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SEO 2023: Trends and Predictions To Stay Ahead of the Game

The digital landscape is constantly changing and it’s crucial for businesses to stay ahead of the game. In 2023, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) will continue to evolve and impact how companies reach their target audience online.

To help you prepare for the upcoming trends, we’ve collated predictions and rising trends in the world of SEO in 2023.

From the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the use of image and voice search and the increasing importance of E-A-T friendly content, we’ll dive into key elements you need to know to stay ahead of the competition.

Get ready to make your mark in the digital world and stay ahead of the game with these 2023 SEO trends and predictions.

What is SEO and do I still need it in 2023?

Search Engine Optimisation is a crucial aspect for getting your website noticed. It’s about improving both the amount and relevance of traffic from search engines to your site, resulting in increased organic traffic.

By taking Google’s best-practice guidelines, we can optimise website and blog content to that so that when someone goes searching for something that they want, your content is at the top of the Google SERPs page.

After all, over 80% of all clicks go to the top 3 Search Rankings on Google

Organic search is seen as a compounding channel that produces results over time and helps other media perform better. This is why so many companies that use SEO see it as an essential component of their marketing strategy, and those who don’t use SEO seem to struggle on reaching their target goals for organic search traffic.

Better yet, SEO has grown over the past 20 years, becoming the go-to marketing channel for many businesses due to its high return on investment and valuable business insights.

A study conducted by BrightEdge showed that the top-ranking pages for ecommerce terms continued to drive more keywords and produce a 120% lift in traffic, demonstrating the compounding effect of SEO.

By aligning your website’s content and structure with search engine algorithms, you can skyrocket to the top of search results and attract a flood of qualified leads.

And the best part? SEO is a never-ending journey of discovery and improvement. As search engines and consumer behaviours evolve, your SEO strategy can too, delivering ongoing benefits for your online success.

Essentially, by gaining direct traffic, you will have fresh sets of eyes on your content. This means you will create authority in your audience’s brain thanks to the information you provide.

Not only this, but driving traffic to your site will allow for building an audience to retarget to when it comes to paid traffic.

SEO does wonders for your site, being friends with Google is the best thing you can do for your brand.

SEO Trends for 2023

The Rise of AI and Producing Online Content

One of the main trends predicted for 2023 is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into SEO.

AI technology will allow companies to analyse vast amounts of data and make informed decisions about their SEO strategies.

This will also help businesses to optimise their content and website for voice search, which is becoming increasingly popular.

Voice search optimisation will require a different approach to traditional keyword optimisation, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices.

One of the latest trends is Google’s latest language model – LaMDA.

What is LaMDA?

LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) is a groundbreaking language model developed by Google. It’s designed to help search engines understand and generate natural language text in a conversational manner, which is where its impact on SEO comes in.

How will LaMDA and AI affect SEO?

Increased relevance: LaMDA will provide more relevant answers to search queries, which can lead to higher search engine rankings for websites that provide useful and relevant information.
Long-tail keywords: LaMDA enables search engines to understand conversational queries, which often tend to be longer and more specific than traditional keywords. By targeting these long-tail keywords in their content, businesses can potentially rank higher in search results.
Voice search optimisation: LaMDA can also help improve voice search results, as more people are using voice search on their mobile devices or smart speakers. By optimising their content for voice search, businesses can increase their visibility in local voice search results.
Enhanced user experience: LaMDA’s ability to understand the context of a conversation can lead to a better user experience, which can in turn impact search rankings. Google often rewards websites that provide a positive user experience with higher search rankings.

What is the E-A-T method and how can I use it?

First and foremost, quality content will play a major role in 2023 SEO trends. High-quality, relevant content that follows Google’s Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) guidelines will be key to ranking well on search engines.

Google’s E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, which are three factors used by the search engine to evaluate the quality of a website and its content.

It is predicted that with the rise of ChatGPT-3 and other AI models that Google will crackdown on E-A-T. It’s going to become more important than ever to ensure your site is following these guidelines.

The idea behind E-A-T is to ensure that high-quality, trustworthy information is readily available to users. Google assesses websites and their content on these three aspects to determine their credibility and usefulness.

A website that demonstrates expertise in its field, is authoritative, and is trustworthy is likely to be ranked higher in search results, as users are more likely to find relevant and reliable information through it.

On the other hand, sites that lack expertise, authority, or are untrustworthy are more likely to be ranked lower or even penalised. Google’s E-A-T approach is meant to create a better user experience and prevent the spread of false information or misinformation on the web.

Follow the E-A-T Method With These Guidelines:

Publish original and high-quality content: Develop content that is original, well-researched, and informative. The content should be relevant to your niche and provide value to your audience.
Establish credibility: Share your credentials, such as educational background, work experience, or professional certifications. This helps establish your expertise and authority.
Get positive customer reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your site, Google My Business page, or other review platforms. This can help build trust and credibility with your audience and with Google.
Build links from reputable sources: Encourage other websites to link back to your site. This can help demonstrate your authority and expertise in your niche.
Foster transparency: Make sure your website provides clear and accurate information about your business, including contact information and privacy policies.
Create a secure website: Use a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate to encrypt data transmitted over your website. This helps protect your users’ information and makes your website appear more trustworthy.
Monitor your online reputation: Regularly monitor your online reputation, including social media and review sites, and address any negative feedback promptly.

More Siri & Smart Home Voice Search

With the rise of voice-activated devices such as smart speakers, voice search is becoming increasingly popular and changing the SEO landscape. More and more people are using devices like Alexa and Google Home to find the answers they are looking for with just their voice, so it’s crucial for businesses to adapt their SEO strategy accordingly.

Gone are the days of optimising for short and generic keywords, now it’s all about optimising for long-tail keywords that are more conversational and natural. The average voice search query is made up of 29 words, according to Backlinko, which is much longer than typical browser searches.

How to find long-tail keywords

Longer keywords better reflect the intent of the user and can place them closer to the conversion stage in their buyer’s journey. By targeting long-tail keywords, businesses can ensure that their website is more easily discoverable through voice searches and can tap into a valuable audience.

People use voice assistants to search for information in a conversational manner, rather than typing in keywords. Optimising for voice search means businesses need to target specific, detailed phrases like “digital marketing agency in Sydney,” rather than more general terms like “marketing agency.”

Google will rank pages higher when a website can consistently provide value to the user based on their search intent. Keeping in mind how users will access your website will help you ensure it remains discoverable.

The Rise of Visual: Optimising for Image Search

Image search is on the rise and it’s having a big impact on SEO. With more and more people using their smartphones for visual searches, it’s crucial to make sure your website or online store looks good.

How to Optimise an Image for Your Site

Optimising for Image Search means focusing on a few key variables. From using great images and properly naming them, to adding the right alt tags so search engines can understand what the pictures are all about. This not only helps to engage users, but also improves site search engine ranking.

Alt Tags

By using descriptive and relevant alt tags (alternative text), you can improve the visibility of your images in search results and provide context for users who may not be able to view the images.

This text helps search engines understand what the image is about, and it can also be displayed in place of the image if the image fails to load.

Even better, including keywords in alt tags can also help to improve your search engine rankings for those keywords. This is super helpful for businesses that sell products, as alt tags can be used to describe the product and include relevant keywords.

Image naming

Image naming is simply giving descriptive and meaningful names to images before uploading them to your site. It’s a crucial part of SEO because it helps search engines understand exactly what an image is about and its relevance to the surrounding content.

Think of it like introducing yourself to a new person. If you simply say “Hi, I’m Alice,” the person has very little information to go on. But if you say, “Hi, I’m Alice, a marketing manager from Sydney,” the person now has a much better idea of who you are and what you do. The same goes for images on a website.

By using descriptive names, such as “Sydney_Harbour_Bridge_Sunset.jpg,” you’re providing search engines with more context and information about the image, making it easier for them to categorise and rank it. This means improved visibility and increased organic traffic to your website.

Correct sizing and file type

For better SEO, images should be properly sized and optimised in terms of file format and size before being uploaded to a website.

Here are some best practices to follow:

Image Sizing: Use images that are appropriately sized for the web page.

Large, high-resolution images can slow down the page load time and affect the user experience, so ideally file sizes should be kept as small as possible.

You can reduce the file size of an image using image compression tools such as compressor.io/ without sacrificing quality, and you can resize images to fit the dimensions of your web page.

File Format: JPEG is the most commonly used format for photographs, while PNG is better for graphics with transparent backgrounds. Avoid using BMP or TIFF formats, as they are not as web-friendly.

UX Is Everything!

UX isn’t just a buzzword thrown around in the digital space without reason. UX and SEO are interconnected, and by prioritising UX, websites can benefit their SEO efforts.

But first, let’s start with some explanations.

What Is UX Web Design?

User Experience (UX) design is all about crafting an unforgettable experience for your audience!

It’s a design discipline that takes into account the overall feelings and emotions a person experiences while using a product or service. The aim is to create designs that are not only practical, but also enjoyable and satisfying to use.

Think about it, when was the last time you used a product that was just a pain to use? That’s where UX design comes in. It starts by getting to know your audience inside out – understanding their goals, motivations, and what’s holding them back. This information is then used to craft designs that truly resonate with them and meet their needs.

UX design is a team effort, involving designers, developers, and stakeholders who work together to create an experience that’s seamless and easy to navigate.

UX and SEO

Now, when UX and SEO are combined they create a powerful duo to help elevate your website to the top of the search engine rankings.

Here’s how UX and SEO are interconnected: A well-designed UX can improve user engagement, leading to longer dwell times, fewer bounce rates, and more pages viewed per session. These metrics are all factors that search engines consider when ranking a website.

Basically, a clear and intuitive navigation structure makes it easier for users and search engines to find and understand the content on your website. This can lead to higher crawl rates and more pages indexed by search engines.

In short, UX and SEO are like two sides of the same coin. By prioritising UX, you can improve your SEO efforts, and vice versa.

Ongoing SEO is the key to success

Ultimately, SEO remains a crucial aspect for businesses to reach their target audience online in 2023.

It is a complex digital landscape but keeping up to date with best practices and emerging technologies is crucial for businesses to stay ahead in the competitive online marketplace.

With this deep dive into SEO trends and predictions we hope we helped you realise SEO isn’t just about sprinkling a few keywords into your content and crossing your fingers for a high Google ranking.

Sure, keywords play a role, but true optimisation requires having an overarching understanding of all the elements that play a part in increasing your organic traffic.

Begin Your 2023 SEO Journey With SDM

Need some support with crafting an SEO strategy that stays ahead of the trends for 2023?

Work with SEO experts in a Sydney based agency you can trust to get the job done right. Sydney Digital Marketing is here to help! We’re a full-scale digital marketing agency dedicated to providing you with SEO support and more.

Reach out to the team at Sydney Digital Marketing. Contact us today!