{"id":143673,"date":"2022-01-04T14:01:15","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T14:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=143673"},"modified":"2022-01-18T14:46:36","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T14:46:36","slug":"the-not-so-seo-checklist-for-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2022\/01\/04\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-for-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"The not-so-SEO checklist for 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-143675\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/The-not-so-SEO-checklist-for-2022.png\" alt=\"The not-so-SEO checklist for 2022\" width=\"728\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/The-not-so-SEO-checklist-for-2022.png 728w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/The-not-so-SEO-checklist-for-2022-300x106.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/The-not-so-SEO-checklist-for-2022-768x270.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>With several Google algorithm updates in 2021 its easy to fall into a dangerous trap of misconceptions<\/li>\n<li>One factor that still remains constant is the value Google places on great content<\/li>\n<li>Core Web Vitals aren&#8217;t the end-all of ranking factors but a tiebreaker<\/li>\n<li>Read this before you create your SEO strategy for 2022!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The year 2021 was a relatively busy one for Google and SEOs across the world. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The search engine behemoth is improving itself all the time, but in this past year, we saw a number of pretty <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2021\/12\/02\/2021-google-updates-round-up-everything-businesses-need-to-win-at-search\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">significant updates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that gave digital marketers cause for paying attention. From rewarding more detailed product reviews to nullifying link spam, Google keeps thinking of ways to improve the user experience on its platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking of user experience: the biggest talking point of the year was June\u2019s Page Experience update, which took place over a few months and notably included the Core Web Vitals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that happened, tens of thousands of words were published around the web instructing people on how to modify their websites to meet the new standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mobile-friendliness became even more important than before. Some more inexperienced SEOs out there might have started looking to the Core Web Vitals as the new be-all ranking factor for web pages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all this new information on our hands since last year, it\u2019s possible that some misconceptions have sprung up around what is good and bad for SEO in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, I want to bring up and then dispel some of the myths surrounding Google\u2019s bigger and more mainstream 2021 updates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, here it is &#8211; the not-so-SEO checklist for your 2022. Here are three of the things you shouldn\u2019t do.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>1. Don\u2019t prioritize Core Web Vitals (CWV) above quality content<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s no secret that Google\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2021\/08\/18\/four-ways-to-improve-page-speed-and-master-core-web-vitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Core Web Vitals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are among the elements you\u2019ll want to optimize your website for in 2022 if you haven\u2019t done so already.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a quick reminder, the Core Web Vitals are at the crossroads between SEO and web dev, and they are the measurements of your website\u2019s largest contentful paint, first input display, and cumulative layout shift.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those are the parts of your website that load first and allow users to start interacting with the site in the first few milliseconds. Logic tells us that the slower your load times are, the worse your site\u2019s user experience will be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-143674\" src=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-and-core-web-vitals-1024x267.png\" alt=\"The not so SEO checklist and Core Web Vitals - debunking myths\" width=\"640\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-and-core-web-vitals-1024x267.png 1024w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-and-core-web-vitals-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-and-core-web-vitals-768x201.png 768w, https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-not-so-seo-checklist-and-core-web-vitals.png 1187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First of all, this isn\u2019t exactly new information. We all know about page speed and how it affects SEO. We also know how vital it is that your Core Web Vitals perform well on mobile, which is where <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesearchreview.com\/60-percent-online-searches-mobile-devices-07212\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">around 60 percent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0of Google searches come from.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google takes its Core Web Vitals so seriously as ranking factors that you can now find a CWV report in Google Search Console and get CWV metrics in PageSpeed Insights results (mobile-only until February of 2022, when the metrics roll out for desktop).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given that, why am I calling it a misconception that Core Web Vitals should be at the top of your SEO-optimization checklist for 2022?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s because Google itself has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/advanced\/experience\/page-experience#:~:text=While%20page%20experience%20is%20important,override%20having%20great%20page%20content.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">explicitly stated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that having a top-shelf page experience does not trump publishing killer content. Content is still king in SEO. Being useful and answering user questions is one of the most crucial ranking factors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, it\u2019s a misconception that Google will not rank you well unless your Core Web Vitals are all in solid, healthy places.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, having it all is the ideal situation. If you have great web content <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> optimized Core Web Vitals, you\u2019ll probably perform better in organic search than would a page without strong Core Web Vitals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2022, therefore, work on your Core Web Vitals for sure, but develop a detailed content marketing plan first.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>2. Don\u2019t assume your affiliate product-review site is in trouble<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another misconception that might have followed from a 2021 Google update is that affiliate sites, specifically product-review sites, were in some hot water after the Product Reviews update from April.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google meant for the update to prioritize in-depth and useful product reviews over reviews that are spammy and light on details. In other words, just as in organic search, higher-quality content is going to win here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If there was ever a point when someone actually made money by running a shady, low-quality affiliate site that featured nonsense product reviews that were then essentially spammed out to thousands of people, Google\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2021\/04\/product-reviews-update\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">April 2021 product reviews update<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> started to kill that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The search engine now prioritizes long-form, detailed reviews, the kind that generates trust from users. Those are the types of affiliate content that stand to benefit from Google\u2019s update, while the spammy sites will continue to vanish from top rankings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, we can forget about the misconception that good, honest, hard-working affiliate product reviewers would somehow be hurt by the update.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As long as you are presenting something relevant and legitimately useful to users, you may have even seen your rankings rise since the April of 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>3. Don\u2019t assume Google will rewrite all your titles<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last misconception I want to address here is the idea that you don\u2019t need to put effort into your pages\u2019 title tags because Google is going to rewrite them all anyway following its August of 2021 title tag-rewrite initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, some explanation. Back in August, many of you know that SEOs across the industry started noticing their page titles being rewritten, as in, not as they had originally created them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google soon <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2021\/08\/update-to-generating-page-titles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">owned up<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to rewriting page titles, but only those it believed were truly sub-par for user experience. In Google\u2019s view, those junky title tags included ones that were stuffed with keywords, overly long, boilerplate across a given website, or just plain missing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But SEOs still noticed that seemingly SEO-optimized title tags were still being rewritten, and the new titles didn\u2019t always come directly from the original title. Sometimes, as Google has been doing since 2012, the search engine would use semantics to rewrite a title to be more descriptive or just simply better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In other cases, Google\u2019s new titles came from H1 text, body text, or backlink anchor text.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google saw these efforts and still does, as one great way to improve user experience during the search.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many SEOs, however, did not see it that way, especially given that Google\u2019s rewrites were sometimes responsible for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordstream.com\/blog\/ws\/2021\/08\/26\/google-page-title-update\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drops in traffic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To put it mildly, there was uproar in the SEO community over the change, so much so that Google <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2021\/09\/more-info-about-titles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">explained itself a second time<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> just a month later, in September 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In that blog post, Google said that it uses marketers\u2019 own title tags 87 percent of the time (up from just 80 percent in August). The other 13 percent would be rewrites done to improve: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">too-short titles, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outdated titles, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">boilerplate titles, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and inaccurate titles.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And now to bring things back to the crux of this: it is a misconception that you\u2019re wasting your time writing title tags after August of 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google does not actually want to rewrite your title tags. It clearly stated this in its September blog post.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Google wants is for you to write high-quality page titles on your own, ones that are descriptive, truthful, and useful. Give users what they need, and Google will leave your titles alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, throw a bunch of keywords in there, or use boilerplate titles all over your site, and you can expect Google to do some cleaning up on your behalf. The trouble is, you may not personally like the results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title tags matter in SEO, big time. Don\u2019t think that your efforts are futile just because of the 2021 change. Focus on creating title tags that matter for users, and you should be just fine.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Going forward<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The three misconceptions I have covered here can be dangerous to fall into in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, are Core Web Vitals, quality affiliate links, and title tags important to Google? You can bet they are. But SEOs also just have to be smart when approaching these matters. Everything Google Search Central does has the user in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimize for Core Web Vitals, but still, put quality content creation first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run your affiliate marketing site, but ensure the reviews are useful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And write amazing SEO title tags so that Google won\u2019t want to rewrite them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following these guidelines can only help you in the year to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Kris Jones is the founder and former CEO of digital marketing and affiliate network Pepperjam, which he sold to eBay Enterprises in 2009. Most recently Kris founded SEO services and software company\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lseo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"0\">LSEO.com<\/a>\u00a0and has previously invested in numerous successful technology companies. Kris is an experienced public speaker and is the author of one of the best-selling SEO books of all time called, \u2018Search-Engine Optimization \u2013 Your Visual Blueprint to Effective Internet Marketing\u2019, which has sold nearly 100,000 copies.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/#newsletter-modal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Watch newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for insights on SEO, the search landscape, search marketing, digital marketing, leadership, podcasts, and more.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the conversation with us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/61126\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sewatch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Best-selling author, Kris Jones debunks SEO myths and dishes out logical advice on the three things you should not do<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":143675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[28142,75,28090,37,482,6142,28065,38,27940,510,72,28143,932,33,22,1362,1203,727],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-143673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","category-seo","tag-28142","tag-content-2","tag-core-web-vitals-cwv","tag-google","tag-google-updates","tag-industry","tag-influencer-commentary","tag-mobile","tag-page-experience-update","tag-page-speed","tag-page-title","tag-product-reviews-update","tag-ranking-factors","tag-search","tag-seo","tag-seo-myths","tag-title-tags","tag-user-experience-ux"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":"Independent","tad_content_format":"Infuencer commentary"},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/The-not-so-SEO-checklist-for-2022.png","category":"Industry","timeago":"4y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143673"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=143673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}