everyone wants.

For successful SEO in 2022, every website element needs to be considered.

This post is focused on Google Organic SEO, but there are 100s of search engines, including Pinterest and YouTube. I have also written a separate post on Local SEO Tips.

SEO stands for “search engine optimisation.” It is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results on search engines.

searchengineland.com

Since the start of Covid, the internet has exploded with new websites and digital agencies. 1000s of them all declare their ‘unparalleled’ SEO and web development expertise, but many are simply selling what they know people want to buy without caring if a client succeeds or not.

Algorithm Updates

While the Google algorithm changes daily, Google announces a few big things every year. In May 2020, Google announced Core Web Vitals, a set of user-focused metrics designed to measure a page’s “health” in providing a smooth user experience.

Core Vitals and Page Experience were two hot topics for SEO in 2022, so if your digital agency is not working on either of these, it is probably not the fierce type of SEO you need in today’s competitive Internet Marketplace.

I have built LaraP Digital using Google’s best practices to hit core vital targets and provide an excellent page experience. You can check it for yourself using Google Lighthouse.

A hot topic in Facebook groups, many ‘experts’ are joining new business groups to sell their services. It drives me nuts that those same people are in SEO groups asking basic questions like ‘Is web design a competitive keyword?’ Ummm, DERRRR…

I believe an expert doesn’t have a website built with Elementor and get a 10/100 on Google Lighthouse, and I have seen that on more than 1 occasion.

Google Lighthouse Scores for this Blog Post – January 2022

Data and Stats

• 71% of commercial buyers begin their research with generic Google searches
• In 2019, Google accounted for just over 75% of all global desktop search traffic, followed by Bing at 9.97%, Baidu at 9.34%, and Yahoo at 2.77%. (Source: NetMarketShare)
• Of the billions of searches on a given day, 15% of daily searches are new to Google. (Source: Google)
• 70% of marketers see SEO as more effective than PPC. (Source: Databox)
• Organic search has 20X more traffic opportunities than PPC on both mobile and desktop. (Sparktoro, 2019)

In 2010, Google made 516 algorithm changes. That number increased to 1,653 in 2016 and to 3,234 in 2018. We don’t have data for the last couple of years, but still, you can bet that the number is continually going up.

Neil Patel

SEO in 2022 is challenging

One of the biggest challenges for me personally, though, is SEO is often an afterthought, a website add-on.

In a perfect world, SEO is started before the website is built, but that’s a topic for another day :)

So, after spending thousands of dollars on a website with a web designer, I will have someone contact me asking if I can “SEO their website.”

Then, I need to have a very awkward conversation about the differences between web design and web development and how the way a site is built affects SEO. A great UX can be the difference between being on Top 3 or page 3 in a SERP.

Web Designers often come from a place of design, so they choose lovely fonts, colours and images, and they make pretty websites.

Unfortunately, Google bots don’t see the prettiness. They read HTML.

Googlebot can crawl the first 15MB of an HTML file or supported text-based file. Any resources referenced in the HTML such as images, videos, CSS, and JavaScript are fetched separately. After the first 15MB of the file, Googlebot stops crawling and only considers the first 15MB of the file for indexing. The file size limit is applied on the uncompressed data. Other crawlers may have different limits.

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/googlebot

When I explain the reasons why the site won’t rank in its current state, the client may realise they made a bit of a boo-boo or they make think I am trying to sell them a new website, either way, the client isn’t overjoyed with the news that their site needs redevelopment.

It’s not nice to learn that your expensive website won’t rank without significant changes. Often, those changes are UX, design and platform-related.

There are no quick SEO fixes, no matter what you are told on social media. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.

Google wants to provide the best pages for Google users. The internet is flooded with content so Google uses an algorithm to decide which page should be ranked best.

Google asks for consistency, quality, expertise, authority and trust, amongst other things.

E-A-T is an SEO acronym for Expertise Authority and Trust, which came out of Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

Sales tactics and misinformation to get your money.

I love it when I see posts listing a few little things that will get 1000x better results. This is misinformation and a sales tactic to get your money.

Much of what you see in ads is geared towards selling SEO. Clients are sold a dream and possibly a package with a lock-in contract that they don’t need.

A small local business may not need a 6-month campaign; in many cases, google gains can be had with a new website built correctly or with a day of SEO work done to fix any errors that show up on an SEO Audit.

In some cases, an audit with the errors fixed can make a massive difference to a website and is much better for the bank balance, too.

Many new digital agencies are coming into the market, yet they don’t have the knowledge, skillset or experience to get results. They are simply a salesperson and perhaps outsourcing to cheap overseas freelancers for profit.

I always see those ridiculous Facebook ads with gurus telling you to buy their course for $97, and you will be top of Google in 3 days. Sorry, but it’s not possible to be on top of Google in 3 days unless you buy Google Ads.

I started learning SEO in 2010, and in my opinion, it’s essential to start with a plan before you build your website, as it saves a lot of time!

Having a site built around your keywords with a great technical build and on-page optimisation from the outset helps. I have built sites that are ranked and indexed with some keywords on page 1 in 6 weeks.

I build websites with good foundations. No tricks, no hacks and simply achieved by creating a site using Google guidelines.

No ongoing SEO packages are required by the client.

Whilst SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, clients often find the time it takes to get significant organic traffic gains frustrating. Mainly clients with businesses in a competitive niche.

In this post, I am going to break down various parts of SEO to give you an overview and show you it’s not either easy or quick to rank. SEO is a great marketing channel with excellent ROI for your business in the long term. But it is 1 of many marketing channels.

How to hire an SEO

Often in Facebook groups, I see discussions of recommendations for website creators, where friendly customer service, price or prettiness are the deciding factors rather than technical expertise.

I use the term “website creator’ as many of the offerings for websites are neither designers nor developers and in today’s highly competitive market, having a site built with technical skills and SEO know-how is beneficial to launch your business or also to scale.

Graphic or Brand Designers who build websites may have a less technical and more graphic-based approach to websites.
Unique Branding and a nice design are important but the UX and the way your site is built technical is what counts.

I am not saying that all web designers will build you a not-so-great website, but I have worked on way too many sites over the years that were done by web designers. These sites needed a lot of work to get them in shape for Google to crawl and index them. Then, months of consistent work are needed to see results.

If you don’t yet have a website, I offer Websites built Search Engine Optimised. It doesn’t mean the website will rank straight away, but if it’s built properly, you will see some organic traffic without doing anything.

No, you will not be at the top of search results any time soon, but you may get there in time.

SEO is forever changing, and organic rankings fluctuate as the algorithm changes so who knows what will happen in the future.

I love the saying, ‘all experts were once a beginner and many people I have worked with tout me as an expert, but SEO moves daily, and there is so much to learn all the time, I often feel like a beginner.

I am very experienced in organic SEO and local SEO, both nationally and internationally, so I know that Google moves goalposts all the time!

The only way to stay on top of things is with daily reading, research and testing. Some days, I am overwhelmed, and I have done SEO for years.

It’s not simple; it’s actually tough to achieve and keep your Google rankings. It’s daily work to stay in the top spots on SERPs.

When you pay for professional services, you are paying for expertise and experience that will enhance your online business. You are increasing your market share and hopefully decreasing that of your competitors.

Even the best SEO cannot guarantee you a page 1 position 1 for every keyword of your choice.

Site Performance & UX

Most companies nowadays use the Wordpress.org CMS platform due to its flexibility, scalability and robustness. WordPress is great, and if it’s built correctly, it’s easy for clients to update their websites themselves.

WordPress is open source, and you have almost unlimited options for your website. Choosing the correct options helps your SERP positioning; choosing the wrong options or adding new options to a current site can dramatically change your rankings.

Making a WordPress site simple, streamlined, and lightweight is far more difficult than you imagine. The foundations of the sites I build have taken my years of knowledge and hundreds of hours to research, test, and perfect the perfect back end.

Whilst adding lots of stuff makes the look technical to clients. Quality coding and site performance foundations are vital to seeing traffic gains. A lightweight, fast website is where experience shows in a WordPress Build.

While anyone can create with WordPress, it doesn’t mean they should. Technical skill is shown in lighthouse and with core vitals reports.

Ranking a DIY website

DIYing your site is fine. I write blogs on how to DIY, so please don’t think I am anti-DIY or anti-DIY platforms. However, as I have said previously, the build of the site is essential, and Wix, Shopify, etc., all have limitations to help DIYers create sites.

Sorry, but SEO in 2022 truly is all about the build

I also regularly speak with people who have wasted money on SEO.

I remember a client in 2020 who had spent $ 7,000 on a new website.

The client already had a website and some good organic traffic, but they were told the new site would see their rankings drop, and in around three months, they would come back. This does not make sense to me at all.

3 months is what it takes for a new site to start to see some good traction, not an aged domain, so going backward was due to poor web development and a lack of technical SEO skills. The site was worse than a DIY site, and it had cost a hell of a lot of money.

A well-developed website will increase rankings.

We only see a decline when going from an unsecured site (no SSL) to a site with SSL. Google sees those as 2 different sites, so https:// will be classed as a new site, but it will recover as Google requires SSL to rank high.

However, the site I just mentioned already had SSL.

After spending $10,000 on Search engine optimisation on top of the site’s cost for five months, the site was still losing rankings and traffic; after spending $13,500, they were losing business. So, the client asked me to take a look.

Oh my! It was not good! I could easily see why the site dropped like a stone on search. The backend development was terrible, it was essentially a whitelisted 2016 WordPress theme stuck together with plugins. So bad!

The former company was let go, so I spent two weeks recreating the site. After migration, the site went up an average of 12 Google positions in a couple of days! It’s much better than where it was in January.

We stopped working with that client due to Covid 19, but I looked the other day, and their rankings are still excellent. That’s due to our build and the SEO foundations we put into the site over the year we worked with them.

Not all websites are created equal.

A site created using Google best practices will rank on search engines and bring you clients using Google sites rather than hobbyist trawling ad & review sites. Clients will find you through your unique website, which is tailor-made for you and your unique business.

Companies selling websites often have pretty portfolios and great package deals. These can look like bargains, but when you ask for something, you are often upsold to ‘custom’ before you bat your lashes.

What may have started out as a good deal or even a bargain turns into a costly website to your personal taste.

Google may not share your personal taste nor enjoy the poor coding of the site you adore.

Many businesses are created by choosing a website template the owner finds visually pleasing and not realising that is not the best way to do things if they wish to rank high on Google.

Unfortunately whilst the sites may be graphically very pretty, without a lot of work & additional cost they won’t index & to get to page 1 they may need to be recreated in line with Google’s best practices.

SEO in 2022 is not set & forget

Whilst the initial cost may turn some businesses off, if you are going to have a website, you want people to see it. Paid advertising and social media can end up being much more expensive.

When looking for an SEO, you want to work with someone passionate about search, who lives and breathes it as Google changes daily & what may have worked last month or last year no longer applies.

It takes a minimum of 3 months consistent work to see some SEO results.

Results dependent on the competitiveness of your market so it could take 6 months or longer.

SEO is a marathon not a race

SEO will increase your income

The purpose of a website is to increase your business and brand & of course, your earnings!

A website is not an extra ad; it should be your crowning glory, the masterpiece of your brand and business.

Often, the package deals make up for their low buy-in cost with high-priced hosting.

I am happy for clients to maintain their own websites, or I offer website care and maintenance plans. On my resources page, I also have an up-to-date list of recommended website hosting.

Increase your brand visibility, business and bank balance

For the top 3 placements on SERPS, Google wants your site to be the best it can be!

Everything from the UX and website code to hosting can benefit your SEO gains.

SEO has excellent ROI even though the initial cost can seem daunting.

Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely (near impossible) that a poorly developed site with a rank of page 1 position 1 on Google for any competitive keyword.

SEO in 2022 is Strategic

First and foremost when creating a solid SEO strategy for your brand, your website should be developed search engine optimised and also for your individual business needs.

The website and marketing need to be aligned with your overall business goals.

Your SEO strategy is developed to attract the traffic most likely to convert into revenue-generating customers for your business.

Having visitors to your website is good. Having visitors who are likely to want what you offer is far better.

A good SEO strategy doesn’t focus simply on bringing visitors to your website. It focuses on bringing the right visitors to your unique brand and business

Your strategy will depend on the intent and purpose of your business and the goals you aim for.

You will also tailor your SEO strategy according to the type of website you plan to build.

The foundation of an SEO website design is a clear vision of what action you want your visitors to take

A Search Engine optimised website design is not for ranking but for visitors to your site

Google’s best practices are people’s best practices so an SEO website design will attract people through search engines and keep them on the site (dwell time is a ranking factor)

Whilst I don’t design purely for search engine rankings, I kinda do :)

I work with our clients’ website vision and include on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. I build 1 day websites responsive with a focus on mobile. Mobile is how Google indexes; also, most searchers view sites from their mobile devices.

Our clients’ websites not only keep visitors on and returning to the site but also generate enthusiasm for our clients’ brands.

I hope you found this blog on SEO in 2022 helpful/

until next time,