Competition is rampant in the field of SEO. Everyone is vying for those top few listings on Google search results in pages under those keywords they know to bring them targeted traffic. Naturally, anyone ranking highly wants to stay there, and up-and-coming companies are constantly refining their techniques to get those top spots. But, unlike many things, it’s a zero-sum game. If someone gains a top spot, whoever had it gets knocked down.
For this reason, staying ahead of the curve is critical in SEO. In addition, it would be best to have a firm grasp of the current state of SEO, so you’ll know how to build upon this understanding. For these reasons, we’ll review some SEO statistics that are important for you to know. Then, we’ll look at some upcoming trends in the field.
2023 Trends In Search Engine Optimization
The above stats are very enlightening in their regard. They show you where you should put your efforts and the overall importance of SEO. Now, we’ll delve into the trends in SEO that are gaining steam today and are likely to continue growing through 2023.
User Experience Is Critical
People searching on the internet have many companies to choose from; thus, having a great user experience is crucial. They aren’t going to stick around on your website if pages take too long to load, the site’s navigation and design are non-intuitive, or the content doesn’t tell them what they need to know. You must code and design with the end-user in mind because that’s who you are trying to get to buy your goods or services.
The Importance of Fresh, High-Quality Content
High-quality content that answers visitors’ questions or offers the solutions they’re looking for is an integral part of giving visitors a good experience on your website. Google’s search algorithm also likes that you regularly update your website with fresh, quality content that delivers value to users.
Try to Get Into Featured Snippets
You have undoubtedly noticed that many searches you make on Google give you a page that includes what’s known as a featured snippet. This box is just above the organic search results containing content that directly answers the searcher’s query without clicking on a website link.
Due to their location above other organic listings, these featured snippets can attract an incredible number of clicks, which makes getting some of your content featured incredibly advantageous. Optimizing content for featured snippets could be an entire article in its own right. Search Engine Journal gives a good primer on how to accomplish this.
Take Advantage of the Power of Video
People like video content. It’s simply more engaging than bland text and graphics. In fact, as of 2018, 85 percent of U.S. internet users watch online video content monthly, and 54 percent want to see more videos from brands they like. A gripping video on your website can make people hang around on your website longer, which is rewarded by Google with higher search rankings. Also, the video presents a powerful opportunity to utilize YouTube to market your business.
Potential Customers Value Their Security and Privacy
No one wants their data stolen when conducting an online transaction. If they see a message across the top of their browser telling them your website is not secure, they will go elsewhere quickly. Installing an SSL certificate will be infinitely better than losing sales without it.
Optimizing Your SEO for Voice Search
Beyond smartphones, the prevalence of digital assistants, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, has increased the number of voice searches over the past few years. As a result, almost 40 percent of internet users in the U.S. utilize voice search, which is only likely to increase through 2023 and beyond.
When optimizing for voice search, it helps to target keywords in the form of a question. These will typically be long-tail keywords that are usually reasonably specific. One example would be, “Where is Don’s Dry Cleaning?” It can also help you to think up any questions a potential customer might have about your type of business and then create blog posts answering these questions.
Optimizing Your Website for Mobile Devices
This makes sense since phone searches are expected to increase through 2023. To see how mobile-friendly your website is, start by typing “Google Mobile-Friendly Tool” into Google. This will bring up a box where you can enter your site’s URL to be evaluated by Google.
To improve your site’s performance on mobile devices, you’ll need to ensure it was created with responsive coding and framework. Hence, it automatically changes how it looks depending on the device used to access it. You will also want to boost your webpage loading times by implementing caching, using a content delivery network (CDN), and compressing images. Finally, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) method can be used to create mobile-friendly web page versions.
Local SEO and Google Business Profile
Focusing on ranking highly under relevant keywords in your local area has always been important, and this shows no signs of changing going into 2023 and beyond. It’s particularly critical if you are a service business and local customers are your lifeblood. To enhance your local customer base, you should maintain an updated Google Business Profile listing and use geo-targeted keywords for your locality.
Google Business Profile is a free tool that Google provides that your company can use to create a local listing for your business. It also includes a Google Maps listing so potential customers can find you easily. In addition, geo-targeted keywords involve adding the names of cities, towns, and neighborhoods in your area to the keywords you already use. Combining these two strategies will help you stay above your competitors in your locality.
Artificial Intelligence
Google’s algorithm has gotten much brighter over the years, thanks to the implementation of artificial intelligence. A recent example of this is their BERT algorithm update. BERT is an acronym for a series of words that would probably break your brain if you’re not knowledgeable in this field. This update enables Google to understand the language more than humans do. This update and earlier ones, such as RankBrain, explain why techniques such as keyword stuffing no longer work and will lower your search ranking.
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)
SEO E-A-T is essential if you have a business that gives advice or sells products or services that can affect a person’s health, happiness, safety, or financial stability. Google knows goods or information such as YMYL or “your money or your life.”
You can demonstrate expertise with content created by someone considered an expert. In some instances, this can also be accomplished by people with everyday knowledge of the subject. You gain authority by making your website where many people learn about your topic or field. If other experts and websites refer to or recommend you, Google will see you as more authoritative. Trust is enhanced by the transparency of who creates your website’s content and by having adequate contact information.
10 Must-Know SEO Statistics
- Google Is Where It’s At – Approximately 75 percent of all desktop searches and about 96 percent of all mobile searches occur on Google. With the second most popular search engine (Bing) only accounting for about 10 percent of searches, it’s no wonder that most online marketers focus their efforts on ranking highly on Google.
- Most Users Ignore Sponsored Search Results – If you are betting everything on pay-per-click ad campaigns to grow your business, you’ll be sad to hear that about 70 to 80 percent of users ignore sponsored ads. This stat shows the importance of centering your online outreach efforts around SEO.
- Approximately 93 Percent of Online Experiences Start With a Search – If you doubt the importance of ranking highly on search engines, this stat should completely dispel it.
- Google Updates Its Search Algorithm 500 to 600 Times a Year – This averages a couple of daily changes. Most of these are minor updates that don’t change much, but they can have a cumulative effect on your search rankings. This stat tells you that remaining at or near the top of search results pages is a full-time job.
- As of 2018, Mobile Traffic Accounted for 52.2 Percent of the Worldwide Total – Optimizing your website and your SEO efforts for mobile devices has not been optional for those serious about success for some time now.
- Google’s Ranking Algorithm Looks at Over 200 Factors. If you’re only optimizing for a few dozen search factors, you’re only hitting the tip of the iceberg regarding the results you could be getting.
- Video Helps You Stand Out – In 2017, Forbes reported that video content is 1,200 percent more likely to be shared than text and links combined. It’s hard to believe this number would be any lower today.
- PPC Advertising Is No Substitute for SEO – Beyond the stat above, about 70 to 80 percent of users ignore sponsored search results; cost is another consideration. A PPC agency called PowerTraffic has reported that, on average, a business will spend $1.60 on Adwords for every $3.00 in revenue.
- The Power of YouTube and Video Content – According to YouTube, twice as many businesses have been advertising on their platform since 2016. Once seen as a cute place to watch cat videos, YouTube has been the second-largest search engine on the planet for some time.
- 60 Percent of Clicks Go to the Top Three Results – This stat highlights the importance of good SEO more than any other. You lose many sales if you’re not in one of the top three spots on-page search engine results.