
Content Optimisation Strategies for 2023
Key takeaways
- Due to changing Google algorithms, businesses must be ready to adapt their content optimisation strategies in 2023.
- Newly developing trends such as AI and voice search mean that website owners and content marketers will need to learn new things and readjust their strategies.
- Content strategists need to focus on mobile optimisation, video content, AI and voice search, as well as user-generated content.
What is content optimisation?
Content optimisation is the process of improving the quality and relevance of website content to increase its position in search engine results pages (SERPs) and therefore attract more traffic.
It involves optimising various elements of web content, including the following:
- Keywords
- Meta descriptions
- H tags
- Images
- Internal linking
- External linking
Content managers and strategists will focus on the above elements to ensure that they align with the target audience’s search intent so that the user experience is as smooth and helpful as possible.
Effective content optimisation requires a deep understanding of the target audience, the competitive landscape, and the search engine algorithms’ requirements. Optimising your content can improve your website’s search engine rankings, attract more qualified leads, and increase your conversion rates.
Why do you need to change your content optimisation strategy for 2023?
Google’s ever-changing algorithms are the main reason why you’ll need to update your content strategy in 2023. Google is constantly updating its search algorithm to provide users with the most relevant and useful search results, which can significantly impact the search engine rankings of web pages.
This can cause trouble for businesses that are trying to improve their SEO and content because:
- Changes in search ranking algorithms can lead to a decrease in visibility: When Google changes its algorithm, some websites may see a decline in their search engine rankings. This can result in a significant decrease in traffic, engagement, and sales.
- Keeping up with the changes can be relentless: Google makes numerous algorithm updates each year, and it can be challenging for businesses to keep pace and adjust their content strategies fast enough.
- Changes can favour competitors: Algorithm updates can favour some competitors, giving them an advantage over other websites. This can be especially challenging for small businesses that may not have the resources to keep up with their competitors.
- It can weigh heavily on time and resources: SEO and content optimisation require a significant investment in time and resources. This can be made worse if Google updates its algorithm multiple times a year.
Though it comes with issues for businesses, there are several factors why content optimisation doesn’t (and shouldn’t) remain static. The only one that really matters is that Google wants to present the most helpful results to its users. So, if businesses want to remain competitive in the SERPs, website owners, digital marketers, and content strategists need to stay up to date with changing trends.
This article will explore some of the trends and changes we can expect to see in the upcoming year so that you can develop the best possible strategy.
What changes to content are coming up in 2023?
By examining historical data and monitoring trends that emerged in 2022, we can gain insights into what to expect from the content world in 2023. Here are some upcoming changes to be aware of:
- User experience will continue to be important: Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding user behaviour and preferences, and they are using this information to rank websites accordingly. This means that businesses will need to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to their target audience and delivers a great user experience.
- Mobile optimisation will become even more critical: With more and more people accessing the internet from mobile devices, mobile optimisation is becoming increasingly important for SEO content. In 2023, businesses will need to ensure that their websites are optimised for mobile devices, with fast loading times, easy navigation, and content that is easy to read and interact with on smaller screens.
- A shift towards voice search: With the increasing popularity of voice search, businesses will need to optimise their content for voice search queries if they want to remain competitive in 2023. This means creating content that is conversational and tailored to how people speak rather than how they type.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will play a larger role: Search engines are becoming more sophisticated in their use of AI and ML to understand user intent and deliver more personalised search results. In 2023, businesses will need to take advantage of these technologies to optimise their content and stay competitive in search results.
- Video content will continue to grow: Video content is still increasing in popularity, and search engines are placing greater emphasis on video content in the results pages. In 2023, businesses will need to create more video content to stay competitive and reach their target audience.
- User-generated content: The extent to which UGC improves business performance data has been proven repeatedly with the rise of influencers and social media usage. In 2023, businesses will need to participate in UGC practices if they want to continue to engage with their target audiences and rank well in the SERPs.
Will 2023 be a difficult year for businesses trying to improve their content optimisation strategies?
There are a few factors that could make 2023 a more challenging year for businesses trying to improve their SEO. None of them is impossible to work around, but website owners should still be aware of them:
- Increased competition: The number of businesses investing in SEO has been steadily increasing in recent years, and this trend is likely to continue in 2023. As a result, it may become more challenging for businesses to stand out and achieve high spots in the SERPs.
- Time and money: As search algorithms continue to evolve, businesses may need to adjust their SEO strategies to keep up. This can be time-consuming and require significant resources, and this won’t get any easier in 2023.
- Focus on user experience: Search engines are placing greater emphasis on user experience and engagement, which means businesses will need to create high-quality, engaging content that provides value to their target audience. This can be challenging for businesses that have traditionally focused more on technical SEO strategies.
- Increased importance of voice search: Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, and businesses will need to optimise their content for voice search queries to remain competitive. This is a hugely underexplored area that many business owners and content strategists will need to learn for the first time.
Despite these potential challenges, there are also opportunities for businesses to improve their SEO in 2023. Let’s dive into how you can adapt your strategy this year:
New content optimisation strategies for 2023
1. Improving user experience
In this context, we aren’t looking at user experience (UX) under the umbrella of website design. Instead, we mean the overall experience users have when interacting with your website’s features and content.
Your business can improve this by generating content that better resonates with its target audience’s needs and by adapting to the new ways users are accessing the internet.
Tackling “user experience” actually encompasses several approaches rather than just one thing. It includes the following five aspects: mobile optimisation, voice search, artificial intelligence, video content, and user-generated content.
Read on to learn the different ways you can improve user experience.
2. Optimising content for mobile devices
Mobile optimisation has never been more important than it is today. In 2023, websites will need to be designed in a mobile-friendly way, offering solutions for the navigational and accessibility problems posed by small screens.
Here are five ways you can optimise content for mobile devices:
- Use responsive design: A responsive design ensures that a website’s content adjusts to fit the screen size of any device. This means that the content will look and function properly on all kinds of mobile devices, which is critical for providing a positive user experience.
- Prioritise speed: Mobile users expect fast load times, and a slow website can negatively impact user experience and SEO. Strategies for improving mobile website speed include optimising images, reducing the number of HTTP requests, and minimising the use of external scripts.
- Simplify content: Mobile users tend to have shorter attention spans, so it’s important to simplify the content and make it easy to consume. This can be achieved by using short paragraphs, bullet points, and headings to break up text and improve readability.
- Use mobile-specific features: Mobile devices have unique features like touch screens, location services, and push notifications that can be leveraged to improve user experience. For example, businesses can use push notifications to alert users of new content or location services to provide personalised content based on the user’s location.
3. Optimising content for voice search
Optimising content for voice search involves understanding how people use voice search and tailoring your content to match their search queries. Here are a few ways that businesses can optimise their content for voice search:
- Use conversational language: When people use voice search, they tend to use more conversational language than they do when typing out a query. As a result, businesses should create content that uses natural, conversational language to match the way people speak.
- Answer common questions: People often use voice search to ask questions, so businesses should create content that answers common questions related to their industry or niche. This can include creating FAQ pages, blog posts that answer common questions, or videos that provide detailed explanations.
- Use long-tail keywords: Voice search queries tend to be longer and more specific than traditional search queries, so businesses should use long-tail keywords that match these longer search queries. This can help their content rank higher in the search results and attract more targeted traffic.
- Optimise for local search: People on the go will often use voice search to find local businesses or services, so businesses should optimise their content for local search by including location-specific keywords and information on their websites.
4. Adapting to developments in AI
As AI continues to advance, businesses need to adapt their content optimisation strategies to keep up with the changing landscape. If you’re not sure how to do that, here are some steps you can take:
- Utilise AI-powered tools: There are various AI-powered tools available for businesses to optimise their content. These tools use machine learning algorithms to analyse data and provide insights on improving content performance, helping businesses gain a competitive edge and stay ahead of the game.
- Focus on user intent: By understanding what users are looking for, businesses can create more relevant and engaging content that resonates with their audience. AI algorithms are becoming increasingly sophisticated at understanding user intent and analysing data on user behaviour, which businesses can harness to create content that meets the needs of their target audience.
- Optimise for voice search: With the increasing prevalence of voice-activated devices (e.g., Alexa), businesses need to optimise their content so that it is easily discovered and understood by voice assistants. This means using natural language and creating content in a concise, formatted way that can be read aloud.
- Personalise content: AI algorithms can be used to personalise content based on user behaviour and preferences. By analysing user behaviour data, businesses can tailor their content to the specific needs of their audience, leading to higher engagement rates and better conversion rates.
- Stay updated with AI developments: As AI technology advances, new opportunities and challenges will arise. By staying informed, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.
5. Creating and optimising video content
Keeping up with an increased demand for video content can be challenging, but there are several strategies that businesses can use to create and distribute more video content:
- Develop a video content strategy: Before creating video content, businesses should develop a strategy that outlines their goals, target audience, messaging, and distribution channels. This can help them create more effective, targeted video content that resonates with their audience.
- Repurpose existing content: Businesses can save time and resources by repurposing existing content into video format. For example, they can turn blog posts into videos, create animated infographics, or film interviews with industry experts.
- Use live video: Live video can be a great way to engage with your audience in real time and create a sense of urgency around your content. Businesses can use live video to host Q&A sessions, give behind-the-scenes tours, or provide product demonstrations.
- Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with influencers with large social media followings can help businesses reach new audiences and create more engaging video content. They can also collaborate with other businesses or industry experts to create informative and engaging video content.
- Invest in equipment and tools: While creating video content doesn’t necessarily require expensive equipment, having a good quality camera, microphone, and lighting can make a big difference in the quality of your videos. Additionally, investing in video editing software and other tools can help businesses create more polished and professional-looking videos.
By using these strategies, businesses can keep up with an increased demand for video content and create more engaging, informative, and shareable content that resonates with their target audience.
However, creating video content isn’t just about meeting the increased demand. It’s also important to optimise it for SEO. Here’s how you can do so:
- Optimise video titles and descriptions: Like written content, video titles and descriptions are essential for SEO. By including relevant keywords and phrases in the video title and description, businesses can help search engines understand what their video is about and improve its ranking in the SERPs.
- Use video transcripts: Adding transcripts to video content can help improve its SEO by making it easier for search engines to crawl and index the content. Transcripts also make the content more accessible for viewers who are hearing impaired or prefer to read the content, increasing the reach of your videos.
- Create high-quality content: Search engines prioritise high-quality content that provides value to viewers. Businesses should create engaging, informative, and entertaining video content that keeps viewers engaged and encourages them to share the video with others.
- Optimise video tags: Adding relevant tags to your video content can help search engines understand the context and content of your video, which can improve its ranking in the SERPs.
- Use video sitemaps: A video sitemap is an XML file that provides search engines with information about the videos on a website. By submitting a video sitemap to search engines, businesses can help them discover and index their videos more efficiently, improving their ranking in search results.
- Share videos on social media: Sharing video content on social media can help businesses reach a wider audience and increase the visibility of their video content. Social media platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are also search engines themselves, so by uploading videos on these platforms, businesses can improve their visibility in search results.
- Include calls-to-action: Including calls-to-action (CTAs) in video content can help drive traffic to a business’s website. As well as improving click-through rates, these external links can show search engines that yours is a high authority site.
6. Encouraging user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) refers to any type of content created and shared by website or social media platform users. It can take the form of reviews, comments, photos, videos, and social media posts.
UGC can improve a website’s SERP ranking because it signals to search engines that your brand is popular, trusted, and constantly generating fresh and relevant content.
Users also like to see UGC because it serves as social proof that your products or services are valuable and trustworthy. User-generated reviews and testimonials can help convince leads to choose your business over competitors.
UGC can also help increase user engagement and attract new users because they’re more likely to engage with content created by people in their demographic.
To encourage UGC on your website, here are a few best practices:
- Make it easy for users to create and share content on your website: This can include adding comment sections to blog posts, allowing users to submit product reviews, or incorporating social media sharing buttons.
- Offer incentives for users to create and share content on your website: E.g., rewards such as discounts, coupons, or entry into a giveaway.
- Highlight UGC: Featuring user reviews or sharing user-generated photos and videos can show users that their content is valued and encourage them to contribute more.
- Engage with users: Engage with those users who create UGC by responding to comments and reviews and sharing their content on your social media platforms.
- Monitor UGC: Ensure it is appropriate and aligned with your brand values. Remove any content that is spammy or inappropriate.
Final thoughts
Recent advancements in the digital world may be intimidating to some, but things like voice search and UGC offer fantastic opportunities for businesses to connect with their audiences.
Although changing your content optimisation strategy may seem daunting, it will ultimately help your business reach a wider audience and stay ahead of the competition. By embracing new trends in social media and technologies such as AI and voice search, businesses can better cater to their customers’ evolving needs and preferences.