8 Key Digital Marketing Trends To Focus On In 2022

With all of that said, now that 2022 has arrived, unfortunately, the Covid crisis persists. Rather than wait with bated breath and hope for the best, if online marketers want to remain relevant and succeed, they need to take a proactive approach, think ahead, and plan accordingly. In order to get you started on the right foot, here’s a look at some of the top digital marketing trends for 2022 that you can use to bolster your success this year. 

Featured Snippets

Typically, when people have an inquiry, they head to Google, type it into the search bar, click enter, and search for the content that they feel best answers their question and meets their needs. In some cases, however, the answers that users are seeking are suggested at the top of the search result page in paragraph form that is located in a box. 

In search engine results terms, these boxes are referred to as “Position Zero”, and an image often accompanies the information, which is displayed in a highly visible, easy to digest box. The answer you’re looking for is starting right back at you, eliminating the need to click on an article. This has been dubbed as a “no-click” search, or a “featured snippet”. Google and other search engines offer these featured snippets to make it easier for users to find the answers they seek as quickly as possible – and to keep people on their site (and unfortunately, off of your site). 

For marketers who want to attract more visitors to their sites, realizing that your traffic has decreased because Google has giving your targeted audience the answers they seek is beyond frustrating. However, there is a silver-lining. When a search engine uses the information that’s displayed on your website to in those snippets, it indicates that the content you offer is valuable. The key here is to make sure that you include information to these snippets that will grab the attention of users and that will encourage them to visit your website so they can learn more, leading them away from the search engine that has only offered them a short answer. 

There are a lot of ways that you can achieve this. First, consider how you can beef-up page titles to clarify what type of information users will find when they visit your site. For example, could you adjust your “how-to” list, making it a little longer, while still providing accurate and useful information, so that the snippet is cut-off and users have to click on your site in order to see the full details? To improve your content and offer details about the validity and authority of your site, you can utilize schema; rating and reviews, for instance. 

While no-click searches are beneficial to the search engines and readers, you can certainly use them to your advantage, too. If you’re the subject of one of these snippets, you’re already on your way, as it indicates that people are already interested of what it is that you have to say. In order to take full advantage, you need to attract searchers to your site so that they can see more of what you have to say and what you have to offer. 

Voice Searches

In 2022, voice-activated digital assistance will continue to be hugely popular. The surge in popularity of these tools, both on our phones and in our homes, has caused one of the biggest shifts in keyword use.

Take a minute to think about it: when you type something into your search bar, you probably word it differently than you would if you were to ask Alexa or Siri something. For instance, if you’re looking for the closet Italian restaurant, you might type “Italian restaurants in (inert your town)” or “Italian restaurants near me” into Google; however, if you were asking Alexa the same thing, you might say, “Where is the nearest Italian restaurant?” 

When you’re writing your website content, keep this in mind. Select keywords that are based on questions that your targeted audience might ask if they were asking Alexa or Siri. Doing so can help to enhance your online visibility. This is a trend that really took off in 2021, and it shows no signs of stopping. 

Google-Verified Local SEO

If your company operates on a local level – a dentist, an electrician, or a mechanic, for example – your listing on Google My Business offers invaluable information to users. Not only does it let them know about your company, but it also lets them see where you are located geographically. 

Having a service area that is geographically-defined on Google My Business will help you show up for searches that include “near me”. For instance, if you’re a dentist, you could show up in the search engine results of a user who is looking for “dentists near me”. Your targeted audience will be able to learn more about your business, and they will see information pertaining to your hours of operation, your address, your contact phone number, and even star ratings from other customers. 

To ensure that the information displayed on your Google Verified Local SEO listing, verify your Google business listing and always make sure that your information is current. When you verify your business on Google, you’ll be able to take advantage of the following benefits: 

• You’ll be able to manage your business information in various Google entities, such as Search and Maps. 
• Consumers consider verified businesses more trustworthy and reputable than businesses that aren’t verified. 
• By verifying your business, should someone attempt to act as they are the owner and claim that the listing is theirs, you will be able to prevent fraud. 

Online Reviews

Reviews have always been essential for the success of a business, and of course, it goes without saying that in the digital age, online reviews vital. Reviews can make or break the success of your business, as they will have a direct impact on your ability to attract new clients or customers. 

Why are reviews so important? Well, because while any business owner can talk up the products and/or services that they offer, only actual customers who have used your products or services can offer authentic, unbiased reviews. When you have several reviews from verified sources, your business will stand out from the crowd; you’ll literally begin building confidence and trust in your targeted audience before they even click on your site. 

Of all the ways your business can receive online reviews, those that are posted to Google Business are the most powerful. Why? Well, because consumers consider Google one of the most trusted sources; plus, sites that feature Google Business reviews are more visible on the search engine. As well as that, a Google Business listing allows prospective shoppers to call or visit your website directly. Another great source for online reviews is Facebook. You can even use the social media giant to develop and post testimonials on your site. If you own and operate a recreational business, a hotel, or a restaurant, Yelp is a great resource for reviews. 

In order to boost the amount of reviews you receive, give your customers a link to your Google Business listing and encourage them to leave a review. 

Automated and Smart Bidding Google Ads

In order to maximize the results from your Google Ads campaign, Ads specialists will assess every tidbit of data and will constantly tweak and modify keywords, bids, and ad phrasing. While this painstaking attention to detail does deliver results, it can be tedious and downright exhausting; and ultimately, you can end up failing. That’s where automated bidding strategies come in. 

With automated bidding strategies, Google will utilize machine learning to assess the wealth of data that it has on its users, and will use that information to adjust your bids, and will do so in real-time. Ads specialists will embrace automate strategies; however, they’ll still remain in complete control. While automated bidding certainly isn’t new (it’s been around since 2106), most companies didn’t know what it was or that it even existed until recently. It does need to be pointed out that there are still a lot of human strategies that can – and SHOULD – be used to effectively optimize your PPC performance; do not, under any circumstances, rely only on machine learning and automation. Everything needs to be tested, including the automated bid strategies, for instance. 

Mobile Optimization 

While mobile optimization has been important for quite a while, in 2022, it’s not only going to continue being important; it’s going to become even more important. As more and more consumers are spending more and more time on their mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets (it’s estimated that more than half of all online website traffic comes from mobile devices each year since 2019), ensuring that your website is optimized for mobile use is essential.

There’s nothing more frustrating than searching for something on your smartphone, finding a site that looks like it offers promising information, only to click on it and find that it doesn’t load properly. If that happens to your site, visitors are pretty much guaranteed to click off of it. By taking the time to optimize your site for mobile use, you’ll see an increase in your traffic, engagement, and even in conversions. 

According to the latest statistics, the experiences that users have on mobile devise aren’t only important on websites; they’re also important in other essential marketing strategies. For instance, an estimated 1 in 5 email campaigns are not optimized for mobile devices. 

Branded Audio Content Will Increase

In the summer of 2021, Clubhouse came onto the scene unexpectedly. Marketers were kind of perplexed when that happened, as the chat room app (accessible via invitation-only), rapidly attracted millions of users without every publishing a visual content. As Clubhouse’s popularity surged, social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn made a mad-dash to start investing in, testing, and offering similar features. 

Throughout 2021, several big brands, such as HubSpot, expanded their podcast content and networks so that they could meet the needs of more listeners. As the popularity of audio content increases and is used more often, digital marketers will contemplate whether or not this format would be beneficial to their brand, too. It’s estimated that more than 50 percent of professionals whose companies rely on content marketing found that podcasts and other kinds of audio content were an effective way to boost engagement and brand awareness. 

Inbound Marketing Will Remain 

Though inbound marketing isn’t new, about 27 percent of digital marketers say that they will use inbound marketing for the first time in 2022. About 11 percent of marketers have reported that it will be their biggest investment this year. 

During this age of digital transformation, making the most of inbound marketing is highly recommended. Inbound marketing can be an invaluable asset for promoting brand awareness and for building trust that will drive customers to look for your content – and the products and/or services that you offer. 

Contact Blue Whale Media For Your Digital Marketing Needs

To make the most of these and other digital marketing trends, get in touch with Blue Whale Media. We’ll help you develop the most effective marketing strategy for your business so that you can garner more success and make 2022 your best year yet!