Five ways to give your SEO performance a boost in 2023
SEO trends are constantly changing, and Google's search engine is forever developing new updates to deliver better search results to the user. Is 2023 the year you want to get better results, more site visitors and better conversion? Then keep reading to get some tips.
Experience.
Google is always trying to improve the quality of the content returned in its searches. This year we will see Google's "Helpful Content Update" develop further to start looking more into the experience element of content. This update means the bots will be looking more into the author of the content and the experience you have writing on the topic.
I.e. I'm a website developer for a company with over ten years of experience building websites with good on-site SEO.
If I was to write a blog about "top tips for baking the best chocolate cake," I could have great content in there. Still, Google will look at my "experience" and see that I'm not an authority on the matter (and they would be correct).
When creating content, consider adding a bio and links to social media pages such as Linkedin that will allow Google to verify further that you know what you're talking about and create content relevant to your experience.
Quality over quantity.
In previous years, an excellent way to get content ranking on search engines was to create towering blogs that gave every little detail possible on a subject matter to demonstrate authority. Google is now looking at how helpful material is. It's still good to have content with a base of around 1000 words but focus more on the human element when writing.
You must have keywords in your material to get the content to rank for specific search terms. Still, they should feel natural and not pushed into the content in every possible place. The best thing you can do for keywords when writing content is to make them the focus by putting them into headings or by bolding them. Be strategic with placement.
Think outside the box.
It's straightforward to get sucked into using high-volume search keywords because they get the most traffic, right? Well, that is correct; however, the likelihood of your website showing up on those high-volume search terms is low; there will likely be a lot of businesses with high authority on the term right at the top, with several Google Ads picking the post as well.
Google bots will also spot this. Again I go back to the "Helpful Content Update". When you are coming up with ideas, ask yourself, "Is this content helpful to somebody, and what questions would a user be asking".
I.e. If I wanted a piece of content to rank for Swim Shorts, the temptation might be to have "Swim Shorts UK, Buy Swim Shorts, Good Swim Shorts" as my keywords. However, I should also consider what information would be helpful to people buying swim shorts. I.e. "What swimwear should I have for racing?" "What swimwear material is the most eco-friendly", etc.
These keywords will have a lower volume of search, but you will generate a better quality of clicks, and Google will view your content as being helpful; you'll also rank quicker for these search terms, and the more you become an authority on a topic the more likely you are to rank higher on those larger volume keywords.
Media.
As Google continues to update, it's more important than ever to ensure your website's media is search friendly and accessible. Google likes a good mix of images and copy in content, so even if you don't necessarily have photos of your chosen topic, it's good to grab some to decorate your content. We use a subscription called Envato Elements for this which gives us unlimeted access to stock photos, videos, illustrations and so much more, click here if you want to get started with them.
The key to optimizing this media is ensuring it has relevant keywords in the meta and alt descriptions of the image, but don't forget to make it accessible. Remember, those descriptions are not just there for Google but also for people with visual impairments.
You also need to make sure the images are optimized for speed. Google looks into a site's user experience. If it is slow to load, it will harm your site's authority. It will also impact how long a visitor will spend on your site. Suppose it's taking over 10 seconds to load your page. In that case, visitor's likely disappeared before you even have a chance to show your business to them.
Complete an SEO audit.
So you've got an idea of how to create that rank-topping content. Still, you've also produced tons of other content that doesn't support your efforts (or does it?). See, it's not just content that affects your on-site SEO, there's a myriad of other factors that Google looks into on your site, and with Google's efforts to reduce their climate impact, they will be completing fewer scrawls, so it's likely to take a few months before your website gets reviewed properly again.
An audit will tell you everything you need to know about your website's SEO health and give you detailed actions to fix it, so your site is ready for crawling when Google comes back to your site.
If you'd like to learn more about what we at Studio 77 can do for your SEO, visit our services page, or if you have any questions, contact us.
