While SEO is a constantly evolving discipline and some SEO elements have become important in 2022, other core elements remain evergreen. In this session, I will highlight SEO strategies that need to be on your radar so your brand can effectively compete in the search results in 2022. Key Takeaways: - Are links still important? - Content Quality vs Content Quantity - Technical SEO - Core Web VitalsAnd more...

1. KEYNOTE
Siddharth Lal
MANAGING DIRECTOR
BRUCE CLAY AUSTRALIA
SEO in 2022
& Beyond
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ~ MARCH 22 - 23, 2022
DIGIMARCONAUSTRALIA.COM | #DigiMarConAustralia

2. @siddlal
SEO IN 2022 & BEYOND
SID LAL
MANAGING DIRECTOR
BRUCE CLAY AUSTRALIA
MARCH 2022

3. @siddlal
ABOUT BRUCE CLAY
• Founded 1996
• Invented advanced SEO web architecture
• Proprietary SEO software
• International offices with language support – USA, Australia,
Asia, Middle-East, India
• 110+ digital experts
• “Search Engine Optimization All-In-One for Dummies”
• Strategic digital marketing solutions
• Over 5000 SEO Professionals Trained Globally

4. @siddlal
WHAT IRRITATES AUSTRALIANS,
BUT IS SOMETHING SEO’s LOVE?

5. @siddlal
IT’S A DIFFERENT WORLD
• More competitive & more complex
• Constantly changing technology – new platforms, new algorithms
• More resources and investment required
• More time required for results
• SEO – Synonymous with Online Branding

6. @siddlal
GOOGLE SERPS HISTORY & COMPETITION

7. @siddlal
GOOGLE SERPS: HISTORY & COMPETITION
2021
2006
Competition has increased significantly
According to Google there are now
100s of billions of web pages
https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/

8. @siddlal
GOOGLE SERPS: HISTORY & COMPETITION
2006: 17%* of World Population Online
2021: 60%* of World Population Online – 4.66* Billion Users
Google still only shows 10 Links to related websites on the 1st Page.
The value of being on Page 1 of Google has increased dramatically.
2006
2021 →
*Source: Statista.com

9. @siddlal
RANKBRAIN
Better understanding of search intent – Further
tweak considering personalisation & search
history using machine-learning.
Conversational Content
MOBILEGEDDON
Improve Mobile User Experience
Forced Adoption of Mobile Friendly Sites
PENGUIN
Targeted Link Spam
Low quality links
PANDA
Targeted Content Quality
Duplicate content; Thin Content; Low Quality
CAFFEINE
Updated how G found & stored data from
websites. Improved SERPS recency
HUMMINGBIRD
Better understanding of
search intent using NLP
to understand complex
search queries
2013
2015
2015
2012
2011 2010
THE EVOLUTION OF THE
GOOGLE ALGORITHM
2019
BERT
Better understanding of search intent – next level of
improvement in understanding complex nuances in words. Stop
words are no longer ignored. Improved Conversational Content.
2021
PAGE EXPERIENCE
Core Web Vitals: LCP; FID;
CLS

10. @siddlal
SEMANTIC SEO
Semantic search is when a search query does not only find keywords but also determines
the intent and contextual meaning of the search.
2013 HUMMINGBIRD 2015 RANKBRAIN 2021 BERT
Evolution of algorithm in the area of improving search intent using advances in ML,BD & AI.
“Hummingbird is paying more attention to each word in a query, ensuring that the whole
query – the whole sentence or conversation or meaning – is taken into account, rather
than particular words. The goal is that pages matching the meaning do better, rather than
pages matching just a few words.”

11. @siddlal
SEMANTIC SEO
• Create in depth content
• Use synonyms & natural language variants (singular/plural)
• Analyse sub-topics and words your competition has used & Google has rewarded
• Research related questions people ask around the topic
• Link out to relevant authority sites related to the topic where appropriate

12. @siddlal
Does Content Quality Matter?
Source: Aurora Morales | Google Search Central |Feb 5-18, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLTz3KRsy4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFcGcZg9O4
Gary Illyes Twitter
@siddlal

13. @siddlal
VOICE SEARCH
▪ 2020 – 50% Voice Search
▪ 3X - Faster than typing Multi-tasking (Driving, Gym…)
▪ Long Tail Queries
▪ Who, Why, How, When, Where
▪ “Near Me”, “Near By”
▪ Conversational Queries
“I tend to talk to it
as if I’m asking a
friend a question.”

14. @siddlal
VOICE SEARCH CHECKLIST
✓ Use your content to answer questions
✓ Analyse the Search Terms Report to check for Questions &
long tail keyword phrases
✓ Use structured data
✓ Page Speed is crucial
“I’d call it an
‘e-lative’”

15. @siddlal
ARE LINKS STILL THE #1 FACTOR IN RANKING WEBSITES?
Source: John Mueller & Gary Illyes & Google Webmasters | Twitter

16. @siddlal @siddlal
ANOTHER VIEWPOINT: LINKS = TRAFFIC, NOT RANKING

17. @siddlal
AI & SEO
We are not there, yet!
▪ AI being Leveraged by tools to give inputs
▪ Online Brand Building (Links) – how will AI deliver on this?
▪ Keyword Research & Selection
▪ Content Creation - OpenAI – GPT3* (pre-trained with 570 GB of text)
Still a long way to go!
*Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/10/05/what-is-gpt-3-and-why-is-it-revolutionizing-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/01/27/1044398/new-gpt3-openai-chatbot-language-model-ai-toxic-misinformation/

18. @siddlal
THE FUTURE OF SEO
Let’s look at Google’s perspective & here are some elements
that were discussed:
▪ HTML
▪ URLs (Site Architecture)
▪ Voice Search – doesn’t change SEO much
▪ Links
▪ Keyword Research
▪ Content
▪ Image Optimisation
▪ Canonical
▪ Structured Data
*Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHu0o8S4WAg
GARY ILLYES
Search Advocate
JOHN MULLER
Search Advocate
MARTIN SPLITT
Developer At Google

19. @siddlal

20. @siddlal
WIN OR LOSE
SEO campaigns will fail if:
• Expectations are too high
• Budgets are too low
• Shortcuts are taken
• The wrong team is hired
• New technology is not embraced
• Decisions are based on assumptions
instead of data

21. @siddlal
WIN OR LOSE
Fails
Demand Media
Wins
Source:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/googles-blow-to-demand-media-2013-12
https://searchengineland.com/new-york-times-exposes-j-c-penney-link-scheme-that-causes-plummeting-rankings-in-google-64529
https://foundationinc.co/lab/canva-seo
https://www.reuters.com/article/overstock-idUSL3E7F82CT20110408
https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2016/09/22/12-companies-hit-with-a-google-manual-penalty/
https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-brilliant-examples-of-brands-driving-long-tail-organic-traffic/
http://heidicohen.com/blog-post-generated-2-million-sales/
Here are some companies that have worshipped the SEO God & have been rewarded & also those who failed.

22. @siddlal
HOW TO WIN
Look for:
• Proven expertise, industry leadership
• Practice of holistic SEO – Technical, On Page, Off Page & Content
• Knowledge of different industries (verticals)
• Custom Strategy Roadmap
• Emphasis on partnership
• Comprehensive project management skills
• Data-driven decisions
• Delivery of specific metrics (Rankings, traffic, etc.)

23. @siddlal
SEARCH LISTENING
What marketer’s need is a
device that will tell us the inner
most thoughts of their target
audience, exactly when they
want your service.
Wouldn’t it be great to get your
hands on this device?

24. @siddlal
CONNECT WITH US
1300 732 734
www.BruceClay.com/au/
sales-au@bruceclay.com