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The end of the year is a time for reflection, both personally and professionally. And if you deal with search engine optimization (SEO) on a daily basis like we do, then now is the perfect time to reflect on SEO trends for 2023 and consider what changes you should make to your SEO strategy to ensure you stay on top of the search results. But even if you don’t deal with SEO the way we do, if you own a business, this is something you’re going to want to think about. Because if you’re not visible on the search engines, and your website is buried in a heap of competitors, then you’re probably not going to be very successful over the next year. Unfortunately, there are a lot of business owners out there who don’t have a firm grasp of these concepts, and even those who, dare I say, don’t even know what SEO is. So, for those of you who have no idea about SEO, I’ll give you a little refresher. Search engine optimization is simply the process of attracting organic (free) traffic from the search results in search engines and other sources. At this point, some of you are probably saying, “Okay. But why is this important to me?” Well, if someone starts typing keywords into a search engine that are relevant to your business, then you want them to see your site right away, and this requires you to rank high within the search results. You see, if your business doesn’t appear high up in the organic search results, then potential clients won’t even know you exist, and they’ll probably go to a competitor instead. But there’s more to SEO than just traffic, and the purpose of optimizing your site isn’t just to increase your website traffic. Ideally, it should help you to boost your qualified traffic, which is traffic made up of people who are actually interested in the products and/or services you have to offer. Now that you know all this, it should astound you that some of my clients have even been wondering if search engine optimization is still relevant. And the answer I always give them is a resounding yes! With many of us still avoiding brick-and-mortar stores, and the vast majority of Canadians choosing to shop online, SEO is still highly relevant, and if anything, after the pandemic, it’s become more relevant than it ever has been. For example, according to data from Statista, in 2021, more than 27 million Canadians shopped online, which is an increase of 1.5 million since 2020. Statista SEO bar graph This number is projected to continue to climb over the next several years and is expected to increase to more than 30 million by 2025. So, as you can see, search engine optimization isn’t going anywhere, and business owners who choose to ignore SEO will be doing it to their own detriment. So, if you’re planning out your SEO strategy for 2023, and you’re wondering what the latest SEO trends are, then you should definitely keep reading. Because in this article, I’m going to explore the three SEO trends for 2023 that I believe will be most impactful over the coming year. READ: Google’s Latest AI Update for 2022: What It Is, How It Works, and How It Can Affect Your SEO Googles-2022-AI-Update-What-It-Is-How-It-Works-and-How-It-Can-Affect-Your-SEO Having a deep understanding of SEO requires knowledge of Google’s ever-changing algorithms. These processes determine what it will take for a website to have a high ranking in search engine results, and knowing how they work can give you a huge advantage when it comes to your SEO. This stuff can get pretty complex, so it’s not for everyone, but if you want to dive deep into the world of SEO, you should definitely check it out. This article explores Google’s latest algorithmic update, including what it is, how it works, and the effect it can have on your SEO. Read more here. The 3 Most Impactful SEO Trends for 2023 Artificial Intelligence The basis of any solid long-term SEO strategy has always been high-quality content. Without it, you’ve got a slim chance of bringing any visitors to your site or keeping those visitors on your site for any length of time, and they’re not likely to share your content either. In case you didn’t know, all these things are important to SEO, because in order to determine your ranking in the search results, search engines look at many different factors, including how much traffic your site is getting, how long those visitors are staying on your site, and how often your site is being linked to by other websites or shared on social media. But you can’t just put a few blogs on your site and call it quits. It just doesn’t work like that. Search engines like Google love fresh content, and they reward websites that regularly post new content with higher rankings. But creating a consistent stream of content is much easier said than done, and with everything else a business owner has to take care of, it can be pretty much impossible to keep up. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in. Especially over the last few years, AI content generation tools like Jasper, ContentBot, and CopyAI have been popping up all over the place, leveraging machine learning to help create content. These tools use what’s known as natural language processing (NLP) and natural language generation (NLG) technology to create content with nothing more than a few prompts from the user about things like keywords, tone of voice, or a description of the topic. The AI can then take that information and combine it with other data, including the billions of pieces of content available online, to create whatever content you want. But keep in mind that this stuff is by no means perfect, and the content these tools pump out tends to be plagued by the same problems as content written by humans. This includes things like poor structure and/or grammar, lack of authoritative evidence to back up claims, lack of originality, and lack of valuable information or insight. So, while these tools can help to lighten the load for content creators, a human touch will still be required for creativity and quality assurance purposes. But for anyone who wants to publish a lot of content, it’s definitely something to consider, and we’re going to continue to see more of this in 2023 and beyond. Chatbots Love them or hate them, chatbots are everywhere, and they’re here to stay. What’s more, I believe their ubiquity will continue to grow throughout 2023, as they offer so many benefits for business owners, not least in the SEO department. But in spite of the abundance of chatbots on websites today, I’m sure there are still plenty of people who have no idea what they are, so let me break it down for those of you who aren’t quite sure. The term chatbot refers to a software application that’s designed to simulate conversation with users, in lieu of a live agent. Chatbots work by being pre-programmed with responses to any number of questions or concerns from users, and they can also use artificial intelligence to determine what a user is saying and formulate a response. These software applications are becoming increasingly popular for many reasons, like being able to significantly reduce operational costs for business owners, and providing more timely responses to users’ queries. On the SEO side of things, chatbots are an absolute goldmine. But why is that? Well, because chatbots offer a better experience for users by ensuring they can get quick answers to their questions at all hours of the day and night, this can have a positive influence on several SEO-related metrics, such as how quickly users leave your site (bounce rate), how likely they are to return (returning visitor rate), and how long they spend on your site (dwell time). In addition, if a user has an overwhelmingly positive experience on your site, they’ll be much more likely to tell friends, family, and followers about it, both by word of mouth, and sharing on social media. That being said, I firmly believe that chatbots will be one of the defining SEO trends for 2023, and into the future, as more and more business owners begin to realize that this technology is an essential aspect of their SEO strategy. TikTok To be honest, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to get into this, but the fact of the matter is, TikTok has become so unbelievably huge that it’s impossible to ignore, no matter what you think of it. But many of you are probably asking, “What the heck does TikTok have to do with SEO?” Well, I’m glad you asked! The first thing you need to know is just how enormous TikTok actually is. According to data from Statista, despite being launched in 2016, by 2021, TikTok had already amassed more than 655 million users. Statista TikTok users graph That may sound like a lot (and it is), but by 2025, that number is projected to increase to more than 955 million, which is nothing short of amazing. But aside from its incredibly robust user base, which allows you to reach an absolutely massive number of people, TikTok also offers many opportunities to improve SEO. However, the utility of TikTok as an SEO tool will depend on your target audience. Data from Statista shows that the vast majority of TikTok users are between the ages of 18 and 34. Statista TikTok demographic graph So, if you’re selling adult diapers, then your audience is definitely not on TikTok, and you shouldn’t waste your time. However, if you’re offering anything that’s even remotely interesting to TikTok’s main demographic, then you need to have a presence on this platform. Because even though having a TikTok account won’t boost your SEO in and of itself, what it does do is give you the ability to interact with TikTok’s massive user base and gain traffic from people who may never bother to search for you on Google, or any other search engine, for that matter. That being said, if you play your cards right on TikTok, it could have a significant effect on your SEO, as it presents a ton of opportunities to get users to click through to your website, helping to boost your organic traffic and drive qualified leads to your site. At the same time, TikTok’s algorithm is disturbingly good at serving users the kinds of content they love to watch, so it has the potential to connect you with tons of qualified leads who are actually interested in what you have to offer. In addition, it also allows you to stack social signals and gain backlinks, which can also have a positive effect on your SEO, as users interact with you by following your account, sharing your content, liking it, or commenting. All things considered, I think businesses incorporating TikTok into their SEO strategy will be one of the most prolific and important SEO trends for 2023. Are you completely lost when it comes to SEO? For more than 20 years, we’ve been helping clients connect with the right customers by making their websites more discoverable. Sign up for a free 60-minute SEO consult to find out how we can help you connect with your ideal customers. To your business success, Susan Friesen
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