SEO in 2022: Is MUM the Word?

Forecasting is a significant part of an SEO firm's work. As Alex Stepman of SEO Sparta, says, "On any given day, I ask myself: How will search change in the coming months and years--and how can I help my clients evolve and compete?"

Another major part of an SEO firm's work is retrospection. Last year's performance can serve as a guide for this year's performance.

A good SEO asks himself: What have we done, and how can we make it better?

Goal-setting combines the work of forecasting and retrospection. Taking the time now to set an outline for 2022 can help you execute effectively throughout the year. Part of goal-setting, too, is allocating money to specific strategies--strategies that minimize waste and maximize ROI.
Below we offer a few crucial goals for your 2022 SEO campaign. We believe allocating money to these strategies will offer the best ROI in 2022.

Content in 2022

Assuming you already have a viable, optimized website, the perennial top strategy for any SEO campaign is always content marketing.

The key to assuring an ROI on content is investing in quality--and not necessarily quantity, though quantity works, too, if each piece maintains a certain level of quality. As Neil Patel notes: "The notion that writing more will boost your traffic and rankings only rings true if you don't sacrifice quality."

So, what type of content should you produce?

Text is still the best content source, and original, articulate, and intriguing writing will likely be your best option for placement on the SERP. The advantages of a text-heavy website also include other factors that affect website performance, like page speed and voice and mobile compatibility.

However, with the emergence of Google's new algorithm, MUM, diversity is vital. As the predecessor to BERT, an algorithm that emphasized voice search (see below), MUM is "1000 times more powerful," according to Google, and "can multitask to unlock information in new ways."

The new algorithm answers complex searches by analyzing videos, images, and text at once to yield a richer result. As Google explains it:

"Eventually, you might be able to take a photo of your hiking boots and ask, 'can I use these to hike Mt. Fuji?' MUM would understand the image and connect it with your question to let you know your boots would work just fine. It could then point you to a blog with a list of recommended gear."

Search is changing, and the emphasis on content is not changing. However, to prepare for new frontiers in search, think of dynamic content in different modes: video, images, songs, games, and good old text. 

Optimize for Voice Search 

As noted above, Google's recent big algorithm, BERT, emphasized the importance of voice search. To meet the demands of search in 2022, you must optimize for today's information-hungry consumers, who search on various platforms, including desktop, mobile, and voice assistants.

Yes, similar optimization techniques work for each platform. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to optimize desktop and mobile and voice. But recognizing differences and optimizing pages for the prevailing medium will amplify your ROI in 2022.

So right now, optimizing for voice is a good idea. To do so, you must focus on long-tail keywords, as outlined here: "Voice Search: What You Need to Know." Another focus should be featured snippet optimization, as outlined by Brian Dean here.

Mobile Optimization 

The bulk of searches has occurred on mobile devices for some time now. And Google's transition to a mobile-based index is old news. The search engine now uses mobile content for over half of the pages shown in search results. 

In 2022, your optimization efforts must account for the mobile experience. At a minimum, this means each page must be optimized for mobile. Speed is critical, too. In introducing a "speed update" for mobile  in 2019, Google said that "speed" is now a ranking factor for mobile sites.

For more information on mobile optimization strategies, read Moz's Mobile Optimization How-To.

Organic SEO with SEO Sparta

If you're looking for an SEO company that understands how to effectively promote websites with content optimized for voice and mobile, contact SEO Sparta: 215-900-9398.

We combine traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--emphasizing natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective content marketing campaigns.

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If you are interested in transforming your website into a money-making tool or are interested in exploring opportunities to outperform your competition, we encourage you to contact SEO SPARTA.

We combine traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--emphasizing natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective marketing campaigns.

Contact us