Is SEO becoming a lever that requires resources beyond the Internet, and to seek visibility by all possible and/or accessible means? Here are some points discussed on the future of SEO in 2022 and for the years to come:
Is SEO Just About Internet SEO? If we reason from the point of view of the meaning of the term SEO: Search Engine Optimization or content optimization for search engines, we could say that it stops there!
It’s a bit like the community manager who is translated into French as a community animator. The CM animates a community, and that could also stop at this mission. Except that in both cases, SEO like community management, a lot of things are behind it, and moreover the years. If these 2 professions are not redistributed, they will gradually become universes unfortunately catch-all or rather badly perceived by companies.
SEO and web writing: do not confuse them!
As such, it should not be confused with the web copywriter or SEO copywriter, who is mainly content-oriented, and not technical. By technique we mean the optimization of the website and its coding, as well as many aspects to make a site perfectly SEO friendly.
The technical side is rather attributed to the SEO expert, who will also know all the tricks of web writing and its optimization, but without being a copywriter. This in no way excludes that an SEO expert can be an excellent writer and technician at the same time.
Complex? Yes and no, if we take the time to fully understand the universe, the objectives to be achieved, and how SEO is expected to evolve in 2022 and beyond. It remains complex if we do not dig and if we are not really interested in it. However! No company with a website that wants to do business online should miss out on SEO.
We must therefore consider the 2 aspects of SEO: technical and editorial and choose the right providers.
What exactly is SEO?
In the strict sense of the term, it is about being able to gain visibility on the Internet thanks to its website, and the content it broadcasts. SEO calls for technical and editorial skills when it comes to producing content and positioning it as close as possible to the first Google position.
And if we often only raise Google, this is just a question of monopoly, but all search engines are still concerned when we talk about SEO.
Another term used, natural referencing, which refers to free levers to optimize its positioning on search engines. However, I put it more under SEO, because we are not really talking about the technical side of a site when we raise it.
This is a very simplistic definition, but behind it lies a multitude of things and skills to have to take full advantage of this leverage. This is the reason why it is also mentioned that SEO is only practiced properly and qualitatively by experts. When we talk about a web copywriter or SEO copywriter, in particular, only the content is taken into account. These profiles are able to optimize content, generally, an editorial article, so that it can position itself as well as possible on search engines.
Content is no longer enough in SEO
Except that the content alone is not enough to meet this positioning objective. There is the whole technical aspect of the website that hosts the content, which is important. This is almost the most important part because it provides a foundation, on which the web copywriter or SEO copywriter as they are called will then work.
Clearly, even if a writer optimizes content perfectly, it will be of no use if the site does not meet the rules enacted directly or indirectly by search engines and in particular Google. To hope for good SEO, a site must load quickly, be in HTTPS, its code must also be SEO friendly, that it regularly disseminates content, that the content alternates between long and short articles, etc.
Even by following these rules, you are only starting your SEO work, because this is the bedrock or foundation on which a web copywriter will work.
SEO is all about authority and popularity!
SEO authority is arguably one of the most important criteria to integrate! For many years people talked about the importance of backlinks to gain this authority. But today that is not enough! already because of stiff competition, but also because companies are increasingly integrating the need for SEO.
Authority is in a way an index, through which Google judges your legitimacy on a universe, a specific subject, in order to position you on its search engine. The more authority you have, the better your positioning will (normally) be.
Some will say that it can be put in opposition to the semantic cocoon, a technical point that will reinforce this authority, or even supplant it in certain cases (to be verified). Working on authority together with the semantic cocoon will only be better. Yes, it’s starting to get a bit complex!
As for popularity, it can go beyond the Internet stage and be acquired beyond it, in the real and physical world. The popularity is linked to exposure both online and offline.
You gain this authority through your expertise, your media coverage and all this leads to better awareness of business and therefore your site offering services and/or products. This is what it is about today in SEO, but not only!
Where will SEO stop from 2022?
First of all! You should know that once your site is fully optimized with the following content, you will be one of the people who normally do things well in SEO. Without going into details, we imagine that everything is well done according to the rules.
From there in 2022, you are just getting started! These are the new groundwork to lay unless your popularity and authority are already fully seated. If you have had a business for many years by having become a reference, in addition to being publicized, then it is very beneficial for you. But this is not the case for everyone.
So what to do to gain popularity and how to approach SEO in 2022? Let’s see some levers that will increase your popularity even more, and at the same time your visibility.
Social networks
In 2022, we will therefore have to show ourselves and use the exposure levers available to you. To do this, there are already social networks. So yes! if we consider the sources of web traffic, of which social traffic is a part, it is already integrated into the search for visibility to be acquired in SEO. But if we tell you that today you have to be present everywhere, that is a game-changer because it will require a real work of presence on the different channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, but also Pinterest, real SEO marketing leverage.
This is where one or more community managers will be directly involved in SEO. So yes, community management is integrated into SEO when we talk about social traffic. Social networks in SEO, will not improve your positioning on search engines, but they will help send positive signals, which will lead to better visibility and therefore more traffic to your website.
It was said, however, not so long ago that it does not matter to be present everywhere. However, it is still necessary to consider the recurring content to be produced, that it is relevant and of quality while establishing an editorial line specific to each social network. A real job that involves time and qualified personnel.
Use webinars
Webinars are a lever of exposure in SEO and not a direct source of traffic. It is therefore an indirect source that will allow a company and/or its representatives, its experts, to gain in popularity. It is therefore about making yourself known, talking about your business, exposing yourself through proven expertise, and getting traffic and business through this. The goal is to bring everything back to the website to generate traffic and leads if it is a business.
Speaking at public events
Why stop at webinars when you can also speak at events, and thus expose in the same way a subject of expertise or other. Another advantage vis-à-vis the webinar is to allow you to physically meet people, potential customers and to promote your business in a relaxed atmosphere.
You will thus create a bond and as such, having sympathy and empathy will also be beneficial for you to gain popularity.
Contribute to speeches in specialized media
Some popular online media and/or specialized in your universe, are always looking for experts to speak on a topic that is trending or that raises many questions. We can also talk about chestnut trees for which we call on a series of experts to give a point of view or a future vision of a profession, for example.
Here again, you have to show yourself, expose your expertise, and indirectly talk about your site, with the additional possibility of earning a backlink on the media.
Become an influencer?
Why not! if we must nevertheless consider that this is not an objective to be achieved in my opinion, but more an “end” which relates to its work and its expertise. Clearly, you become an influencer by doing things well but not by trying to become one.
In conclusion
If SEO remains a story of visibility, today we can say that all the levers are good to take beyond the Internet. Especially when it comes to gaining popularity which will indirectly lead to your website.
At this stage, SEO is no longer a matter of keywords, of optimized writing, but also of massive exposure through all possible channels, whether online or offline. If in the long term the owner of a website or a company becomes an influencer, that will clearly contribute to exploding his visibility.
If each lever and each profession must nevertheless remain in their place, we can say that each of them can be integrated into SEO work.
