Since 2020 and the pandemic period, a series of substantial changes and Google announcements have pushed the SEO industry to evolve and improve its services. So, if you are looking for some information on where to focus your SEO resources, you are definitely in the right place.

It is important to keep your SEO strategy fresh and updated throughout the year, as it might have a crucial impact on your website’s rankings. So, buckle up and let’s find out what changes we should await from the SEO industry and what are the 2023 predictions.

1. Online shopping

The first thing that is trending for SEO in 2023 is online shopping. Because of the significant growth in online shopping, Google aims to create a better online shopping experience. They have already made selling on their platform more attractive and smooth by taking out commission fees and making selling on Google free for businesses.

Google has created a Shopping Graph to make it easier for sellers to put their products in front of more buyers and also, to help buyers find the products they are looking for with ease. It is an AI-enhanced algorithm that can sort out various products, prices, websites, reviews, brands and data. In addition, Shopping Graph has the ability to find products through photos found in Google Photos.

To optimize your SEO with Shopping Graph, you need to create product listings with a fair number of keywords. Then Google will use this information to show buyers the products they are looking for.

For example, Google couldn’t turn up the exact match for the sign featured in this Christmas décor photo, but it could determine it was a Christmas sign. The visual matches showed product listings that both had the word “Christmas” in the picture of their sign and related keywords in the product title, like “Christmas sign” and “Christmas décor.”

2. Videos

According to statistics, users stay on pages with videos for 88% more time. As more and more people rely on videos to make decisions about purchasing products, it is becoming preferable to optimize your SEO on videos. Google is working hard to help its users get the information they are looking for faster through videos.

Keep in mind these features:

• Clip markup

You can highlight the main parts of the video so users can quickly find the certain tips they are looking for in your content.

• Seek markup

You can check how your URL structure works with Seek markup. It transfers the specific information to an algorithm to display the key parts of the video.

When you post a video about recommendations on how to stay physically fit, do not just label your markups “rule N1” and “rule N2”, rather use markup names like “Eating healthy”, “Doing workout”, etc.

This kind of markup will affect your rank in searches and it will definitely boost your engagement.

3. Images

Even though there are many images on the web that do not follow the recommendations of Google, optimizing photo content for your website is also a critical part of SEO. In the future, Google plans to enhance the role of images in website rankings. The search engine company will also ensure that images can be served to those with visual disabilities and impairment.

To match the compatibility of your existing images on your website to Google’s SEO requirements, you must:

• Serve images in next-gen formats
• Compress images 
• Use keywords for image files
• Give images unique alt text

4. Voice search

Google’s main aim is to make it easier for users to find the information they are looking for much faster. However, the thing that gives Google a hard time, is the complexity of the human language, as our spoken language and keyword-oriented language are quite different.

To solve this problem Google has launched LaMDA which is short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, and it helps algorithms to understand natural language better. It can also learn user behavior - how one uses Google to find things they are looking for.

Voice Search uses NLP - Natural Language Processing, which aims to understand how people search verbally compared to inputting the text in the search bar.

To optimize content for voice search it is important to:

Target Phrasing

For example, if users are searching for a specific product by typing “BEST SHOE BRAND”, in voice search it is more likely for someone to verbally search “WHICH IS THE BEST SHOE BRAND?”.

Have Short Answers

While optimizing conversational keywords, keep in mind to have your answers concise.

Consider vernacular

Different regions use specific texts and phrases to describe certain things, so knowing vernacular will definitely help you optimize for more keywords.

5. Reinforcing your EAT signals

As Google keeps being user-oriented, it continues to state the importance of EAT - Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, in content ranking. The signals of E-A-T could be positive public reviews, social proof, links to respected sources, keeping content up to date, etc.

To properly create the content for your website, just keep EAT-ing:

• Back up your data with gathered statistics and information
• Link to authoritative websites (.edu and .gov)
• Showcase awards and badges
• Display reviews and testimonials

and many more.

Don’t know where to start?

Our professional team at Making Science Sweeft can provide full SEO service with customized solutions for your website. Understanding your needs and challenges helps us develop and implement individualized solutions for your business. 

We, as a Premier Google Partner, fully concentrate our work resources on maximum results, so you always know your goals will be achieved with the team of SEO experts.