December 22, 2022
4 minutes
If there’s one thing we can say for sure it’s that SEO is never stagnant.
In the last year, the industry has experienced the tail-end effects of the pandemic. Deep analyses of user behaviour and the impact of an increasingly digital world on the way users interact with content, websites and brands as a whole has become a huge focus.
2023 is set to see the death of the cookie, the takeover of GA4 and the introduction of even more ways that digital marketers must be nimble and responsive to stay ahead of the curve.
So, what are the key trends we predict will spearhead SEO in 2023?
This one for certain isn’t going anywhere.
Google is continuously implementing new and improved ways to ensure all content published and shared is of high quality, useful and meets user needs. The helpful content updates of 2022 consolidated this even further, putting an explicit focus on people-first content. As part of the EAT focus, more weight is going to be given to reputable, expert commentary as marketers test and learn what quality really means when it comes to online content.
We predict Google will offer more insight into what it considers quality this year ahead as it continues to encourage relevant, expert content creation on topics and will improve algorithms to stop content created simply to appease the search engines.
To learn more about creating quality content, see our 15 content marketing tips for 2023.
As people-first content leads the way there will be an even bigger spotlight on understanding user search intent for SEO success. In 2023, we expect algorithm changes that allow Google to further interpret and analyse the semantics and purpose of content and the meaning behind search queries to champion more specific content that meets these needs.
Once upon a time, content writing was sufficient for sites to engage users. However, as there is an increase in digital platforms available there comes a bigger demand for content that is interactive, adds something extra and stands out from the rest.
The on-site and off-page content spaces are becoming more competitive and adding a dev element or downloadable assets to site offerings is going to be huge as Google’s algorithms become more and more technologically advanced and users want more tangible, useful content.
This leads well to the need for more holistic approaches to SEO.
We predict that 2023 will be the year that requires a more-rounded, tactful marketing strategy. Those who can take a step back and assess the bigger picture, analyse keyword intent, consider user experience and provide shareable, news-worthy content that can organically earn backlinks and increase social engagement will all need to work together to provide a quality, reactive response to search queries in the new year.
Brands are going to require agencies who can work integrally with other services, SEO will need to brainstorm with PPC, Paid Social will need to confer with Digital PR and it’s these teams that are going to reap the benefits of Google’s algorithms.
As the digital world becomes more accessible, Google is going to expect more and it’s up to us to provide users with what they need in a quality way that can promote brands and create organic content that performs.
Finally, it’s happening – the robots are coming!
We don’t expect that AI will eliminate the need for real people anytime soon, as the world becomes more technologically focused, Google is taking big steps to ensure it is the human user that is kept at the heart of everything. However, AI will impact the way SEO can provide quality to users in an efficient way whilst adding new ways SEO can be assessed intelligently.
Expect new tools that can replicate algorithms, predict analytics and track further human behaviour to inform naturally written content for the human brain.
All in all – we predict it’s going to be another huge year for SEO where agencies and marketers have to be reactive, precise and – all in all – continue to put people at the centre of their well-informed SEO strategies.
There’s a lot to take in when it comes to mastering SEO. If you need help with getting the most out of your organic performance and want to climb up the search rankings get in touch with us today.