SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Since the early 2000’s the science of SEO has evolved and every marketer should stay on top of changes to best practices.
In 2023, there are a few key factors that will continue to be important for SEO:
- Quality Content: The content on your website should be high-quality, informative, and relevant to your target audience. This is the foundation of SEO and will always be important.
- Mobile-Friendly: With most internet users accessing websites on mobile devices, it’s important to have a mobile-friendly website. This means using responsive design and optimizing for mobile devices.
- Technical SEO: This includes things like website structure, website speed, and meta tags. These elements are important for both user experience and search engine visibility.
- Voice Search Optimization: With the rise in popularity of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s important to optimize your website for voice search. This includes using natural language and long-tail keywords.
- Backlinks: High quality (relevant) Backlinks, or links to your website from other sites, are still a key factor in determining the authority and credibility of your site.
- Featured snippet: Featured snippets are short answers that appear at the top of SERP because of a user’s query. Optimizing for featured snippet can help increase website visibility and drive more traffic.
- Security: Google has been prioritizing the security of the website on the SERP. Secure website (HTTPS) with an SSL certificate are favoured by Google and other search engines because the user is protected.
- Local SEO: Local SEO is important for businesses with physical locations. This includes things like optimizing Google My Business (GMB) listings, citations, and reviews.
- Video and Images Optimization: Optimizing images and videos on your website can help to improve the user experience and make your site more engaging. This can help increase the time spent on your site, which is a positive signal to search engines.
- Consistency and Patience: Successful SEO takes time (read 4-6 months to see trends). Crucial to the success of any SEO campaign is to be consistent throughout the year in your content creation, backlinking and use improvement of user experience using video and images.
Overall, the key to successful SEO in 2023 will be to create high-quality content that is both informative and engaging, while also paying attention to technical elements such as mobile-friendliness and website security.
Do you want to learn more about this topic? You can learn more by reading Rob Dunford’s blog Google SEO Strategy.
You can contact him if you want to know more about the importance of a fast-loading website to your business. Rob Dunford is a marketing consultant based in the Great Toronto Area. He has over 25 years of experience in marketing planning and implementing for small business.