Surprising SEO Tips You Need to Know in 2023
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a constantly evolving field. As search engines become more sophisticated, the techniques used to rank websites in search results change as well. As Google keep changing its algorithm several times a year, SEO techniques and tips are constantly emerging. To keep up with the latest trends in SEO, it’s important to stay informed and adapt your strategies accordingly. While many marketers get caught up in the details of their on-page optimization, they often neglect to create new content for searchers. This is an important SEO technique in 2023 that should not be ignored!
In this article, we’ll explore surprising SEO tips you need to know in 2023. These tips are based on the latest trends and insights in the SEO industry, and can help you improve your search rankings and drive more traffic to your website.
Optimize for Voice Search
Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s estimated that by 2023, more than half of all searches will be conducted using voice assistants. To optimize for voice search, focus on long-tail keywords and natural language queries. To get your content ready for voice search, start by conducting keyword research. This will give you a list of long-tail keywords that are often asked in voice searches. Use conversational language in your content, and make sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
Focus on User Intent
Search engines are becoming better at understanding user intent, or the reason behind a search query. To optimize for user intent, make sure your content is relevant and provides value to the user. Use keywords that align with the user’s intent, and create content that answers common questions or solves common problems in your industry.
Use Video Content
Video content is becoming increasingly popular, and search engines are placing more value on video content in search rankings. To optimize for video, make sure your video content is optimized for search engines by including relevant keywords in the title and description. First and foremost, make sure that your video title is optimised for SEO purposes. This means that it contains keywords that are relevant to your content. A title that reflects the topic of your video and matches a keyword can boost your search results on both YouTube and Google. Use transcripts and captions to make your videos more accessible and easier to find. This can be a great way to increase engagement and encourage shares. Additionally, it can boost your click-through rate (CTR), which is a crucial metric for YouTube videos SEO.
Optimize for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are sections in SERPs that show extracts from web pages and include a link to the web page underneath. These can appear before normal organic search results, as well as position zero results (sometimes referred to as rich snippets). To increase your chances of being featured in a featured snippet, optimize your content for question-based queries. This includes keywords in the title, URL, and meta description.
In other words, featured snippets are short snippets of information that appear at the top of search results. To optimize for featured snippets, focus on answering common questions in your industry, and use structured data to help search engines understand your content. Use headings and subheadings to break up your content into bite-sized chunks, and make sure your content is concise and easy to read.
Optimise Your Structured Data
Data is the heart of most businesses, from customer details to sales information and stock levels. This data can take many forms, but it isn’t always measurable. Luckily, there is a way to make it easier for search engines to understand what’s on your website: structured data.
Structured data is information that’s tagged using machine readable codes to help search engines understand what each page contains and how it relates to other pages. For example, on a recipe page, structured data might include ingredients, cooking times and calories, among other things. This information is then used by search engines to help users find your recipes in Google’s search results.
Leverage Social Media
Social media can be a powerful tool for SEO, as it can help you drive traffic to your website and improve your search rankings. Use social media to promote your content and engage with your audience, and make sure your social media profiles are optimized for search engines by using relevant keywords in your profile description and posts.
Use Local SEO
Local SEO is becoming increasingly important, especially for businesses that have a physical location. To optimize for local SEO, make sure your website is optimized for local search by including your business address and phone number on your website, and using relevant keywords in your content. Use Google My Business to claim your business listing and manage your online reputation.
Use Long-Form Content
Long-form content is becoming more popular, as it can provide more value to the user and help improve search rankings. To optimize for long-form content, focus on creating in-depth, authoritative content that provides value to the user. Use headings and subheadings to break up your content into bite-sized chunks, and make sure your content is easy to read and navigate.
Optimize for Mobile
Mobile optimization is becoming increasingly important, as more and more users are accessing the internet on their mobile devices. As mobile devices become more popular, it’s important to optimize your site for these smaller screens. The most obvious way to do this is to make sure your content displays on a mobile device and that it loads quickly. You can accomplish this by using a responsive design. Use responsive design to ensure your website looks great on any device, and use AMP
Optimize Your Images
The size and quality of your images can have a direct impact on how well your pages rank in Google searches. Image optimization can reduce file size without sacrificing quality, improve site performance and SEO, and increase customer engagement and conversions.
When optimizing your images, you should consider naming them correctly, using keywords, and adding captions or alt text. These are all simple steps to improve your website’s search engine rankings and improve user experience.
It’s also important to note that you should never add an image that’s not relevant to your overall website or content theme. Adding images that are not appropriate to your page can actually hurt your SEO ranking.
Optimize Your Core Web Vitals
When it comes to Google’s search ranking algorithm, there are hundreds of different factors that impact your site’s visibility. However, one of the most important is page experience.
If you have a site that is slow to load, users will quickly bounce off the page and go elsewhere. In turn, that will negatively impact your site’s bottom line.
Luckily, Google has included a number of performance metrics to help webmasters optimize their sites for a better user experience. These include Core Web Vitals, which are a set of metrics that measure visual load and user interaction.
For example, a Core Web Vitals metric called First Input Delay (FID) measures how long it takes for a web page to respond to user input like clicking, tapping, or swiping. A fast FID helps reassure users that the page is responding and reduces their frustration.
Optimize Your Site for Google’s EAT Principle
Google’s EAT Principle, which stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, is a principle that it uses to evaluate web pages. It’s an important part of SEO because it helps Google determine where to place a page on search results pages.
Google also has a team of quality raters who evaluate web pages based on EAT guidelines. These raters are real people who can help you improve your website’s content so that it meets EAT standards.