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SEO trends for 2023
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an effective way to attract customers to your online platforms – if you use it correctly. SEO is continuously evolving, and keeping up with the latest updates can be challenging. It’s worth the effort, though: 70% to 80% of users exclusively focus on organic results and ignore paid ads. Additionally, about 28% of those searches result in a conversion, resulting in a purchase.
High SEO performance requires attention to many metrics, for example, traffic, backlinks, or social media. This guide provides you with information on some of the most relevant and timely search engine optimization trends for 2023. These trends will allow you to prepare your SEO strategy according to current needs. We present them to you:
- Artificial intelligence will play a more significant role in SEO
- Voice search will affect search queries
- Mobile device compatibility will affect search rankings
- Content that complies with Google’s EAT principle will rank higher
- Long-form content would help improve SERPs
Learn more about the latest SEO trends and techniques
1. Artificial intelligence will play a more significant role in SEO
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way people interact with content online. And Google’s artificial intelligence algorithm needs to be highlighted. Introduced a few years ago, the algorithm, called RankBrain, plays a vital role in Google’s ranking factors for search results (SERPs).
Greg Corrado, a senior scientist at Google who helped develop RankBrain, has highlighted the tool’s unique ability to learn: “The other signals, which are all based on discoveries and insights that people have had in searching for information, but there is no learning. ” This likely means RankBrain will only get better over time, making AI one of the top SEO trends to watch.
So the big question is, how do you optimize your SEO for RankBrain? While the search engine giant won’t share details, experts believe user experience cues are a primary and determining factor. To do this, you need to captivate and engage readers with useful and well-organized content. The on-page SEO checker tool can help you evaluate a page’s potential based on things like readability, backlinks, and more.
2. Voice search will affect search queries
Thanks to innovations like the Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa, voice search technology has come a long way. As technology has improved, it has also become more popular. The percentage of households that own a smart speaker by 2022 would be 55%.
To optimize your site for voice search, focus on your keywords. Identify longer phrases that people use in everyday conversation. Voice searches tend to work best with long words naturally. When people write, they tend to abbreviate. For example, a person might conduct a voice search: “What are the new SEO trends for 2023?” but would write: “new SEO trends for 2023”.
3. Mobile device compatibility will affect search rankings
In 2019, Google implemented the mobile-first index. It means that the search engine looks at the mobile version of a website first and considers it the “major” version rather than the desktop version. This change makes sense, given that almost 73% of Internet users will access the Internet solely through mobile devices in 2025. You can check the effectiveness of your mobile site with Google’s mobile optimization test. Then take a look at the “mobile usability” report on Google Search Console.
To make sure your page is user-friendly, Google must be able to crawl your URLs, so make sure you don’t have a “disallow directive.” Also, keep in mind that Googlebot will not load content that requires user interactions, such as clicking or scrolling on the screen. Also, you have to make sure Google can see the lazy-loaded content. Lastly, make sure to use the same meta robots tags on desktop and mobile sites.
4.Content that complies with Google’s EAT principle will rank higher
Google states once again that the quality of content is essential for success in ranking. But what does “quality” mean to Google? To do this, we consult the EAT principle: experience, authority, and reliability. These factors help determine if a web page has useful quality content. This principle is especially relevant in business niches that fall under the label “your money, your life” (YMYL), such as healthcare and finance.
There are a few ways to ensure quality content. First, create a profile of your ideal customer, which will allow you to understand the type of content that your customers value. Second, conduct search intent research to help you map out the consumer journey. Third, use this information to create content that conforms to the format your users prefer. For example, if you are targeting teenagers, the video format is probably preferable. If you are targeting a broader audience, the video may be less engaging.
Lastly, keep the EAT parameters in mind when creating your content. Back up your claims with statistics and real facts. Links to trusted sites, such as URLs in “.edu” and “.gov.” Having licensed sites linking to you is another way to show that you meet the EAT criteria.
5. Long-form content would help improve SERPs
According to our State of Content Marketing Report, long reads of 3,000+ words get three times more traffic and four times more shares. Also, they get 3.5 times more backlinks than articles with an average length of 901 to 1200 words. For your essential topics, start focusing on long-form content so you can rank higher. That said, your content must maintain quality (beware, short content also plays a vital role in your strategies). The goal is to provide users with quality information worth sharing.