Ask any SEO expert and they will tell you – search engines are always changing. From algorithm updates to new user search experiences, a search engine response page (SERP) is continuously adapting to best suit users’ needs. Keeping your site relevant, holding authority, and driving quality traffic remain the primary targets for a website, but the same practices that worked three years ago may not be as relevant anymore.

In 2021, and certainly in 2022 and the upcoming years, webmasters and site operators will need to learn new habits and tricks to continue improving their sites. Conducting thorough research, using better tools, and understanding user intent will be the general keys to optimizing your site.At Income Access, our depth of SEO expertise is vast as we work on sites and content in various industries. Using this knowledge, our team has compiled a complete guide on all things SEO for 2021 and 2022.

Whether you run an affiliate marketing or iGaming site, these SEO tips apply just as much.

Understand your User

Although this may seem obvious, understanding everything you can about your user is the most important principle of SEO (and oftentimes requires digging deeper). After all, Google’s algorithm is always changing to deliver exactly what a user searches for – users won’t click on a site if it doesn’t show anything that interests them.

Determining how to understand a user can be tricky, as it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what drove someone to your site. If you run an affiliate marketing site for example, a user may have visited to find a new promotion or to learn more about an operator.

To start, analyze your traffic sources and see which are most popular. This helps determine what type of content is best at bringing users to your site and gives you an idea of what to focus on. Pairing this with a general demographic analysis – age, interests, region, etc. – can also help you fine-tune the content creation process.

Next, use the SERP to find what gets a user’s attention. Searching for both what a potential user would search for, as well as what you and your competitors directly offer, provides a holistic view of what succeeds on the results page. The key is to also search like a user; they may not type exactly what your site offers, so you need to think like them to try and see what they see. For example, an iGaming affiliate offering an “Updated Slots Promotion Offer” is not the same as a player searching for “best online slot games.”

With these searches, observe the highest ranked organic site results and see what they do differently from you. How do they present their content, which keywords do they include, and what type of searches bring them traffic? This kind of user and search analysis presents essential information for improving your site and should be done frequently.

Optimize User Experience

Keeping your site up to date is another vital ingredient that relates to understanding your user. Most people who search online today expect sites to have quick loading speeds, clear text and graphics, and no glitches. Here are some useful ways to accomplish this.

• Use a site audit tools to always check your site’s health and rank to address issues proactively (Semrush, UberSuggest, and Moz are great industry examples)
• Identify pathway errors on your site that could lead to a user leaving and a higher bounce rate
• With Google prioritizing Core Web Vitals from 2021 and on, make sure your site runs smoothly
• Understand where your users are coming from – mobile searches are increasingly popular today, so having a mobile-friendly format is mandatory
• Along with Google’s BERT and NLP updates (natural language processing), content should be written with the user in mind – not necessarily a formal, professional style, but rather how a user would search if they were speaking – try to find a good balance
• This ties into the increase in voice-searches too, as having content that reflects exactly what users are asking for and how they are asking for it will lead to more traffic

It is also important to make sure your site is secure, so users feel safe and at ease while visiting. If you run an online gambling site, having secure payments, logins, and more will be what keeps a user loyal to your site.

Use New Tools and Automation

As with search engines, SEO tools are also always updated and being refined. Whether free or paid, there’s software available that offer a whole range of services to inspect and improve your site.

Many of these tools allow you to easily keep a finger on the pulse of a site, as well as its competitors and users. From comprehensive keyword tracking to region-based organic traffic breakdowns, SEO platforms provide detailed reports and suggestions in just a few clicks. Some also have the option to pair with Google tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and Tag Manager, and this integration can streamline SEO work even further.

Plus, with automated reporting capabilities, the hassle of individually researching keywords, competitors, and new content is relieved. Now you can get reports sent straight to your inbox weekly, monthly, or even daily to stay ahead.

By taking advantage of these tools to see health, authority, rank, and more, you enable your site to reach its full potential.

Deliver the Best

Although you may know what you do best and think your site presents it well, not comparing it to other sites could leave you behind. Constantly checking in on how competitors drive traffic helps you find areas that are missing on your page or things that can be done differently.

By identifying similar content strategies from competitors, you can further optimize your site to eventually surpass them. Taking the time and effort to understand what users are searching for and how competitors deliver this will lead to steady progress up the SERP. Updates to the SERP are inevitable in 2022 and the following years, so this will be a useful way to maintain your position and generate quality traffic.

Delivering the best and most relevant content may sound like a standard process, but it requires significant time and research.

The Takeaway

To continue running an optimized website in today’s everchanging world, webmasters and site operators will need to adapt alongside changing search processes. Many previous SEO practices remain relevant, such as creating great content and conducting keyword research, but there are emerging tactics that will be necessary in the coming years. The keys for the future will lie heavily in understanding users and how they search, keeping sites compliant with search engines, maintaining full site functionality, and relying on new and improved tools.

Good luck with your SEO!