Whether you love or loathe SEO, it’s a fundamental pillar of digital marketing. In fact, 61% of marketers feel that SEO is the key to online success.
The thing is, SEO is a hugely important part of online marketing and is constantly evolving. With 2022 in the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on the future. Businesses with strong search engine optimization (SEO) strategies build better brand awareness, drive more targeted traffic to their websites, and turn their traffic into paying customers.
Here’s what SEO will look like in 2023 — and how you can maximize your SEO efforts in the new year.
Emerging SEO Trends in 2023
Here are eight emerging SEO trends that brands should care about in 2023:
- Zero-click content
- AI tools
- EEAT
- Reduced crawling
- Mobile-friendly requirements
- Local search
- Voice search
- Video content
1. Zero-click content
Have you ever searched for something on Google and found your answer without leaving the SERP?
That is known as zero-click content. You’ve probably seen it in blurbs that pop up at the top of Google (called the Answer box”) as well as Google’s “People also ask” feature.
Search engines will continue to strive to bring reliable, zero-click content to their users. That affects your brand in a big way: It means you need to give your audience information without even clicking through to your website. And yes, this is already playing out: In late 2022, Semrush found that as many as 57% of users on mobile and 53% on desktop don’t click on organic or paid results.
So, the big question is: how can you leverage zero-click content? While it’s not necessarily easy, it’s possible. The trick is to write content that has a specific portion dedicated to being zero-click.
For instance, in a blog, there should be a stand-alone blurb that captures the essence of that blog and provides the value users are looking for.
2. AI tools are on the horizon
John Mueller, Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst, shared that Google’s algorithm views AI content as spam. That’s bad news for any brand that generates all of its content with tools like ChatGPT or Jasper.ai.
But we shouldn’t dismiss AI entirely. AI tools can help you synthesize an impressive amount of data — data that you need to build effective SEO strategies.
Here are three types of AI tools that writers and businesses are taking advantage of in 2023:
- Keyword research tools that replace spreadsheets and make finding keywords for SEO strategies more effective.
- Website graders that help less SEO-savvy businesses identify their weak spots.
- Site monitoring platforms that detect issues and inform webmasters when their websites experience technical issues, like downtime or heavy traffic.
AI tools can never replace the human touch. However, they can assist as handy helpers that save time and energy — for both writers and businesses.
3. From EAT to EEAT
Google has always used the E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trust) model to rate content. But as of December 2022, it’s now E-E-A-T. It added another “E” for Experience.
In 2023 and beyond, Google will now consider the content creator’s experience as part of your SEO ranking. In this case, “experience” refers to how suitable you are to create content about a topic.
For example, marketing is my expertise, but I don’t know anything about poodle grooming. If I posted a blog here about poodle grooming, Google would rank it low in terms of “experience.”
In practice, this change to EEAT means you need to be careful about who’s writing your content and the byline you attach to your content. For example, stop using the byline “Companyname Team” — you’ll need to use the specific names of the professionals on your team to improve your EEAT score.
4. Less crawling
Google committed to operating only on carbon-free energy in 2023. While that sounds unrelated to SEO, it actually does have consequences for your search engine rankings.
In an effort to reduce its energy consumption, Google is reducing how often it crawls websites. Crawling takes an enormous amount of energy, so it’s no wonder why Google made the change.
However, in 2023, it means you’ll need to wait longer for the search engine to index changes made to your website. If you’re desperately trying to one-up other businesses in your space, you may have to wait longer to see returns on your hard work because of Google’s limited crawling.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in SEO. If anything, this 2023 SEO trend means you need to hop to it and invest in SEO pronto — the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results.
5. Increased focus on mobile-friendly sites
This isn’t necessarily a brand-new trend in 2023, but it still has a big impact on SEO. In fact, Google uses mobile loading time as a ranking factor. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, over 63% of Google searches in the U.S. happened on a tablet or smartphone — and that number is only going to increase.
If you aren’t sure whether your site is mobile-friendly or not, use Google’s free mobile-friendly test to see how you’re doing. You can also ask your IT folks or hire a web developer to check for you.
6. Localized intent
Okay, so we know that more people are looking for information on their mobile devices. Because of that, 2023 will also lead to an increase in local SEO. Almost half of all searches conducted on Google include “local intent,” which means that the searchers are looking for solutions near their area.
This means that you’re missing out on a ton of traffic if you aren’t targeting local keywords. Be sure to add long-tail keywords to your 2023 strategy that highlight your city or state to bring in more traffic.
7. Optimizing for voice search
“Hey Google, how do I file taxes?” More and more of your customers are asking voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google questions just like this. Smart speakers and IoT wearables, like smartwatches, have made voice search pretty common.
We know people use voice search, so why aren’t brands optimizing for voice search?
People tend to use longer, more conversational keywords when speaking as opposed to typing, so your SEO strategy should focus on longer, more conversational keywords. For example, instead of “local ice cream shop,” go for “Where’s the best ice cream shop in San Antonio?”
Creating a structured FAQ section on your website is another way to optimize your content for voice search.
8. Complementary video content
Look, I love written content as much as the next gal, but multimedia is important, too. TikTok, YouTube, and IGTV have made it easier for your audience to quickly gather information. Your audience learns via multimedia, so why are you still generating static content?
You still need to include written copy on your site for search engine bots, but you should also include multimedia to appeal to human users, too. And yes, this can boost your search engine rankings: you’re 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google if you include videos on your website.
2023: The year of the user
All of these SEO shifts in 2023 signal big changes that largely benefit users. If you haven’t tried them already, it’s a good idea to shift your 2023 SEO strategy to accommodate these big changes:
- Zero-click content
- AI tools
- EEAT
- Reduced crawling
- Mobile-friendly requirements
- Local search
- Voice search
- Video content
I know SEO can feel confusing, but by keeping up with the times, you’ll be able to score more wins in the rankings this year. If you feel overwhelmed at the very thought of writing copy, professional marketing writers like yours truly are always here to help.