Gone are the days when businesses can just rely on inputting keyword phrases across the site and begin to rank. The SEO process is evolving into much more than it was years ago, and over-prioritizing keywords can actually have an adverse effect in some instances. As Google’s algorithm learns and becomes more complex, SEO experts need to keep up in order to produce results.
It’s time to dive into the top SEO trends for 2023 and how you can take advantage of ‘every trick’ to get your business to the top.
High-quality content rules!
Focus your time and energy on producing quality content that keeps readers interested. The better quality content produced, the more likely people are actually to read it! Google analyses how engaged users are with any page on your site and this is taken into consideration. If the content is interesting, original and keeps readers scrolling, this will help your chances.
The algorithm also likes to see that your updating your website on regular basis, this lets Google know that you are likely to produce accurate information for the searcher, as your content is updated frequently.
Featured snippets
Although featured snippets have been around for a while now, ranking in ‘position 0’ is more valuable than ever. If you’re not sure what a featured snippet is, it refers to the search result that appears at the top of page one and features the information the user is looking for, typically an answer to a question.
Featured snippets amongst other zero-click results often leave optimisers in two minds. There’s concern that it stops the user from needing to click through to your site because their question has already been answered, however, the benefits really do outweigh this. Ranking for a featured snippet means that your result appears at the top of page one, they’re often less competitive to achieve, they stand out from other SERPs, and can help your DA score (domain authority score).
Include video
Video is our favorite source of information! It’s more engaging to users and quite simply can be quicker to digest. Videos have always been effective in SEO strategy as they help to increase time on the page, however with Google taking engagement metrics more seriously, now’s the time to start including them!
The increase in popularity of TikToks/Reels providing viewers with useful search content only indicates further that video is now a primary tool for delivering information and answering questions.
We also have new information on Google’s developments of video structured data, allowing optimisers to add clip and seek markup to help your videos gain more visibility in Google Search! – https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/video
Local SEO
Local SEO isn’t new to the scene and has always been important in achieving a good ranking position within your target areas however, it’s here to stay! If you’re a service-based business that requires customers/clients to visit you at your premises, local optimisation is the most essential SEO strategy for you.
If this sounds like your business and you haven’t set up a Google My Business listing yet or spent time optimising it, you’re missing a trick. This free tool provided by Google allows you to list all of your business information so that people searching for your services in the local area can find you and either contact or visit you quickly.
You should also be adding well-optimised location pages to your site and including content that is directly relevant and of interest to your target area.
Topic clusters
Topic clusters refer to a group page/articles that are all focused around one core subject. You then delve into the topic in more detail and generate more content pieces to explore a range of more specific areas within.
A topic cluster serves to answer all queries the user has regarding the focus subject area within your industry.
The hard truth is, it’s now harder than ever, particularly as a new website with poorer domain authority to rank for competitive queries. You can be the best in the business at what you do, but ultimately that isn’t going to get you ranking on Google at the start, even if you’re producing great quality content.
Taking on the topic cluster approach allows you to rank more easily for those less competitive queries, and through doing this begin to develop more authority. This can in turn then helps you generate traffic and a higher search engine ranking position for your pillar piece of content.
For more advice on our affordable SEO packages or to book a free strategy session, contact Every Trick Marketing on 0330 133 6302 or email us on info@everytrick.co.uk.