News and Insights
SEO trends in 2023 to guide your SEO strategy
April 13, 2023
With the ever-changing landscape of search engines and user behaviour, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in SEO. As we move further into 2023, new technologies and consumer habits are likely to continue shaping the SEO industry, and businesses that adapt to these changes will have a competitive edge in the digital marketplace. In this article, we’ll explore some of the top SEO trends to watch for in 2023 and provide insights and tips to help businesses stay ahead of the game.
EEAT – the new concept of EAT
In December 2022, Google released an update regarding the guidelines for content quality, which is anticipated to have a significant impact on SEO content creation throughout 2023. The acronym EAT, standing for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, has been extended to include the element of Experience, henceforth referred to as EEAT. The purpose of this extension is to enable Google to better evaluate search results and guarantee that users are presented with valuable, original content produced by individuals with expertise in the subject matter.
To meet the EEAT criteria, it is essential to ensure that the article is not only well-written and informative but also created by a knowledgeable individual who possesses first-hand experience or expertise in the topic. By doing so, the probability of the content appearing in higher positions on SERPs can be significantly enhanced.
Artificial Intelligence-powered SEO
When it comes to ensuring the trustworthiness of content, utilising increasingly prevalent AI tools such as ChatGPT for content generation must be approached with caution. As per the official Google guidelines, “using AI to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.” It is crucial to note, however, that deploying AI for content generation itself is not prohibited, as long as the content is useful, high-quality, and originates from a dependable source, whether created by a human or an AI tool.
Nevertheless, it is reasonable to assert that, at this nascent stage, content created by AI still necessitates the intervention of an experienced copywriter to make necessary edits and ensure a valuable, high-quality piece. In addition to content ideation and generation, AI can be advantageous in technical SEO as well. For instance, ChatGPT has the capacity to produce code snippets like hreflang tags or sample schema markup for various page types.
There are multiple avenues for incorporating AI into marketing campaigns, including utilising chatbots to gather data, automate processes, and provide keyword suggestions. By blending human expertise with AI capabilities, several SEO work processes can be accelerated, and the overall efficiency of online marketing campaigns can be improved. It is highly anticipated that AI tools’ wide-ranging applicability will result in their integration into the online marketer and SEO workflow by 2023.
Continuous scrolling
In 2022, Google introduced continuous scrolling on both mobile and desktop platforms in the US market, with plans to implement it in the UK soon. This feature allows users to navigate multiple pages of search results without clicking the next page. However, Google limits users to six pages on desktop and four on mobile before presenting the ‘More’ button for one query, indicating that the scrolling is not infinite.
The implementation of continuous scrolling raises several relevant questions. Firstly, will the ease of scrolling lead users to browse through more search results than before? It is highly probable that users will scroll through more listings, given that social media platforms have normalised extended scrolling periods, and the same could apply to SERPs. This increased accessibility to listings may enhance the visibility and impressions for businesses. However, it also necessitates businesses to have compelling and attention-grabbing listings to remain competitive in the market.
Secondly, does continuous scrolling alter the way SEOs discuss rankings? Indeed, it does. The pagination feature has been eliminated on the first few pages since the launch of continuous scrolling, so referring to keywords ranking on the first, second or third page might be in the past.
Lastly, if users can conveniently browse through numerous listings, how does it impact the click-through rate? Before the implementation of continuous scrolling, the top three search results obtained around 54% of organic clicks. While it is difficult to anticipate the impact of continuous scrolling on the click-through rate, it is essential to consider that the clicks may become more dispersed, requiring businesses to exert additional effort to capture clicks.
What other changes are expected to come with continuous scrolling?
Given the increased importance of standing out in search results, it is expected that businesses will shift their focus towards optimising their websites for rich results. Rich results, such as images, videos, or carousels, tend to be more eye-catching than the traditional blue links and can potentially drive more clicks.
Moreover, there is a possibility that the prevalence of zero-click searches will increase. With the growing availability of featured snippets and rich results, users are increasingly able to find the information they need without clicking through to a website. This trend could potentially lead to more searches resulting in no clicks.
As a result, it is essential to monitor the data and observe how continuous scrolling impacts the organic traffic of your business. If you notice significant changes in click-through rate, consider implementing structured data, optimising pages for featured snippets, or revising metadata as needed.
Key takeaways
Being up-to-date on the latest SEO trends is crucial to deliver the best results for your business or clients. This is why it is important to consider these trends when building an SEO strategy:
- the combination of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness is enhanced by the inclusion of Experience. Thus, content crafted by an authority in a given field has become increasingly pivotal.
- the utilisation of AI in SEO offers tremendous potential for automating various digital marketing tasks.
- the introduction of continuous scrolling in the US and ways it might reshape search
And if you want to chat with us about SEO, feel free to get in touch today. We’d love to hear from you.