Competition is fierce when it comes to SEO and as a business, it is important that you cut through the crowd and get noticed. For this reason, you have to get ahead of the curve and to do this, you have to understand the current SEO landscape. Therefore, if you want to stand out in 2023, these are the SEO trends that you have to get to grips with.

The Importance of User Experience

User experience has always been a key player when it comes to SEO and 2023 is going to be no different. If you don’t nail down your user experience then visitors are not going to hang around. Whether it’s the speed of your website, the problems they face with navigation or the fact that content simply doesn’t grab their attention, they’ll be gone in a flash. Your SEO has to be focused around the end user and your website has to ensure that they can find and do all the things they expect to be able to do!

High-Quality Content That’s Fresh

Stale content just isn’t going to cut it and that has been the case for some time. Your content has to connect with users and it has to provide them with the information that they are looking for. Google is constantly checking your website to make sure that your content is fresh and if it isn’t then you’ll get penalised. It’s a relatively easy thing to do but if you do overlook it then you’ll find yourself with more work to do.

Featured Snippets

When you search on Google, you have probably noticed that you are presented with a featured snippet. This is a box that sits above the standard search results and contains the exact answer that the searcher is looking for. What’s more, they don’t even have to click on a link to get the answer.

As the snippet is located above all of the other results, they can attract a huge number of clicks and that comes with an array of advantages. When you optimise content for featured snippets then this could be one of the best things that you do.

Video is King

If 2022 was the year of video then this is a trend that is sticking around because 2023 is also the year of the Video. People seem to love consuming video content because it is much more entertaining and easier to digest than text. Back in 2018, 85% of internet users consumed videos and that figure has grown to 90% which proves that video is king. So, if you create a video that is engaging and informative, it could help you to move higher up the rankings and increase your exposure to levels you never thought were possible.

Security and Privacy

It has never been more important to consider the privacy and security of users. They now value their data more than ever before, and so, when making a transaction online, they need to know that their data is safe. If you do everything possible to ensure that their data is safe by installing an SSL certificate, this will help you to boost sales but also help you to be seen as more authoritative when it comes to your ranking. 

Voice Search

Smartphones started the trend of voice searching but now digital assistants such as Amazon Alexa are driving this growth in voice searches. Voice search is now used by more than 40% of users and this is going to grow. So, you should consider optimising your website to incorporate voice search for keywords in the form of questions. These will be long tail keywords that are specific such as asking where a specific business is located. You can then begin to think about any questions that a potential customer might have about your business, enabling you to tailor voice searches to their needs.

Mobile Device Optimisation

This is still one of the most important things that you can do when it comes to SEO. Over the last few years, searches from mobile devices have grown and that is going to continue to grow. Google and other search engines now expect websites to be mobile-friendly which means that they display correctly on these devices. Your website will need to be designed with responsive coding and framework and that’s what causes it to alter depending on the device. 

Local SEO 

It has always been important to rank highly using relevant keywords that relate to your local area. There are signs that this is going nowhere in 2023 and if you are a business that offers services, then local customers are the backbone of your business. So, in order to reach those customers, you have to implement a Local SEO strategy. 

What this means is that when people search for “plumber’s in xxxxx”, you will appear as a result on Google results pages. To do this, you will use the name of towns and areas with keywords that you are already using and this will ensure that people can find you when they put in certain search terms.

Artificial Intelligence

Google continues to alter its algorithm and with the growth of artificial intelligence it means you have to think about doing things differently. Google has become smarter at detecting elements that can either improve your ranking or reduce your ranking such as the Bert algorithm. So, you will have to take this into consideration when it comes to your website to adhere to Google standards.

Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness

Google wants to make sure that any results it returns are relevant to what the user is searching for. Therefore, if you sell products or services or provide advice, you have to prove your expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. You can do this by creating content that has been expertly created and ensuring that people find value in your website. Furthermore, should experts and websites link back to your website then this will also prove your trustworthiness.

A new year might be approaching but you need to make sure you keep ahead of the latest SEO trends that we are expecting to see in 2023. Some of them might not necessarily be new but they still require you to keep your on the ball while others are new. Either way, keeping up with trends are certain to help you rank better.