Most businesses and content creators have one thing in common: we all want the content we put out to reach as many people as possible, preferably without having to spend a small fortune on promoting it. The good news is that research has found that most people don’t actually click on paid Ads, they’d rather scroll past the suggested content at the top of the results page and find more organic material to read.
However, this means you’ll likely need to restructure your content marketing strategy to make it less dependent on budget, and more focused on the things that’ll really catch the attention of algorithms. We’ll explore the top trends and techniques to consider when optimizing content for search engines in 2023.
Every year, Google updates the SEO requirements on its ranking algorithm to meet the needs of its users more effectively. The changes announced on their quality rater guidelines at the end of last year take into consideration the increase of AI and auto-generated content, and it appears that Google wants creators to deliver more authentic, user-focused material this year.
Google has long emphasized the need for Expertise and a voice of Authority as the foundation for content that audiences can Trust, hence the E.A.T. One way to ensure that your content comes across as authoritative is to include links and quotes from other trusted sources, this has been a good way (in the past) to sneak past the internet bots and get all types of content to rank highly on SERPs.
To ensure that only the real “experts” make their way to the top of the results page, Google has introduced Experience as an additional E to consider when creating compelling content in 2023. This essentially means that it’s best to just stick with what you know and not jump on every trending topic just to try to get your content to rank.
A website that has established itself as a source of the latest news and trends in the tech world shouldn’t suddenly start sharing content about How to Get a Six Pack Before Summer Ends unless it involves some type of gadget. Creators and websites that have a proven record and experience in creating content in a particular field will rank better this year. The way Google explains it is “Does content also demonstrate that it was produced with some degree of experience, such as with actual use of a product, having actually visited a place or communicating what a person experienced?”
The first step of every content marketing strategy is to identify and begin to understand the audience. The audience is, after all, the end goal, so ensuring that you always speak to that audience is of utmost importance. It’s a certified way to keep them coming back to your website for more information, and it also helps search engine bots to rank you highly in a particular niche.
It can get a little overwhelming to constantly try to create different types of content on the same topic, or using the same keywords. This is where leveraging copywriting tools can be helpful because some tools, like Semrush, can help you identify related keywords or related questions that audiences may ask search engines.
Google’s main mission is to enhance the user experience, and that means getting them all the answers they need as quickly as possible. If you can create content that shows up in the little section of “People also ask”, that’s as good as getting a top ten ranking on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
If the past year is anything to go by, then we’ll likely see a steady trajectory in the use of content-generating tools like ChatGPT and Bing. These are undoubtedly some of the best ways to save time when structuring or creating written content from scratch, and time is a valuable asset in the competitive world of content marketing. Effective and responsible use of AI tools can ensure that you’re on the right path to creating SEO-friendly content in 2023. Just make sure that the content is optimized to be original and not go against The Ethics of Copywriting.
Content that is easier to engage with will be easier to find in 2023. This means that information that can be structured into an easy-to-consume format like a video, then it’ll perform better. This rule also applies to content that can be accessed with voice commands, i.e., it’s written in a way that makes it easy for Google Assistant and Alexa to find on the internet.
The idea is that if a reader is in a situation where they’re unable to type the question into the search tab, or they don’t have the freedom to read through an entire blog post, they should still be able to get a fully comprehensive answer. We recently explored how to create engaging copy for video content, read it over to get a better understanding of how to get the best out of your video content.
These are just a few of the ways that you can make your content and ultimately your website more SEO-friendly. You could spend time learning all the techniques for creating high-quality copy, or you can get in touch with TMG Global and let our team of experienced copywriters do the hard work for you.
