Search engine optimization has been the king of organic traffic in the digital marketing world for years now. Even so, an unbelievable 57% of businesses still don’t use SEO in their strategies.
Well, their loss is your gain. Once a strategy has come to fruition, the sky is the limit, and all you have to do is keep your strategy up to date.
To do that, you have to understand where the competition is. Let’s talk about some of the most important SEO trends to follow in 2023!
1. AI Content Is Taking Over. Sort of.
We can’t talk about SEO trends without mentioning the elephant on the internet. AI has improved so dramatically in the last couple of years, especially now with ChatGPT and the paid GPT4, which is capable of passing the BAR exam 90% of the time.
However, don’t let some of the statistics and predictions fool you. AI is still developing, and it has a long, long way to go before it replaces human intervention on the internet.
For example, you may have heard that “90% of all web content” will be AI-generated by 2025. We don’t see any reason to believe this claim.
Yes, AI is a useful tool, and we highly recommend using it to some extent. Still, it cannot live up to human-generated content. Let’s talk about how to use it.
How to Use AI in Your SEO Strategy
While we have a somewhat skeptical view of AI content, it still has a place in many SEO strategies. Starting with AI-generated content, fact-checking it, and improving it is a great way to help you generate new ideas and create engaging and informative content.
However, there’s no artificial substitute for what you get in an article like this: voice. AI is still in its infancy when it comes to speaking in long-form content in an engaging and comprehensible way. Don’t expect that to change any time soon, but consider using it as a starting point or helpful tool!
For other examples, AI images, chatbots, and other AI tools can be incredibly helpful on your website. In many cases, these are low-cost, low-risk ways to increase the volume and quality of your web content. We see no reason not to try it!
Keep in mind, Google doesn’t want to promote AI content all the time. Setting yourself apart while everyone else falls for AI companies’ marketing campaigns is your best strategy in the short term.
2. Brands Will Continue Switching Toward Mobile Design
Currently, 60.67% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, which has risen steadily for the last several years. Why wouldn’t it? We have our phones with us everywhere we go, and it’s far more convenient when you can surf the web anywhere at any time.
As a result, brands are pivoting their web designs more toward mobile devices. This is a trend we highly recommend any business to follow, as there’s no reason to believe this will stop any time soon.
Also, Google’s algorithm takes this into account. Google places high stock into the mobile-friendliness of your website, so make sure that your pages can load quickly and fit on any device!
Mobile advertising, social media content, email content, and web content are all critical elements of digital marketing in 2023. If you haven’t adapted yet, it’s time to hire mobile services.
3. Long-Form Content Will Continue to Rise
Long-form but usable content is Google’s bread and butter. From their perspective, they want to promote sites that offer users all of the information they need in a navigable and digestible manner.
Therefore, higher word counts with minimal fluff is what they want, along with user-friendly features like:
- Tables of contents
- “Quick links”
- An easy navigation system
- Proper page structure (header hierarchy)
- Breaking up content
They want to see engaging, informative, and trustworthy content. That brings us to our next point.
4. Backlinks, Backlinks, Backlinks
There’s one trend that never changes. Google always wants to verify a website’s credibility, and while its algorithm is incredible, it cannot fact-check everything on the internet. Therefore, it relies on other websites to “vote” in your favor by linking to your content.
Building a high-quality backlink strategy is more important in 2023 than any previous year. Google is cracking down on paid links and making it harder to rank if they believe you are reaching out or paying other sites for links. As with our last point, building high-quality and engaging content is your best path forward here!
5. Visuals Will Increase in Popularity
Visual content, such as images, GIFs, and videos, are popular on Google. Users love them, and so does Google’s algorithm. That’s largely because visual images are far more engaging than text, as our brains process them 60,000 times faster.
Also, visual content offers unique opportunities to build backlinks, offer fast information to users, and “skip the line”.
On that last note, we mean that if your competitors are all competing with written content, you can skip the line by incorporating more visual content. The first pages on Google search results usually offer both image and video carousels, which can be easier to rank for. If your blog is struggling to get onto the first page, consider adding this to your strategy!
6. The Use of Query-Based Keywords Will Continue to Rise
More and more consumers have Google Nests and Amazon Echos in their homes. As a result, more web traffic is going to query-based keywords, which many websites have caught onto. You’ve probably done this from the consumers’ perspective without realizing it.
For example, when you search on Google, you care more about the keywords than you do about grammar or full sentences. That’s why you search for terms like “sushi near me”, “weather tomorrow”, or “car repair Waterville”.
Conversely, someone with a digital assistant is more likely to ask questions like:
- “Alexa, where can I find sushi near me?”
- “Hey Google, what’s the weather like tomorrow?”
- “Okay, Google. What’s the best car shop in Waterville?”
These machines will then ask a search engine this question directly. If you adopt your keyword strategy to meet this increasing demand, you may pick up some extra traffic before your competitors think of it!
Of course, you don’t have to add the prompt, but it can help to introduce questions into your keyword strategy.
7. There Will Be a Lot of Updating Old Content
Google is cracking down on outdated content, but that doesn’t have to be bad news. If something is still relevant, the fix could be as simple as going into your content and changing the year.
For example, if the SEO trends of 2022 were the exact same as 2023, a blog could simply change the year and add a couple of new, more relevant trends (not the case here!). This is a great way to keep your content relevant and up-to-date.
Also, you should work to avoid excessive errors, redirects, or other issues with outdated content, which happens on every site. Hiring professional SEO services can help you identify and fix these issues as soon as possible.
8. Websites Will Compete For No-Click Snippets
You know Google snippets, right? You probably use them all the time without noticing, as Google loves to display fast information for its users. This makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for, and opens a new realm of competition for websites.
If you want to compete to get on snippets and position your brand as a thought leader, it can offer a lot of benefits. That’s right, even if nobody clicks on your site, it can still help build backlinks and further your overall SEO strategy.
To compete, start adding clear and concise answers into your content and highlight them in bold. Google will highlight it for you if you don’t, but this offers an alert to Google that this information is important. With the right keywords and a strong SEO foundation, your content could appear in Google snippets for various searches (especially query-based searches).
Use These SEO Trends Wisely
Now that you know some of the biggest SEO trends of 2023, you can adapt your strategy to the times. Remember, it’s important to build a strong foundation before trying to emulate the times, as SEO is relatively consistent. However, once you have a strategy up and running, these trends can help you exceed your goals!
Stay up to date with our latest tips for your business, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or for help with your SEO strategy!
