If you’re preparing your SEO strategy for the new year, take a look at these 2023 SEO trends and predictions before you go any further! Keep reading to learn more about what to expect with SEO in the next year and how you can optimize your SEO strategy for these trends!
Want to see what’s trending for SEO in 2023? Here are three trends that will impact your SEO strategy.
Conversational queries
Next on our list of 2023 SEO trends you need to know are conversational queries. Google continually focuses on improving the user’s search experience to help them find relevant information fast. A critical part of that improvement is understanding the complexities of language.
Google launched LaMDA to understand natural language better. With the implementation of LaMDA, Google focuses on understanding dialogue better to deliver results more efficiently.
This process includes understanding vernacular and how users converse when trying to find what they need.
How to optimize for this SEO trend for 2023
With conversational queries trending for SEO in 2023, you’ll need to put a great emphasis on optimizing for voice search.
Voice search focuses on natural language processing (NLP) to understand how users search verbally compared to typing a search query. Since Google is moving towards understanding conversational searches from users, it’s in your best interest to optimize for voice search queries.
You can optimize for voice search by:
Targeting phrasing: The way someone phrases a typed query is different than a verbal query. Someone may type “best hiking boot brand” but verbally search “what’s the best hiking boot brand?” Optimizing for these verbal searches is a great way to target conversational keywords.
Keeping answers short: If you’re optimizing for conversational keywords, keep your answers concise to deliver helpful information fast. To answer the best hiking boot query, you may have a short blurb highlighting the top brands and diving into more detail later.
Considering vernacular: Different regions have specific phrases they use to describe objects or places. People who live in the state of Pennsylvania, for example, typically call it “PA.” Knowing vernacular can help you optimize for more conversational keywords.
Video marketing
The last of the SEO trends in 2023 that we’ll look at is video marketing. Over half of all consumers rely on videos to help them make purchasing decisions.
With more people watching videos, you’ll want to make it a component of your SEO strategy if you haven’t already. Additionally, Google is rolling out features to help users find information faster through videos.
In particular, the new features of focus are:
Clip markup: Clip markup enables you to highlight key points of your video so that users can hop straight to those parts. If you had a video containing tips, for example, you could create a markup for each tip.
Seek markup: Seek markup tells Google how your URL structure works. This information is critical because it allows Google to display the key moments of your video automatically. It enables Google to link within a specific point in your video.
With these two new features, you can optimize your videos to appear in search results for more relevant and competitive terms.
How to optimize for this SEO trend for 2023
Start by incorporating video into more of your pages. Users spend 88% more time on pages with videos, so incorporating them in your content can help boost engagement, rankings, and traffic. As for the clip markup and seek markup, make sure you’re using detailed, keyword-rich markups.
If you have a video on tips to save money, don’t label your markups “tip 1,” “tip 2,” and so on. Instead, use markups like “Save money by couponing” and “Stash cash from your paycheck.”
Reinforcing your EAT signals
Google’s guidelines have repeatedly stated the importance of amplifying your EAT signals where applicable on your website. Looking ahead, search engines will continue to look at your website’s Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness when ranking content. The user experience remains central to Google, and showing that your site is worth its visitors’ time will remain key in scoring those top results. Your E-A-T signals can include social proof, customer testimonials, links to authoritative sites, expertise and badges and much more.
How to optimize for this trend in 2023
As you meticulously craft your website’s content, keep EAT in mind. You can do this by backing up your data with statistics and facts, links to authoritative websites such as .edu and .gov, reinforcing your social proof, showcasing awards and badges and displaying customer reviews and testimonials. You can also boost your EAT signals by winning over links from other authoritative websites.
5. Image optimization and accessibility in 2023
Google has always been clear about the best practices regarding website image optimization— unfortunately, few have taken this as seriously as it should be. Now is the time to look at the images on your website and see how they score up on the optimization meter. We want the web to be accessible for all, and your image optimization will play a role in ranking factors to ensure that images can be served optimally to those with visual disabilities and impairment. This isn’t the only reason Google’s so keen on pushing for good image optimization – in the future, images will be used for much more than simply conveying an idea visually, but will be used in search to shop, obtain information, and more.
How to optimize for this trend in 2023
Now is a great time to conduct an image audit on your site to identify which of the following you need to implement to get your image optimization score up:
Serve images in next-gen formats
Make sure images are compressed
Name each image file appropriately with the correct keywords where possible.
Give each image unique alt text
Want to learn more about image SEO? Check out our post on image SEO with ten tips on optimizing your images!
6. Rise of the featured snippet
For our next trend prediction this year, we can’t ignore the rise of featured snippets in search results. Featured snippets will continue to be served and will likely become more prominent as time goes on. If you haven’t noticed them just yet, featured snippets are the boxes of results you often see above the actual search results— these can take the form of how-to’s, FAQs, bulleted lists, or simply a single sentence. These are great little shortcuts to the top of the SERPs without the need to craft long-form content. If your page offers valuable information that people frequently search for, you’re probably eligible for a featured snippet.
How to optimize for this trend in 2023
To make your way to the top in the form of a featured snippet, think carefully about the searcher, their intent, and how they’d search, and focus your content on question-based terms. Using Google’s autocomplete or “People also ask” sections are both excellent tools for finding profitable keywords and topics to write about. Next, you’ll want to ensure your content has the correct schema markup to appear in search results. You can then test your markup using Google’s Schema Markup Testing Tool.
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