In the digital world, everything changes at an accelerated pace. That is what makes it so exciting for SEOs. Every year, search algorithms are becoming more sophisticated and companies are coming up with new ways to make their websites more visible. On top of that, the online world is chock full of content and sites that are trying to get found just as much as you are trying to find them. To succeed in the brave new world of search in 2023, you must keep a few things in mind: Think long-term Think outside the box Be patient but relentless Search engine algorithms continue to change, so you need to keep up with the latest trends. Before we get into some of the best SEO techniques in 2023, let’s take a look how things have changed over the years and how this has affected your site’s ranking over time.
Back to Basics
Humans have been creating stories since the dawn of time, but it’s only in the last century that storytelling has been codified through writing. Search engines were created to find information that is relevant to a particular request. But as the internet gained popularity, we saw more and more people going directly to sites instead of using search engines to help them find what they are looking for. This eventually led to chaos as content became more and more important for visibility. Search engines began using algorithms to rank websites, but they have been improving those algorithms at a fairly slow pace. Meanwhile, people have been testing, tweaking, and evaluating their own sites to figure out what works best. There’s a lot of trial and error in SEO, and it can be frustrating, but it’s a necessary part of the process. You need to create outstanding content, optimize every part of your site, and experiment to see what works best.
Content is King
Over the years, SEOs have learned that you win with content. You don’t get ranked with a ton of backlinks or flashy tricks that don’t actually help your site rank better overall. Instead, the best SEOs focus on creating useful, engaging, and valuable content for their readers. This has led to more and more SEOs shifting their focus from link building to content creation. It’s a more holistic approach that doesn’t rely so much on outside factors, but it doesn’t mean that link building is completely irrelevant. Instead, link building is now seen as a supporting tool to help you create engaging, quality content that generates more traffic from search engines and benefits your bottom line.
Long Tail + Micro-targeting = Success!
For the longest time, SEOs have been trying to create long-tail SEO strategies, but they weren’t quite sure how to create the right kind of content. Luckily, we’re now at the point where artificial intelligence has advanced to the point where it can create content that is optimized for a specific keyword. This means that you can now focus on creating content that is highly relevant to your audience. Instead of creating content that is not likely to be found by anyone searching for your topic, you can now create content that is highly relevant to your readers. This leads to much higher click-through and conversion rates for your business. Micro-targeting has been a growing trend in SEO for the last few years, and it continues to gain momentum. With micro-targeting, you can now create content that is optimized for a small segment of your audience to increase the chances of them clicking through to your site and converting.
Artificial Intelligence in 2018 and Beyond
AI is now a staple in all aspects of SEO, but that’s not all we can expect from it in the future. One of the biggest trends we are seeing in SEO is the rise of conversational search. When we talk to our friends, family, and colleagues about what they are looking for, they don’t always search on Google. These conversations are a great opportunity to build your brand and show potential customers what your products and services are all about. Google has also been making strides in improving conversational search. Now, when you type in “Mary needs a lawyer,” Google suggests “legal advice,” “criminal defense,” and more, just like a human. AI is also being used to help with content curation as well. Now, AI is learning from human behavior and can provide better answers over time.
Bottom line
In the digital world of search, there are no guarantees of success. You can’t rely on the same old strategies from the past, and you need to be continually adapting to changes in the algorithms. With that in mind, you can count on the following best SEO practices being widely used in the years to come: Focus on creating quality content for your site, and optimize it for specific keywords. Use long-tail and micro-targeting to increase your chances of ranking. Artificial Intelligence will play a larger role in creating the right content for a specific query, and conversational search will continue to be a big trend. Keep these things in mind, and you’ll be well on your way to successfully ranking higher in search engines in 2023.
