Are your business ready for 2023 with search engine strategies up your sleeves? Search engine optimization (SEO) is an efficient method to draw more traffic to your website. SEO is about creating effective search engine strategies to put your brand on the top of the game. With the right tactics in place, you can climb up the order of ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO is constantly changing. However, it is a challenge to sustain at the top positions even if you manage to reach it. Nonetheless, all the hard work for organic growth is worth it. There is a great conversion rate for those who choose this path too.
While a lot of brands prefer to keep it organic and they choose to ignore the paid listings. You need to consider a lot of performance metrics if you want to rank better at SEO. The metrics include traffic, social media shares, and backlinks to list a few.
SEO strategies to keep you on track in 2023
Let us give you some insights on what to expect and what not to in the upcoming business year. Hence, you can prep for your search engine strategies accordingly. Since SEO is constantly evolving, what worked 5 years ago isn’t even relevant today. There are close to 500 changes in a year by Google. Additionally, if you blink your eye with SEO, you miss a major change. And when you miss a chance, your brand becomes invisible overnight.
Search engine strategies #1 – User experience
It is high time you shifted focus to the user and search intent. Although this is not something out of the blue, brands need to refocus and reaffirm their priorities. It is important because the user psychology and intent of search are constantly changing too. And what an epic year 2020 was. With a raging pandemic, people forced to retain in their households, customer behavior underwent major changes.
Brands need to pay close attention to buyer behavior and set up search engine strategies accordingly.
“At the core, Google (and other search engines) is a place to go when people want to answer a question or to learn more about something,” said Jenn Mathews, SEO Manager, GitHub.
“When we understand the nature of why people search and help them with content that provides the answers they are looking for then our business benefits from it,” he added.
Search engine strategies #2 – Customer retention, analytics, and loyalty
At a point, SEO was only about driving traffic. But today, it has evolved into so much more. The hottest knowledge in 2023 will be the data on behavior analytics. There is talk that keyword research isn’t always the answer as we saw during the pandemic. It doesn’t help when the world is in constant flux.
Firstly, businesses should focus on customer retention. Secondly, they need to improve customer lifetime value (CLT). Thirdly, do not bear the risk of losing your customers to rivals. Finally, sustain your brand with long-lasting loyal customers. Additionally, try to understand your customers and figure out what they want. You should also add help centers and FAQs with good UX at an easily accessible position on your website. It is necessary because customers should enjoy a seamless and hassle-free experience as your visitor.
Search engine strategies #3 – Core web vitals and page experience
Google already promised to include core web vitals as a ranking factor in its new updates for 2023. Therefore, page experience metrics cannot be taken lightly.
Firstly, prioritize your web page experience as a brand. Secondly, do not lose out to competitors because you didn’t consider this right. Thirdly, understand the different metrics that are included in the core web vitals. Finally, try to improve the performance of these metrics to stand out from the crowd.
Core web vitals you need to focus on are – mobile-friendliness, image optimization, page loading speed, rendering, security protocols, and more.
As a brand, you need to take a user-centric approach to win over the search engine strategies in 2023.
SEO strategies #4 – Mobile-centric SEO
Every passer-by has a mobile or smartphone. A very high percentage of searches are done through mobiles. Therefore, you need to perform well from a mobile perspective. The focus of your website should shift towards a mobile-centric platform to perform better in 2023.
The biggest search engine strategy in 2023 should be transitioned to mobile device user experience. Initially, make a close review of your pages. Then, curate your content to be easy to navigate. Later, ensure you do not hide away important content in the mobile view. Finally, don’t settle down with average rankings. Aim for the stars.
However, it is alright to have different content for your desktop and mobile. But it is necessary to remember that Google won’t rank your mobile and desktop pages differently.
SEO strategies #5 – Evaluate, Evolve, and Execute
While your existing skills, experience, and knowledge matter, you need to upskill and adapt to the new changes happening. However, it is most important to think outside the box, now more than ever. You also need to be proactive in 2023. Firstly, business opportunities are plentiful even today. Secondly, you just need to look for them. Thirdly, even if you can’t find them, get creative and adaptive. Finally, get organized, curate a plan, build a process, and go get them.
There will be a paradigm shift in SEO strategies in 2023. Hence, brands need to practice agility, empathize with customers, and give them what they want.