The year 2022 has seen a more aggressive Google, with the company rolling out algorithm updates almost weekly. This has kept digital marketers on their toes as they are constantly trying to keep up with the search engine giant. As we move into 2023, there is a lot of excitement surrounding what new trends and developments will shape SEO over the next year.

If you want your SEO strategy to be ahead of the curve, take a look at these 9 SEO trends in 2023.

 

Top SEO trends for 2023

Online shopping

Even before the pandemic, online shopping was becoming increasingly popular.  It skyrocketed with the increase in people staying at home, as well as retailers offering more and better deals. This trend is set to continue into 2023, with more businesses shifting their operations entirely online.

This year, we’ve seen Google making efforts towards creating a better online shopping experience. To make selling through their platform more attractive, Google did things like getting rid of commission fees and making it free for businesses to sell.

In addition, Google enacted the Shopping Graph to improve the buyers’ product search results and help them find the right products. The Shopping Graph is an AI-enhanced model that can comprehend various types of products and brands. It can analyze how those products relate to one another and show the most accurate search results to consumers.

For example, if someone takes a screenshot of a photo where they like their friend’s shoes. The user could open the image in Google Photos, and Google would scan it using Lens. Google then directs users to search listings that match or are related to the product in the picture.

 

Conversational Queries and User Intent

With the rise of digital voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Home, people have become used to asking their questions in conversational language. This trend continues into 2023 as more people use these devices for daily tasks. As a result, digital marketers should start taking notice and optimizing content for conversation-based keyword phrasing.  

In addition, keyword research will become more detailed and extended. Instead of focusing on specific keywords or phrases, SEO efforts should focus on the broader context and intent behind them. This includes considering the full user journey from start to finish, as well as all related topics that could come up in a conversation.

For example,  if someone is searching for “best restaurants in Paris”, they may also be interested in the types of food served or reviews from other customers. Digital marketers should consider these related topics and include them in their content to improve visibility and engagement.

 

Video marketing

Video marketing is not news, but the demand for video content will reach an all-time high in 2023. Video content has become an important part of content marketing and SEO strategies, as it can help to engage customers, increase visibility, and improve website ranking in search results.

In addition to creating videos that are optimized for SEO, marketers should also focus on optimizing YouTube channels and TikTok. YouTube is a great platform for loyal customer engagement and retention, while TikTok is used for brand awareness among younger audiences.

For example, if you’re a local restaurant in California, you can leverage TikTok to create content that features your customers’ dining experience. You can also create virtual tour videos that entice prospective diners to visit your restaurant.

Service providers, on the other hand, can launch a YouTube channel that helps answer all of the frequently asked questions by their target market. This can help to reduce the time your customer service team spends answering questions, as well as increase engagement and SEO rankings. Plus, it also helps in displaying your authoritativeness in the industry.

Digital marketers should also pay close attention to how Google displays videos in its search results. This includes watching for any changes to how YouTube videos are incorporated into the algorithm or if Google decides to add more native video features to its SERP.

 

Reinforcing your EAT signals and Publishing Helpful Content

One of the biggest Google Algorithm updates of 2022 is Helpful Content. This is the only time Google has revisited content quality since the Panda update. If your website contains content that is helpful to users, Google will reward you by boosting your visibility. However, if most of your content looks “unhelpful”, Google will likely lower your rankings in search.

Google’s EAT, on the other hand, is Google’s mandate to prioritize content that has good Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (EAT). Digital marketers should make sure their website follows EAT signals by reinforcing any existing signals. This could include adding author bios or highlighting certifications for a particular industry.

It is also important to focus on publishing helpful content over the next few months. Content should be informative, useful, and easy to digest to meet the Helpful Content Update standards. This includes adding step-by-step guides that help users easily complete tasks, creating infographics for complicated data visualization, or creating videos for tutorials on complex topics.

 

Image optimization and accessibility in 2023

Image optimization is optimizing images for better performance, quality, and accessibility. This will become even more important in SEO due to the increasing demand for faster website loading times and improved user experience.

You can optimize your images with file size reduction tools like TinyPNG or CompressJPG. Make sure to add descriptive ALT and title text to your images so that they can be easily read by search engines and assistive technologies.

In addition to optimizing images, SEO marketers will also need to focus on website accessibility. This includes making sure all of your content is available in an accessible format for users with disabilities or impairments.

 

Rise of the featured snippet and structured data

The featured snippet is a box located at the top of search results that contains a summary of an answer to a query. In 2023, featured snippets will become even more important due to their ability to draw users’ attention and increase click-through rates.

Digital marketers should also be aware of how structured data affects featured snippets. Structured data helps Google better understand the content on a page and can be used to generate rich snippets.

Structured data is also useful for creating more detailed featured snippets, as it allows you to provide additional information such as images, star ratings, prices, etc. For example, if you are creating a recipe-based website, structured data can help generate detailed featured snippets with images of the ingredients and the steps to make the dish.

 

Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals is Google’s new metric for measuring page experience. It includes metrics such as Largest Content Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). All these metrics measure how users interact with a website, such as page load times and visual stability.

Digital marketers should improve their Core Web Vitals scores to ensure their websites remain visible on search engine results pages. This can be done by optimizing images, reducing JavaScript execution time, and improving server response times. Google also provides several tools like Page Insights that display your Core Web Vitals score so that you can monitor your website performance.

 

Importance of local search

“Near me” and “local” searches have increased since the pandemic started for businesses with a physical address but not open to the public. This trend is predicted to stay as more users find the value localized searches hold.

Digital marketers should prioritize creating a Google Business profile and optimizing local citations to boost their visibility in search. An optimized Google Business profile usually appears within the local map pack, near the top of search results for localized queries.

Creating content that targets their local area, such as blog posts featuring city or neighborhood guides, is another strategy that SEO marketers should look into. This will help them appear higher in the local search results and draw more traffic to their website.

 

AI in Marketing

While human interaction is still vital in marketing, AI technology has greatly assisted marketers in their daily processes. Machine learning technology will become even more important as it can help marketers automate tasks, provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, and personalize the customer experience.

AI technology is also useful for content marketing strategies as it can be used to identify topics that are most likely to perform well with customers. This can be especially useful for digital marketers who want to maximize their content output and ensure they create quality, high-performing content.

Digital marketers should take advantage of AI technology to help them identify better target audiences and optimize campaigns.

In a Nutshell

2023 will be a year of major changes in SEO and digital marketing. Featured snippets, core web vitals, local search, and AI will become increasingly important as they help marketers draw more attention to their websites and improve user experience. Digital marketers should stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends so that their sites remain visible and competitive in search engine rankings.

 

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