Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023
Staying ahead of the curve is essential for businesses to remain competitive and relevant. As we progress through 2023, several key technological changes are shaping the market and in turn our futures. Altering the way businesses operate, connect with customers, and shaping their online presence.
It’s easy to fall behind, but these are this year’s key takeaways for your business to successfully be found online.
Google’s ongoing commitment to enhancing user experience has led to the prominence of Core Web Vitals in its search ranking algorithm. These vitals, including metrics like loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability, are now pivotal factors in determining a website’s search engine ranking. Businesses must prioritize optimizing their website’s performance to meet these metrics for improved user experience and SEO performance.
Expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are critical factors in Google’s search algorithm. Businesses must focus on creating high-quality, authoritative content that demonstrates their expertise in their respective industries. Providing accurate and well-researched information not only improves search rankings but also builds credibility among users.
This can be a difficult process, but agencies like ourselves Shoothill offer their services to build and improve your web presence.
Visual search, which allows users to search using images, is on the rise. Optimizing images and videos with relevant metadata and descriptions can improve a business’s visibility in these emerging search channels.
Just to see how powerful this tool is, open up the Google Chrome app on your phone. You’ll find a camera icon in the search bar, tap this and try searching for things around you. The visual search engine can recognise the difference between things like crockery, cars and even different models of watches.
It’s up to you how you use images as a part of your brand, but if you’re selling a physical product or service prioritising being found this way is incredibly important to keep your brand ranking highly as search tools develop.
With the majority of online searches occurring on mobile devices, Google has shifted to mobile-first indexing. This means that Google predominantly uses the mobile version of your website for indexing and ranking. Businesses must ensure that their websites are responsive, mobile-friendly, and offer a seamless user experience across all devices to maintain and improve their search visibility.
A website from 2018, with a sub-optimal mobile version will now consistently rank below competition with a user-friendly mobile-first design philosophy. Investing in revising your presence will improve how many people find your company online.
The rise of smart assistants and voice-activated devices has transformed the way people search for information online. Businesses need to adapt their SEO strategies to accommodate natural language queries and conversational search patterns. You can do this by incorporating long-tail keywords and structuring content to address specific questions can greatly enhance a website’s chances of appearing in voice search results.
When you’re writing your copy and optimising your online presence, ask yourself how someone using Alexa or Siri would find you. Positioning your brand and content in this way can help improve how you’re being found.
In an era of increased concern about privacy and data security, businesses must prioritize safeguarding customer information. With regulations like GDPR and its California equivalent CCPA in place, adopting stringent data protection measures is not only a legal requirement but also a way to build trust with customers. A secure website and system is not only vital for user trust but can also influence search engine rankings.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping all business operations, including marketing and customer service. ChatGPT, for instance, is becoming increasingly sophisticated in its creative abilities and ability to provide customer tools with the release of ChatGPT 4. AI-powered tools can also analyze data and provide insights to enhance SEO strategies, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions, but also to aid you in identifying trending topics.
Adapting to the ever-evolving tech landscape is not just an option but a necessity for businesses aiming to thrive in 2023 and beyond. By keeping up with these tech changes and aligning SEO strategies accordingly, businesses can enhance their online presence, connect with their target audience, and achieve sustained growth in an increasingly competitive digital world. Embracing these changes with a proactive mindset will position businesses as industry leaders and ensure their continued success.
To get help in applying these to your business, get in with us touch today.
