Reviewing your website’s SEO and trying to understand where to make changes can be an overwhelming task. With search engines such as Google launching countless updates to the way they read and rank information on the internet, it can also feel like an uphill battle, however keeping abreast of these changes and conducting regular reviews of your content can help you boost your marketing strategy and put you miles ahead of your competitors.
Although many things have changed in the world of SEO over the years, there’s one thing that has always remained the same; your organic traffic will always be linked to your search engine rankings. This means that the better your content, the more likely you are to rank highly and the more people that will visit your website. Even if you have an absolutely incredible website, if Google and other search engines aren’t ranking your content highly, you won’t get the traffic you’re looking for.
If you’re reading this article because you’re desperate to make improvements to your SEO, you’ve certainly come to the right place. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that organic content marketing can be a bit of a slow burner and it may take a little while for your hard work to make a difference to your rankings. But hey, all the more reason for you to start now.
While the essence of how SEO works remains the same for 2023, there are a few changes that Google have made that are worth bearing in mind when building out your content strategy.
In 2022, Google introduced algorithm updates which put particular focus on how content was being written and used by audiences. Although in the past, content was written almost entirely around keywords and phrases, Google is now hammering home the message that content should be written with the end user in mind, providing them with useful information and insights. Within the update, Google provided a list of 15 questions that creators should ask of their content to ensure that it’s being written with human readers in mind. This is, of course, great news for consumers as it means it will be much easier to find the right content online, and it shows a really positive move forward in how SEO will work in the future.
Another key trend to look out for is conversational queries. Google recently launched LaMDA as a tool to better understand natural language and optimise search results for voice search. This change will mostly focus on target phrases, so instead of only targeting ‘best moisturiser dry skin’, it’ll also target ‘what are the best moisturisers for dry skin?’
As mentioned above, SEO can be a slow game if you want to appear on the first page of Google. It will usually require a lot of expertise, hard work and patience, but the benefits are absolutely worth the wait.
If you’re keen to boost your visits, conversions and sales, there are a few different areas that will really pay off in 2023:
Every single piece of content that you write on your website needs to be authoritative - your audience needs to know that it was written specifically for them, answering their questions and helping to build trust with your brand. The higher the quality of your content and the more relevant it is for your audience, the more this will drive traffic and, in turn, improve your site’s authority.
If you already have a good amount of content on your website, it’s worth going back over it and making sure that it’s written in a way that prioritises the reader and provides the right level of information. You can also check that links, facts and figures are up to date and correct. Have a read of our blog which goes into more detail about how to review and update your existing content.
Each page of your website will contain information about the content of your page, known as metadata. These are generally broken down into title metadata (the title of the page and the headline in search engine results), description metadata (the description of your page that a search engine will return) and keyword metadata (sometimes used to arrange your search engine rankings). It’s always worth going over the metadata that has been used in each page to ensure it’s relevant and using the right keywords and phrases for your audience.
If you make any claims within the content of your website, it’s always best to back these up with a link to the source. This helps to add authority and trust to your site, while also helping you to rank higher in search results. You should also include internal links to your own content to help your reader navigate through information and get the most out of your site.
Mobile web visits have overtaken those of desktop and laptop devices, so making sure that your site is optimised for mobile users is absolutely crucial to helping improve your SEO. Many website builders offer a ‘mobile view’ so that you can check everything works as required, or you can speak to your web developer to ensure this has been completed to a high standard.
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