In 2023, search engines remain one of the first places that consumers will go when searching for a new business. This is especially true of local businesses, but online businesses are not immune to the relevance of search engines.

With trillions of searches happening in a day, it can be easy for your business to fall behind on the search engine if you’re not careful. It’s important to keep your listing on page one, if not the first result. That’s what search engine optimization (SEO) tactics are for. So, let’s dive into the best SEO trends we see coming into play in 2023.

EEAT

Part of Google’s search engine algorithm is a well-known SEO acronym called EAT, which stands for “Expertise, Authority, and Trust.” This is a handy way for the algorithm to judge the quality of web content and rank it accordingly based on searches.

But coming into 2023, EAT has expanded to EEAT. The new first E stands for “Experience.” More and more content that relies on first-hand experience is being valued by Google’s algorithm. For instance, blogs and landing pages that detail an entrepreneur’s own experience handling a particular problem, or interviewing someone who had first-hand experience with the company, are sure to stand out.

Content Aimed at Audiences, Not Search Engines

When SEO first arose, many marketers tried to “game the system.” They would stuff their content full of keywords or repetition with the goal of catching the algorithm’s attention and moving further up the search engine rankings. However, Google soon caught wise about these tricks and began to penalize keyword-stuffed content or content created purely for traffic.

Content that is written for human audiences is much more likely to be successful. It’s always good to have a few keywords in mind — try to consider what your audience might search when looking for your content, but it’s more important to provide engaging and helpful information. High quality content targeted at lingering audiences, rather than simply fleeting traffic, is standing out in 2023.

About the Author

Written web content has not always had a high emphasis on the author. Some blogs do not include an author byline at all. But in 2023, search engine algorithms are putting more of an emphasis on showing the authority of the authors of a piece.

This can be done in a few ways. You can include a 2-3 sentence author bio at the end of the article that speaks to the writer’s experience in the particular subject matter. If you have regular writers or members of your team who write content themselves, you can set up author pages. These will offer a more in-depth author bio, as well as links to some of their other pieces. Links to social media and other places to see the author’s work are also becoming more common.

Quality Over Quantity

Search engine algorithms don’t just look at how many hits a particular webpage has. They also look at how long users spend on that website, and can sometimes judge in a way whether the user found the information helpful. It’s important to create quality content that speaks to your audience and leaves them satisfied by the end of the piece. This means:

• Original, in-depth content aimed at human audiences
• Relevance to both your target audience and your business
• A voice of authority, expertise, experience, and trust (EEAT again)
• High authority links included within the content

If you don’t have the time to post a high-quality blog every week, it may be better to use a biweekly or even monthly schedule that allows you to prioritize quality instead.

Different Formats of Content

Written content is just one type of content that can help to boost your SEO. Video and audio content are also key elements to SEO, and more so as Google’s search engine becomes more dynamic, allowing users to search through multiple formats at once.

Try mixing up your content with a good variety: some video content, infographics, and high quality, authoritative blogs. You could even branch into podcasts — whether taking a guest spot on someone else’s podcast or creating your own podcast about your area of expertise.

These different forms of content will reach your audience more broadly, so you can truly capitalize on your corner of the market. It will also help your brand to become more recognizable to Google’s algorithm, thus moving your listing further up the search.