If you manage your company’s SEO in house, you need to make an effort to stay abreast of changes to the SEO landscape. Like all elements of digital marketing, SEO strategies are constantly evolving as search engines modify their algorithms, as online users shift their behavior and as your competition alter their digital marketing tactics and techniques. As the first half of 2023 comes to a close, there is enough information for SEO experts to understand what needs to happen with SEO strategy in the remaining months of the year. Here are the four most important changes to SEO that you need to act upon to ensure continued success in your SEO efforts.
A Rise of Search in Closed Environments
A closed environment is an online space that silos content from the rest of the web. Unlike traditional websites, which typically have content that can be spread around the internet, content on closed environments tends to remain within those closed environments. For example, Instagram images and videos are accessible via the Instagram platform; TikTok videos are created and uploaded to TikTok. More and more web users are beginning their online experience within these closed environments instead of on a more general search engine, like Google.
Google is working to produce more visual search experiences, especially on mobile, where so many young people prefer to engage with digital content. However, business leaders and digital marketers might consider their current management of content in closed environments in light of this noteworthy trend.
Faster Google Updates
In the beginning, SEO experts learned to account for an annual update to Google’s algorithm. Then, updates came biannually, and then somewhat quarterly. These days, Google is rolling out update after update in quicker succession, meaning that there are extreme levels of volatility in the algorithm. Much of the recent updates have been related to the encroachment of closed environments on Google’s search supremacy, so until some stability is achieved between these closed environments and the broader web, SEO professionals need to remain flexible with their SEO strategies.
AI and Machine Learning in SEO
With the release of ChatGPT-4, more and more industries are seriously considering how to implement the power of artificial intelligence in operations. Already, digital marketers rely on AI to derive insights from bounties of consumer data, which can drive marketing strategy into more lucrative directions. Likewise, within the field of SEO, there are many AI-based tools that help professionals improve performance in a variety of ways, from identifying errors in technical SEO to facilitating stronger link building to creating keyword-rich content for search engines to find.
Currently, adoption rates for AI in SEO are surprisingly low, but new interest and excitement surrounding AI could drive SEO firms to invest more heavily in AI solutions. With the extra power of artificial intelligence, SEO could become much more effective, leading some businesses to radically alter their search ranking — and causing Google to release more updates focused on AI SEO.
Major Fluctuations in Marketing Strategy
Blame the uncertain economy or blame the shifting landscape of tech — business leaders are changing how they budget and strategize for digital marketing. However, unlike the last time rumors surfaced about a global recession, companies are not cutting back on their marketing spending; rather, larger numbers of business leaders are expecting to increase their marketing budgets, and accordingly, they are increasing their expectations for success. To keep up with competition, business leaders may need to spend more on their marketing efforts, and digital marketers in every specialty will need to deliver incredible results.
SEO is one of the most complex fields within digital marketing, and contrary to popular belief, it is not easy to manage SEO effectively on your own. If you are struggling to understand any of the above changes to SEO strategy or if you are feeling ill-equipped to address these changes, you may want to consider outsourcing SEO management to more highly qualified marketing professionals. Digital marketing firms partnered with SEO resellers can provide high-quality, low-cost SEO services that are guaranteed to keep up with the ever-shifting nature of the SEO field. Then, you can focus on other aspects of business strategy knowing that your business will continue to grow from accurate and effective SEO.
