SEO Trends 2023 and Expert Advice

2023 has truly been a whirlwind year for every industry. The pace of change in technology and business organization has been dizzying. And adapting to and keeping up with new trends in order to navigate this constant “newness” is always essential — especially for marketers in general, and content specialists in particular. Staying on top of new trends is always a must. Within the scope of this article, The7 Marketing Services Company would like to share the latest SEO trends for 2023 along with advice from the experts.

Now is the time to look back at what has happened over the past few years and what’s coming in 2023. Here are some opinions from experts in the field.

And if you find the following article too long, let me sum it up briefly:

“Overall, the ideal SEO campaign should start by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and considering the following: Is the product content genuinely valuable? Is the brand trustworthy? Is the website easy to use? (Especially on mobile)”

Lily Ray, Marketing Director, Path Interactive.

That quote is fairly accurate and reasonably complete.

But there’s still a lot to explore when we talk about SEO trends in 2023.

So without further ado. Which SEO strategies and tactics will help your business perform better, dominate the SERPs, and generate more profit in 2023?

SEO Trend #1: Focus on Customers and Search Intent

The heading says it all.

While this isn’t a new trend, and it’s arguably been repeated many times over, customer search behavior keeps changing every year. Especially after 2020, these changes have become even more pronounced. Here, we want to discuss these changes.

Main Direction

“At its core, Google (like other search engines) exists to answer questions and meet user needs. When you truly understand why people search and deliver the content they’re looking for, your business will benefit from it.”

Jenn Mathew, Marketing Director, GitHub

So how should SEO efforts be directed in 2023?

Based on the quote above, SEO professionals need to gradually shift from traditional methods (such as painstakingly crafting meta descriptions) toward the new trend, focusing on better understanding what happens in the SERPs as well as understanding user search intent.

Getting Specific

“Google stores information for the entire world, and they know what people are actually trying to find. Paying closer attention to the search results gives SEOs the chance to create competitive content that matches what users truly want.”

Britney Muller, SEO Research Specialist

And many other experts agree with her on this. A notable example is Andrew Dennis, Content Marketing Specialist at One Power.

“The results Google shows all serve the user’s intent. So analyzing the SERPs is important not just in 2023, but going forward, as Google’s algorithm keeps changing and becoming more complex to keep up with.”

Andrew Dennis, Content Marketing Specialist, One Power

Clearly, to succeed in SEO in 2023, you need to work hard to provide the information users actually need.

“Google will keep getting smarter at recognizing what users need. High-quality content will rank higher than content lacking E-A-T (*). SEO professionals will succeed by understanding user needs even before Google does.”

Marie Haynes, CEO, Marie Haynes Consulting

(*) E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness — the three factors Google uses to measure how trustworthy a business or brand is. Google wants to give users the best possible search engine, so they only want to promote websites they trust.

How to Do It?

“Businesses should forget their ego and focus on their customers.”

Adam Riemer, President, Adam Riemer Marketing

That means:

• Create content focused on what customers need. Not on your products/services.
• A website interface with fast, stable loading speed.
• Don’t make it hard for customers to find your content. No forced paywalls, no annoying pop-ups or sign-up forms.

“The effective answer is the content format users prefer (video, podcast, PDF). However, figuring out user intent manually is very time-consuming, so keyword research tools become a huge help here.”

Steven van Vessum, VP, ContentKing

“Analyze and mine data from your website analytics (Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, etc.) to learn about potential customers through organic search. Not just the keywords they used to find you, but also the keywords of the pages they’ve visited. Compile that data and use it to build your content plan.”

Alexander Kesler, CEO, INFUSEmedia

SEO Trend #2: Customer Analysis and Engagement Time

Customer Analysis

SEO used to be only about driving traffic. But today, SEO has evolved into much more than that.

In 2023, businesses will feel even more pressure to increase traffic. And marketers will need to work harder to close the gap between revenue and profit margins.

And 2023 will also be the year customer behavior analysis becomes a hot topic.

“As Google keeps evolving to meet users’ immediate needs, UX design, conversion rate, and revenue optimization become increasingly important. Analyzing the keywords customers search for matters more than ever. Understanding what customers are doing, how they’re doing it, and what would help them do it faster will help businesses develop their service content accordingly.”

Miracle Inameti-Archibong, Head of Marketing, Erudite

While agreeing with the view above, John Acpin, Marketing Director at Cardinal Digital Marketing, points out that after the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen that keyword research alone isn’t necessarily enough when the world keeps changing so rapidly.

“To differentiate our business, we’re stepping up first-party user research. That opens up potential opportunities that keyword research alone can’t provide.”

John McAlpin, SEO Director, Cardinal Digital Marketing

Engagement Time

However, with tighter budgets, businesses should focus more on retaining customers and increasing customer lifetime value (LTV).

“Post-conversion content needs to answer the questions, concerns, and needs your customers were searching for. If your content doesn’t deliver value, you’ll leave users with a bad impression of your business. Understanding your customers and giving them valuable content will keep your business from losing them to competitors, the businesses Google trusts.”

Stephan Bajaio, Head of Marketing and Co-founder, Conductor

To reinforce this point, another expert encourages companies to focus on providing online support:

“First, build a sales team. Then work with customer support to identify the key questions and create content that answers them. Next, dig into Google Search Console data to find more relevant questions you’re missing. Make sure these are answered concisely and clearly, and place them in a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section.”

Izzi Smith, Technical SEO Analyst, Ryte

In short, Smith’s point is this: the “Frequently Asked Questions” section should sit near the top of the page and be updated continuously. The key to retaining customers here is the value your business delivers.

Conclusion

That’s why it’s so important to focus much more on the value your business delivers in 2023. And most of that value shows up in your content. That content needs to attract customers, match the time they’re willing to spend, promise real results, explain why they should invest, and make clear what that investment will bring.

SEO Trend #3: Optimizing Brand Presence in the SERPs, the Knowledge Graph, and Entity Signals

The Big Picture

First, if you’re not yet familiar with the Google Knowledge Graph and entity signals, please look them up before reading on.

According to experts, in 2023, monitoring the SERPs and the Knowledge Graph will become the standard for any professional SEO.

“In 2023, Google will return search results for the entities it understands best. Who that entity is, what it offers, and who it serves. Smart marketers will work to establish their brand and get their brand’s presence into the Knowledge Graph.”

Jason Barnard, author of The Brand SERP Guy, Kalicube.pro

Some predict that we may be able to personalize the Knowledge Graph in the future.

“Google has access to nearly all the information about you, and the Knowledge Graph will adjust accordingly. Because of that, understanding the relationship between content legitimacy and how Google scores content value matters more than ever.”

Nik Ranger, SEO Expert

What Should You Do?

So what does this mean for SEOs in 2023?

It means you should optimize your business’s entire presence across all media channels.

“It’s not just about optimizing your website, it’s about how your products show up and interact within the SERPs. If they’re linked through snippets, your business’s credibility will keep growing.”

Patrick Reinhart, VP of Strategy, Conductor.

According to another expert, a good SEO needs to optimize what lies behind each article’s topic (entities, subtopics), and handle natural language processing (NLP) and understand where the entity they’re engaging with stands in Google’s rankings.

“Search engines keep getting smarter. And they’re digging deeper into what users are actually asking, beyond the specific keywords they type. Still, building a solid keyword list remains important.”

John Shehata, VP of Global Audience Development Strategy, Founder, NewzDash.com

So the only way to optimize your visibility on Google is to figure out how to get your content into the Knowledge Graph and connect it to the range of topics relevant to your business.

To keep up with the 2023 SEO trends. SEO professionals need to measure the business’s API data. Then improve content so it can appear in the Knowledge Graph.

Conclusion

So the direction for 2023 is:

• Make sure your business information is complete and accurate
• Get your business content listed on trusted knowledge sources like Wikipedia
• Claim ownership of your Knowledge Graph panels on Google
• For local businesses, set up a Google Business Profile

SEO Trend #4: Optimize Core Web Vitals & Page Experience

Google has announced that Core Web Vitals will become a key ranking signal in 2023. This is a reminder for businesses: optimizing page experience is no longer something you can just skim over.

“Businesses’ websites need to be optimized so they don’t fall behind. Page load speed, mobile-friendliness, visibility, images, and security protocols all need to be optimized.”

Areej AbuAli, Marketing Director, Zoopla

We should also build a website that feels comfortable for users to use, rather than one that’s simply easy for search engines to crawl.

“We put the user first when optimizing website content:

– How can the page load faster?

– How do pages respond to customer interactions?

– How does this website display on mobile?

– Is the site’s security safe for users?

Doing this won’t just boost performance and rankings. It will also increase conversion rates.”

Rachel Costello, Technical SEO Consultant, Builtvisible

Google using Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal shows that they’ve recognized how frustrating some websites can be. So improve your website and give users a better experience.

SEO Trend #5: Focus on Mobile SEO

Making sure your content displays well on mobile is a must for the 2023 SEO trend, since it’s the platform where most searches happen.

That’s why in 2023, businesses need to optimize the user experience on mobile devices.

“What you should focus on for mobile is the user experience. And simplicity in design is the key. Also, make sure any personalization elements are still based on your actual users.”

Brock Murray, Co-founder, SEOPlus+

“In practice, Google will essentially ignore the desktop version of a website and use the mobile version to determine a business’s ranking.”

Shelly Fagin, Marketing Director, Highly Searched

If you’re wondering what to do to improve user experience in 2023. The answer is simple: improve the mobile experience.

“Don’t just focus on SEO metrics and treat that as the only important job anymore. It’s time to look at the interface and make sure it’s intuitive for users. Make sure content is easy to access, and that text and images aren’t cut off or broken on mobile.”

Shelly Fagin, Marketing Director, Highly Searched

SEO Trend #6: Evaluate, Improve, and Execute

Changing How We Work

2023 will be a year of constant innovation and change. And marketers will have to work harder to evaluate, improve, and execute their goals.

While skills and knowledge still matter, marketers’ minds now need to be truly agile to keep up with the dizzying pace of change.

“Foresight matters enormously right now. Business opportunities are always waiting to be uncovered. If customer needs are hard to pin down, try researching what they’ve actually been searching for.”

Motoko Hunt, President & International Marketing Consultant, AJPR

“This might be better described as a mindset than a trend. But since everyone is rushing toward it, I’ll personally call it a trend. Now is the time to build and refine your processes and stay ahead of the curve.”

Corey Morris, Chief Strategy Officer, Voltage

Strategic SEO: an SEO Trend for 2023

Shifting toward a more strategic approach to SEO will definitely be the right move in 2023. Experts agree that moving from pure customer-behavior research to a dual approach, combining market-potential research with behavioral research, will help businesses uncover countless new customers.

“Apply a behavioral approach that blends historical context with current trends to understand what’s happening in the market. Use consultative methods to study economics, sociology, and psychology, and how these factors have shaped search demand at a granular level. Finally, use that information to build a sound marketing strategy.”

Andy Betts, Digital Marketing Research Consultant.

SEO Trend #7: More Automation

Looking back at the SEO tasks that could be automated back in 2020 (generating structured data, evaluating content quality, etc.). The automation capabilities available in 2023 give us plenty to think about.

“The volume of AI-generated content will grow significantly going forward. That will certainly be a major challenge for keeping spam out of the index. Adopting a semi-autonomous approach helps ensure content still delivers value to users while avoiding penalties and staying competitive.”

Hamlet Batista, CEO, RankSense

Some experts believe the 2023 SEO trend will lean further into optimizing the use of automation.

“Over the past few years, more and more SEO tools have made significant changes to the web. Using them has become almost indispensable for any marketing department.”

“This matters a great deal for marketers. It lets them fix underperforming elements in this fast-paced era. Freeing them from SEO metrics so they can focus on improving website performance.”

Jesse McDonald, Global SEO Strategist | Head of Marketing Optimization, IBM

SEO Trend #8: Changes to SERP Layout and Features

Experts also agree that there will definitely be a major shift in how websites are structured going forward, thanks to Google Passage Ranking.

“Why does an article page need such a detailed main heading and subheadings? You could instead create one long page and let Google direct users to the relevant content. Isn’t that a win-win for everyone? It’s much like how video works.”

Dave Davies, Beanstalk Internet Marketing

And many also believe that Google identifying and ranking valuable content passages for user queries will be a new SEO trend in 2023.

“Passages (or ‘fraggles’) will be hugely important for improving search and retrieving the exact information users are looking for. A well-structured article page matters a great deal for natural language processing and is a key standard for evaluating readability.”

Cindy Krum, CEO & Founder, MobileMoxie

SEO Trend #9: Long-Form Content

The trend that helps you climb the SERPs is publishing articles that fully meet E-A-T standards. These are usually long-form pieces.

“Over the past year, 2,000-word blog posts have consistently outperformed posts of 1,000 words or fewer. I expect this trend to continue going forward, and word counts may climb even higher, to 2,500-3,000 words, to produce more high-quality content.”

Ron Lieback, CEO & Founder, ContentMender,

SEO Trend #10: Optimize How You Do SEO

According to Mark Traphagen, VP of Marketing and Training at seoClarity. 2023 will be the year you need to be proactive with SEO to get ahead of the competition.

So where should you start?

Traphagen shares three approaches:

• List out all your regular tasks and workflows. Identify which steps can be automated. Or handled better with the help of supporting tools.
• Set up a system to track important changes to things like: keyword rankings, URL rankings, page content changes, URL changes, etc.
• Build a workflow for the recurring tasks you can’t automate. So your team doesn’t waste time figuring out how to do them from scratch every time.

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Wrapping Up the 2023 SEO Trends

The trends above have been compiled from insights shared by industry experts. Some may fit your business, and some may not. Which ones to adopt depends on the industry your business operates in. Combining, mastering, and applying all these trends in practice will certainly help your overall marketing campaign succeed.

The7 will continue to update the latest Digital Marketing information on our website, along with in-depth insights into this multifaceted field. We hope you’ll keep following along.

For more information about our services, connect with us today via Hotline: 082 246 7979 – 028 3899 7377 or visit the website https://the7digital.com/ for a consultation!