As 2022 draws to a close, many digital marketers are looking to the future to try to predict what work they’ll need to be doing in 2023. After all, SEO is an ongoing game, and if you’re sitting still, you’re falling behind. So here are 5 search engine optimization trends in 2023 that you might want to pay attention to if you want your website to stay at the top of the ever-important search results list:
Identify and utilize Semantically Related Keywords
One of the best ways to increase your SEO performance in 2023 is by targeting what are known as Semantically Related Keywords. These are keywords that–even if they don’t have any direct linguistic connection–Google can identify as being closely related to each other, and likely to be of interest for somebody searching out any one of them. Think of it like a word cloud: For example, if someone is looking for “tacos,” they might also be interested in “burritos,” “salsa,” “Mexican food,” “spicy food,” “street food,” and more.
But why should you care about Semantically Related Keywords? Well, for about a decade now, Google has closely tracked keyword frequency within web pages in order to weed out and discourage keyword stuffing. Instead, Google’s algorithm likes to see web pages that read naturally and offer appropriate context when giving answers. So rather than hyper-focusing on a single keyword, your SEO best practice should be to focus instead on clusters of Semantically Related Keywords that show the algorithm that your page is relevant and useful to the actual human being on the other end of the search box.
Optimize your website for Natural Searches and Voice Searches
Between Siri, Alexa, and all the other AI helpers at our disposal, Voice Search is only going to become increasingly common going into 2023, and your website needs to be optimized for these unique searches. What makes searching by voice so unique? Well, think about how you search for things on the computer: Often, we use shorter statements, like “best tacos Minneapolis,” whereas if you were searching with voice, it might sound like “Siri, who makes the best tacos in Minneapolis?” The former is abridged and not even a grammatical sentence, while the latter is much more natural.
Optimizing your website for voice search queries should feel like an extension of the natural language you’re hopefully already using in your web copy, but it’s also about being concise and writing copy that directly answers users’ search questions. Keep your answers short and blurb-y to make them less overwhelming (and as an added benefit, more likely to get picked up in Google’s SERP results, another area expected to grow even more in 2023), and target keywords that are less blunt and more conversational. And of course, a huge number of voice searches are done on mobile devices, so mobile optimization should always be high on your to-do list!
Local Search is only getting hotter
The internet gave us access to anything we could ask for around the world, and now we’re increasingly turning to it to help us navigate our own backyards. In this day and age, everybody is using online searches to specifically seek out local business, and this is no exaggeration: 97% of users utilized search engines to find local businesses at least once last year, with over 10% doing so daily.
Far and away the best way to set your business up for success when it comes to “near me”-style searches is to have a fully fleshed-out Google Business profile. Make sure you’ve claimed your business on Google and consistently check it to ensure that all your information is up-to-date, that it includes all the relevant information potential customers need to find you, and that it’s attractive and well-managed (respond to your reviews!). You should also ensure that your website includes localized keywords and search terms to help capture those local searches and bring more neighbors to your doorstep.
Take advantage of online shopping tools
One major societal shift that came out of the pandemic has been an increasing comfort, familiarity, and reliance on ecommerce and online shopping. While most of us knew how to navigate Amazon for a new pair of shoes before, now even the most tech-illiterate of us are using the web for everything from groceries to household supplies to tools and technology. US ecommerce sales were predicted to exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2022–2 years ahead of previous predictions–and Google has been adapting their platform to meet and incentivize this demand, removing commissions on products sold through Google and introducing their Shopping Graph to benefit the user experience.
So what can you do to take advantage of this online shopping boom? You’ll want to ensure that your ecommerce site is as accessible as possible: focus on fast loading speeds, mobile-friendly structures, and easy navigation with as much relevant info as your customers need. You’ll also want to make sure you’re properly utilizing image tags, as more than ever online shoppers are finding products through photos, often with the help of AI suggestions. If your images aren’t tagged with relevant keywords, you’re missing out on a whole new subset of search results!
Core Web Vitals are as important as ever
Want to know one way that digital marketing is like Football? Just like our favorite sport, fundamentals are everything. In Football, creative new plays are great to have and can give you a competitive advantage, but they mean nothing if you can’t pass, kick, and run. And in digital marketing, flashy new tools and hot trends are important to know, but your website still needs to be built with fundamental SEO best practices in mind. That means paying attention to site speeds, image formats, proper tags, accessibility, mobile performance, and all the other basics that give you the strong foundation upon which you build your competitive edge.
If your website is outdated or was never built quite right in the first place, now’s the best time to look into how you can rebuild or refresh your site to make sure all your core web vitals are as they should be and bang up-to-date. One of the best ways to get started is with a website audit, and Skol Marketing’s team is here to help. To request a site audit, one-on-one guidance, or even a complete website rebuild, please don’t hesitate to contact the local SEO experts at Skol Marketing.
