The future continues to look bright for SEO, with Forrester predicting digital marketing spend reaching $146 billion by 2023. However, the
search landscape is changing, particularly in the area of voice searches. As marketing agencies work to keep up, they’ll focus more on voice
skills, SEO, and content to serve their clients’ needs. Working with an experienced internet marketing company like Smart WSI
Marketing helps businesses stay current on SEO trends so their digital marketing efforts produce the results they’re looking for. Get
in touch us with us
for a review of your current SEO strategy.
SEO Trends to Look For in 2023 and Beyond
Like most things related to online marketing, search engine optimization is an evolving industry. One of digital marketing’s newest
tactics, SEO is also its most exciting to watch. As Google continues
to improve and develop its algorithms and machine learning, SEO is becoming more intelligent and more mature as well.
What will SEO look like by 2023? Here’s what the experts predict.
Changing SEO Strategies
Changing your internet marketing strategy can be challenging, even if it doesn’t seem to be working as it used to. One of the areas many
companies stay stuck in their approach is link-building. Though it remains one of the top three search ranking factors, most experts agree
link building’s golden age is ending. So, expect to see it play a less prominent role in the coming years. What will still matter with
linking is the authority of the page you’re linking to.
Another major shift will come in SERPs (search engine results pages). While a company’s website may effectively rank number one, it will
likely be buried under ads, snippets, and question boxes. Long-form content will continue to be used to increase organic traffic, and
featured snippets will become essential to SEO success.
Less Dependence on Exact Match Keywords
One of the most significant changes in Google’s algorithm has been its decreased dependence on exact match keywords. It wasn’t that long ago
that SEO was mostly about identifying specific keywords. When building a client’s website, a marketing agency would ensure keywords had high
density on the page and then build backlinks to them. Those days are mostly gone, as Google now understands the meaning and intent behind a
user’s search query. For instance, if someone searched for “kid-friendly hikes,” Google would likely assume what they’re actually searching
for are places the entire family can take less-strenuous hikes.
Optimizing For Google Discover
Since its 2018 release, Google Discover has gained over 800 million monthly active users. Unlike traditional search, with Discover, users
enter a search term to find the information they need, but instead of listing results that match the words in the search, Google's automated
system lists what it believes to be a good match with a user's interests. Discover’s content is continually refreshed when new
content is published, but it continues to show all relevant information, old or new. Traffic from Discover is currently less predictable
compared to search, so it’s still considered supplemental to traditional search traffic.
Many marketing pros believe businesses should start to focus more on Google Discover, as it’s a major aspect of Google Search that allows
users to stay up to date on topics that matter to them. Users can constantly explore new data in various forms such as blogs and videos,
regardless of publish date.
Omnichannel Marketing
SEO will remain an extremely valuable marketing strategy for the foreseeable future, but it won’t be the only one. New technologies will
help people discover businesses through multiple channels like PPC, social media posts and ads, and streaming services. Email and social
media marketing will help brands keep their audiences interested and engaged. Investing in a multichannel approach helps SEO, including
local SEO, because it drives people to your site and boosts sales.
The Future of SEO: Long-term Growth vs. Quick Gains
New trends come and go, but SEO’s core practices will likely always stay the same, with content remaining vital for building an organic
search presence. While it’s impossible to accurately predict which trends will last long-term, there’s more than enough information to look
ahead and take a good, educated guess.
Smart WSI Marketing is an Edmonton digital marketing agency offering SEO services that increase your brand’s chances of staying current with
emerging online marketing trends. To learn more about what we do, reach out to us today.
Lynne Motkoski, Digital Marketing Strategist
Specialty: Digital Marketing
Strategies Education: MA Communications
& Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education,
keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.
If you want your Facebook Ads to produce better audience engagement and increased sales, a Facebook ad management company can help you
leverage and understand more meaningful metrics.
Read More…
When businesses hit a financial rough patch, one of the first spending cuts many make is marketing and advertising. While it can be an
effective short-term solution for freeing up money for other needs, it’s also a gamble with potentially costly consequences.
Read More…
The robots are not taking over! Not yet anyway. We’ve spent some time with ChatGPT in particular to learn just how much this AI tool can
actually do and how we can leverage it.
Read More…
We’ve all heard the expression “less is more,” and when it comes to comes to some things, that is absolutely true. When it comes to SEO
efforts, however, local search engine optimization agencies have learned that that is not the case.
Read More…
If you aren’t familiar with geofencing, it’s time to learn about how this digital marketing strategy can help you. It’s a terrific way to
build brand awareness and boost click-through rates and conversions.
Read More…
Is SEO better than pay-per-click advertising services? Or does PPC deliver better results than SEO? What really matters, in our opinion, is
how well they can work together.
Read More…
When you want to attract more customers but don’t have the time to take on promoting your business, a digital marketing agency can play a
vital role in raising your brand’s awareness.
Read More…
Facebook is an essential sales channel for many SMBs! With Facebook Ads Management, you can create and run eye-catching and engaging ads
that entice the platform’s users to purchase your products or services.
Read More…
Since almost 60% of all searches are done on mobile devices and these devices come in a range of screen sizes, you need responsive web
design to provide users a great mobile experience with your local business.
Read More…