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If you’ve been around SEO for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed the rumor floating around from time to time. SEO is dead. Chances are, you’ve read or seen the headline more than just a time or two. 2023 is not likely to be much different. Most agree that content strategies and creation are essential for any quality website you want to rank. But SEO is most assuredly not dead! Without search engine optimization, no one would find or read your killer content, no matter how eloquent. SEO is actually more important in 2023 than it’s ever been.
Why is SEO Still Relevant?
Prior to the global pandemic, the World Wide Web was buzzing along nicely. But when everyone was suddenly forced to stay home, the world quickly adapted. More people work from home than ever before. More businesses have gone online, increased their presence online, or expanded their online offerings. The world is more connected than ever before, which means user behaviors have changed significantly over the last couple of years. What does that have to do with SEO? It influences the two reasons SEO is more important for your company than ever before.
- People still use search engines to help them find information.
- Search engines still use algorithms to rank sites.
As long as these two things stay true, SEO will be essential and relevant. Of course, it also means that SEO continues to evolve to keep up with user search trends.
SEO Isn’t Dead – But it Is Changing
SEO is changing because search engines are changing. Over the last few years, Google has made huge changes to the way it presents search results. Google really wants to answer the user’s search query. That sometimes means the results give searchers the answers they want, which keeps them from going to a website. The negative to the latest search result style is that CTRs have dropped drastically. However, instead of indicating that SEO is dead, it actually points to the opposite.
One reason for the big changes is how users are interacting with Google, in particular. In earlier years, Google was used for purchasing, but today’s user is often using it for discovery. That’s right – learning. How are businesses supposed to achieve any kind of ROI if users are looking for information about a specific product or service? When we answer this question, we’ll see at least one way SEO is changing.
With Google leaning heavily toward answering queries with results, selling products may take a little more creativity, especially when it comes to SEO. One great example of a company that figured it out is Olay. Instead of pushing products, they turned their campaigns into a dialogue with consumers who were seeking information. Their ads took on a more conversational and informational tone. The end result was more clicks and increased ROI.
Where to Focus SEO Efforts for the Best Results in 2023
Google still wants to see quality content, something that is relevant and adds value for the user. Search engines have not shifted their focus off of high-quality content, and that includes blog posts, web pages, and metadata. With that being said, it’s still about the user experience. SEO best practices are still going to carry a lot of weight, especially when search engines are assessing a site for quality. So, where should SEO efforts be spent on in 2023? Here are some of the top areas to address to keep search engines and users happy.
- Site Load Speed. Following the launch of Core Web Vitals, Google continues putting a lot of emphasis on website loading speed, with a focus on mobile sites. What makes fast-loading pages so important? It directly contributes to the user experience. Users do not like staring at a blank page and waiting for it to load, no matter what device they are using to connect.
- Optimize for Conversational Queries and Voice Searches. Today’s users like the convenience of a voice search. Google’s goal is to answer a query quickly and accurately, so they use an AI language system that helps the search engine comprehend conversational language better. The best way to optimize for user queries is to consider what questions they may have about products, services, or information you are sharing. You want to help Google be able to answer users’ questions quickly.
- Keyword-Rich Quality Content. High-quality content remains foundational for SEO strategies. This includes targeting keywords and keyword phrases and semantically related keywords in a variety of content. All content should revolve around providing essential information to your target audience and anticipating their needs and questions that might arise. The key to today’s content strategies: make it useful.
- Optimize Images. Images add a dynamic quality to websites and help to captivate and retain visitor interest. Many want to pass over images as if they were not important to the site or to SEO. Nothing could be further from the truth. User experience, SEO rankings, and more traffic are all reasons to optimize your site’s images. Start by resizing them, so they load without slowing a page’s loading time. Remember, it’s all about the UX.
- Video Marketing. Anyone who has spent time online over the last few years has experienced the rise of platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which focuses on video content. While consumers are more likely to watch a video when searching for products or services, Google tends to favor video content. A website with video content is over 50% more likely to show up on the first page of search results than sites without videos.
Stay Ahead in 2023 with Our SEO Experts
SEO is certainly not dead, but it is definitely evolving. When you work with the expert SEO team here at Keyword Performance, you can rest assured your website will be optimized for the growing demands of today’s search engines in terms of excellence, and quality.
Contact us today, and let us build a successful SEO strategy for your business.
