Emerging SEO trends: What to watch out for in 2024

As specialists in natural referencing, we know that SEO is a constantly evolving field. To remain competitive, it’s crucial to monitor new trends and adapt accordingly. Here are some of the emerging SEO trends that you should watch out for in 2023.

The Importance of User Experience

Google has always emphasized user experience, but in 2023, this will become even more important. Google has announced that it will put more emphasis on the Core Web Vitals in its ranking algorithm, so optimizing user experience will be essential.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a set of factors that measure a website’s user experience. They include loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of a site. If you want to stay competitive in 2023, you’ll need to make sure these factors are optimized on your site.

Understanding Core Web Vitals

The term “Core Web Vitals” was introduced by Google to denote three specific aspects that play a determining role in the overall user experience on a website. These three aspects are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP is a measure of loading speed. Specifically, it measures the time it takes for the largest visible content element on the page to fully load. This could be an image, a video, or a block of text. A good LCP score indicates a quick and satisfying loading experience for the user.

First Input Delay (FID)

FID measures a site’s interactivity and responsiveness. It assesses the time between the user’s action (like a click or a key press) and the browser’s response to that action. A low FID score means your site is quick to respond to user actions, which is crucial for a good user experience.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

CLS is a measure of visual stability. It measures the amount of unexpected movement of content elements on the page while it is loading. A low CLS score means your page elements stay in place during loading, creating a more comfortable and less confusing experience for the user.

How to Optimize Core Web Vitals

Optimizing Core Web Vitals involves a number of techniques. To improve LCP, you can optimize your images and other content elements to load faster. This could mean compressing images, using effective caching, or optimizing content delivery with a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
To improve FID, it’s crucial to reduce the time your browser spends parsing and executing JavaScript. This can be accomplished by minimizing or deferring JavaScript, using code optimization techniques, or implementing server-side rendering optimization practices.

The Rise of Voice Search

Voice search is another trend that continues to grow. More and more people are using voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa to perform online searches. To adapt to this trend, it will be crucial to optimize your site for voice search.

Optimizing for Voice Search

To optimize your site for voice search, you’ll need to think about how people speak. This might involve using longer, more conversational keywords in your content. Additionally, you’ll need to ensure your site is well structured and easy to navigate for crawling bots.

The Importance of Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is another important trend to monitor. Google has clearly indicated that web accessibility is a ranking factor, so it’s essential to ensure your site is accessible to all users.

Implementing Web Accessibility

To implement web accessibility, you’ll need to ensure your site is navigable with a screen reader, that all images have appropriate alternative texts, and that your site has sufficient color contrast. For more information on how to make your site accessible.

In conclusion, 2023 will be an exciting year for natural SEO. Whether you’re a web SEO agency or an in-house SEO specialist, monitoring these trends and integrating them into your SEO strategy will be essential to stay competitive.

Artificial Intelligence and SEO

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to have a major impact on SEO. Google’s algorithms use AI to better understand online content and deliver more relevant search results. As a result, AI will be an important SEO trend to watch in 2023.

The role of AI in SEO

AI can help automate many aspects of SEO, such as keyword research, content optimization, and performance data analysis. In addition, Google’s algorithms use AI to analyze online content, so understanding how AI works can help optimize your content for SEO.

Mobile-first SEO

Google switched to a mobile-first index in 2019, which means that Google favors the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. With the ongoing increase in smartphone usage to access the internet, mobile-first SEO will remain a key trend in 2023.

Optimization for mobile

To optimize your site for mobile, you’ll need to ensure it’s responsive, meaning it adapts to the user’s screen size. In addition, you’ll need to ensure your site loads quickly on mobile devices and that the content is easy to read and navigate.

Local SEO and visual search

Local SEO and visual search are two more trends to watch in 2023. Local SEO is becoming increasingly important with the rise of “near me” searches, while visual search is gaining popularity thanks to technologies like Google Lens.

Optimization for local SEO

To optimize your site for local SEO, you’ll need to ensure your local information is accurate and up-to-date. This includes your name, address, and phone number (NAP), as well as your opening hours. In addition, you’ll need to ensure you’re listed on Google My Business and other relevant local directories.

Optimization for visual search

To optimize your site for visual search, you’ll need to ensure your images are high quality and have descriptive alternative texts. In addition, you’ll need to use Schema markup to help Google understand your images.
In conclusion, it is essential for any web SEO agency to stay abreast of the latest SEO trends to remain competitive. By monitoring and integrating these trends into your SEO strategy, you can ensure your site remains visible and relevant in 2023.

SEO focused on Google’s Core Web Vitals

The importance of user experience in SEO is beyond dispute. In 2023, attention will be focused on Google’s Core Web Vitals. These are a series of specific factors that Google considers essential for the overall user experience on a web page.

Importance of Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals include measurements such as visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift, CLS), loading time (Largest Contentful Paint, LCP), and interactivity (First Input Delay, FID). Google uses these measurements to evaluate a page’s performance. Therefore, sites that do not meet these criteria could see their ranking affected.

The power of quality content

Content remains king in SEO. However, the definition of “quality” continues to evolve. In 2023, quality content will be defined by its relevance, usefulness, and originality. Duplicate or generic content will no longer suffice to achieve good ranking in search results.

Creation of quality content

Creating quality content requires a deep understanding of your target audience. You need to create content that answers users’ questions and solves their problems. Additionally, the content must be original and unique to stand out from the competition.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the world of SEO is constantly evolving. As an SEO agency, it is essential to keep up with the latest trends and developments to stay competitive. Emerging SEO trends for 2023 include the increasing importance of AI, optimization for mobile, local SEO, visual search, focus on Google’s Core Web Vitals, and the power of quality content. By integrating these trends into your SEO strategy, you can ensure your site remains visible and relevant in the ever-changing landscape of search engines.
For help integrating these trends into your SEO strategy, don’t hesitate to contact our SEO referral agency. We have the experience and expertise needed to help you navigate the complex world of SEO.