By SEO: 15 key trends for 2023
Do you have a website or blog and want to continue to increase its visibility? It is obvious that you will have to continue your SEO efforts.
However, because the web is constantly evolving, certain practices will have more or less impact on your SEO in 2023 than in 2022.
15 SEO key trends for 2023
So, to help you anticipate the changes that are coming, here is a list of the main trends that should mark SEO in 2023.
1. The end of zombie pages with Google Helpful
With the Google Helpful Content Update rolling on 5 December 2022, 2023 promises to be a decisive year for countering automated content.
In short, sites that have many pages that are “useless” to Internet users and that have only an SEO vocation should experience a drop in overall traffic, which will affect even pages that are already well referenced.
With this update, Google clearly indicates its desire to see only content created for Internet users that meets a real need. It’s back to the basics of SEO after all!
2. User-focused content is increasingly important
If you’re interested in SEO best practice, you must know that “content is king”. Well, in 2023, this will be even more true.
Take the time to create quality content that has real added value compared to what your competitors are offering. Also, remember to structure it perfectly so that both readers and search engines can quickly understand what it is about.
Perfect HTML markup, quality content targeted at a specific theme and simple writing should be enough to boost your SEO.
3. The long tail is always more useful
Offering quality content is one thing, but it is necessary that Internet users manage to access it. Also, if the main keyword is particularly competitive, it is essential to implement a long tail strategy.
Yes, through the use of terms from the same semantic field and through referencing on longer queries, you should make it possible to increase the visibility of your content on search engines.
This will be even more true in 2023 as the web is increasingly competitive. But here again, be careful not to create pages for the sake of creating pages. Select keywords that correspond to your activity to be seen as an expert in your sector in the eyes of Google.
4. Take care of your internal linkage
Over the years, the amount of websites and pages that Google has to inspect has increased. And Google’s crawl budget is not unlimited. This is why, in 2023 more than ever, the tree structure and internal mesh of your website must be taken care of.
A good tree structure and a good internal linkage allow the search engine robots to navigate well on your site and to discover all the pages in order to reference them. It is also a way for it to distinguish your different semantic cocoons or SEO silos.
So, to be sure that your pages are well indexed, rework your tree structure. Make sure that your most important pages are easily accessible and take care of your link anchors!
5. Relying on backlinks is always a good idea
To boost your popularity, a good netlinking strategy should also be put in place. If a good internal linkage of your content is a first step appreciated by Google, obtaining inbound links must be your objective.
Of course, it is essential that these links come from popular websites. To achieve this, writing guest articles is a good idea, although it is often very time-consuming. Note that gaining popularity often goes hand in hand with building a strong brand.
6. E-E-A-T at the heart of the 2023 SEO strategy
You knew E-A-T for Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Now it’s E-E-A-T! With this new E, Google integrates the degree of Experience. The idea is simple: when a content talks about a subject, the search engine tries to understand if there is a real experience behind it.
For example, for an article that talks about a product test, the search engine will try to understand if the writer has really tested the product. The objective: to provide content to Internet users that is increasingly authentic!
Google wants relevance and credibility. User experience is at the heart of its SEO policy and if it deems content to be unauthenticated or inappropriate, your website is likely to be pushed far down the search pages.
- Expertise: If you want to be credible to your audience, your publications should reflect your expertise and knowledge of the subject matter. In other words, you are expected to be an expert in your field.
- Authority: you will need to demonstrate that your website is an authority in your field of activity, with quality backlinks related to your topic. Also remember to refuse backlinks from disreputable domains in the Search Console.
- Trust: this involves several criteria such as site security (HTTPS), but also customer reviews, the presence of legal notices, general terms and conditions of sale or use, etc.
- Experience: you really know the subjects you are talking about on your website. The idea is not to be a simple relay of information, but to be the source of a real legitimate experience. Show that you have mastered the subject you are talking about!
7. Core Web vitals: SEO factor
Since 2021, Google has taken into account what it calls Core Web vitals. The emphasis is on UX, although it reminds you that SEO remains a priority for your SEO. In concrete terms, without a good website, you will struggle to gain SEO traffic. You will need to improve the UX and technical performance of your site.
How can you do this? By focusing on the loading, interactivity and visual stability of your pages:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): measures loading performance. Ideally, visible elements should be displayed within the first 2.5 seconds from the start of the page load.
- FID (First Input Delay): measures interactivity, i.e. the moment when the user can interact with your site (click on your CTA, open a link, etc.). Google recommends not exceeding a FID of 100 milliseconds.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): measures visual stability. In order to provide a quality user experience, Google recommends not exceeding a CLS score of 0.1.
- Improving the performance of a site can increase its traffic and visibility on the SERP by up to 20%! While Core Web Vitals are not new in 2023, it is still obvious that they should be taken into account.
You can find the performance status of your site’s pages directly in Google Search Console.
8. Secure your website and protect user data
Although not directly related to SEO, neglecting the security of your website will cause you to lose valuable positions in the SERP.
There are two reasons for this:
- Google’s algorithm takes into account the security of sites in its ranking.
If users do not feel secure, they will quickly leave your website. - It is essential to activate the HTTPS protocol on your site, and Google even promises a small SEO boost when the navigation on your site is secure.
If you haven’t already done so, draft your company’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
9. Boost your local SEO
Internet users are increasingly aware of the need to shop locally. More than half of all Google searches are for local places and businesses.
From now on, Google’s algorithms will give a boost to local businesses in 2023 by implementing new data filtering methods:
If you don’t have a Google My Business page yet, it’s time to get started and don’t forget to keep your information up to date!
Create local landing pages.
Appear in Google News and in Showcase on smartphone.
10. Popularity as a new SEO pillar
In 2023, good SEO will only be possible for a website if it has a high popularity.
In other words, a website that generates a lot of traffic will be better referenced by Google. Indeed, it is always easier to reference pages on competitive queries from a site that is already well referenced.
11. Gain leads with marketing videos
Videos are everywhere and for good reason, Internet users love them! Don’t overlook the tremendous potential of video marketing if you want to rank well in 2023.
With a six-fold conversion rate, video content is a great lead magnet.
That’s why it’s good practice to use video content to power your site. This content format can generate a lot of traffic if the videos are well designed. In 2023, editing your own videos can help boost your website’s SEO.
But beware: like all SEO content, videos must be relevant and provide useful, quality information.
12. The user experience is becoming increasingly important
In 2023, a user-centric strategy will be conducive to improving your website’s SEO. It is no longer a question of “only” attracting the user, but also of offering him a quality experience so that he will want to stay and come back.
Moreover, as was already the case at the end of 2022, your thinking will have to focus more on SXO than on SEO. In other words, SEO strategy and user experience will become one and the same and we will talk about Search eXperience Optimization.
In order to please Internet users and build their loyalty, work on the user experience is essential. Thus, you must ensure that it is easy to navigate between the different pages of your website.
You should also ensure that your website pages load quickly. Indeed, a too long loading time can cause the flight of the Net surfers: you will have to do everything possible so that your pages are displayed quickly. For example, you can adopt the SVG or Webp format for your images: they will have a more limited size without losing quality. Ideal for optimising the loading time of your pages!
13. More and more effort to please mobile users
At a time when mobile devices are generating an ever-increasing share of web traffic, any internet project owner must ensure that their site is optimised for smartphones.
The different pages of your website must therefore adapt to the size of the screens on which they are consulted: this is what is known as responsive design. With pages designed for smartphones and tablets, mobile users will be able to navigate comfortably and will want to return if they like the experience.
In order to optimise your visits from mobile devices, you will need to take into account first mobile expectations. Indeed, Google classifies websites on smartphones and PCs differently in order to value those that offer optimal comfort to mobile users.
If this is relevant to your business, implementing a local SEO strategy can help you achieve good results in the shortest possible time for a newly launched site.
14. Better consideration of voice queries
Voice queries are no longer a revolution, but voice searches are still popular, especially thanks to home automation and connected objects. More than one in two Internet users regularly uses voice search.
As a website manager, you will have to adapt to this new type of request. First of all, you will have to position your content on a new form of keywords in the form of questions.
Secondly, you will have to try to target Google’s Featured Snippets, in other words the featured snippet placed above the traditional search engine results. This is the key to maximising your website’s visibility.
When you create content to improve your position on voice queries, you should therefore try to position yourself well on the most frequent questions asked by Internet users. You will then have to “tag” these questions in order to show Google’s robots that you are capable of providing better answers to users’ questions. Finally, if you are aiming for the famous Featured Snippet, be succinct and clear in answering the question, even if it means going into more detail elsewhere.
15. Searching from images
Although complementary to voice search, there is real SEO potential with visual search. To be referenced, select only quality photos and optimise all your ALT attributes.
When selecting your images, ask yourself if they meet a need and if they add value to your content, with a view to Google deeming your image relevant enough to be included in its image results.
More and more people are also searching through photos, for example to find products. If you own an e-commerce site, the photos of your products are essential to help people find you!
Our tip for successful SEO in 2023
In 2023, SEO practices will continue to evolve and it is those who best anticipate these changes who will come out on top.
So, from now on, give importance to your content, which more than ever must be written for Internet users. By anticipating the expectations of the search engine, it is certain that in a few months, your efforts will be rewarded by Google.
