10 of the Best SEO Tips 2023
May 1st 2019 | By Emma Grant
Search engine optimisation is a big subject. It’s also a bit confusing, and slightly daunting, especially if you’re just starting out on the journey to get your website or blog to the top of the search results. There’s so much information out there so, to help you sift through the overload to get to the best bits, we’ve put together our pick of 10 of the best SEO tips 2023 has to offer us.
SEO TIP 1: Optimise for mobile
Is your website mobile friendly? Here are some tools you can use to check:
Mobile optimisation is a vital element of SEO. Website users are increasingly going mobile and that’s a fact. What you need to consider is that their search habits are different to those of a desktop user. You know what it’s like when you need information fast. You pick up your phone and the search result that grabs your attention is the one you tap on. That result will be mobile optimised, taking into consideration that you are seeking a quick, clear answer.
Google has, fairly recently, moved to a mobile first indexing process. This means your website pages will rank depending on how they are viewed by mobile device users. If you have a responsive website with all the same content on all the pages, then the mobile first index won’t affect you negatively. We’ll look at this topic in more detail in a dedicated future post.
SEO TIP 2: Optimise for featured snippets
Featured snippets are summaries of answers to questions. They appear right at the top of the search results and are made up of web page extracts. They include the summary answer to the question, sometimes an image plus the link to the page where the answer came from.
SEO in 2023 means optimising for Google search as well as optimising your website. If you’d like to discover how to enhance your chances of netting the featured snippets spots, have a read of our Google Position Zero blog.
SEO TIP 3: Publish bang-on content
This is one of the most simple and least scientific SEO methods and also one of the best SEO tips 2023 has to offer. The more quality content you post, the more traffic you will get to your website. This means you need a blog or news section on your site, and you need to update it with fresh content. Regularly.
You need to let Google know that your website is active, and the best way to do this is to post great content frequently. Blogs and articles are more likely to be shared, which means increased backlinks. See below for why these are important too.
Every time you post a new blog or article, your entire website gains a bit of a boost in rankings. So there’s a knock-on effect. Google trusts websites that post regular content.
Going back to featured snippets, the secret to gaining these is to answer frequently asked questions. This is a great place to start if you are struggling for content ideas. We’ll look more deeply into coming up with SEO and user friendly content in a future dedicated post.
SEO TIP 4: Make your content shareable
Social media is one of the best ways to get more website traffic. The trick is to make your content easily shareable. Think about it, even if people absolutely adore what you’ve written, if they can’t share it in a quick click or tap, then they’re just not going to bother.
So, add share and like buttons on all your web pages. Pick out the platforms that are most relevant to audience site instead of just presenting as many as you can. WordPress has a great plugin for this.
Publish bang-on content, and make it shareable.
SEO TIP 5: Interlink your website pages
Web page interlinking is one of the best SEO techniques you can employ. Every time you add new content to your site, be sure to link to other relevant pages within your website. You can also go back and review existing pages and add links to new content wherever relevant.
SEO TIP 6: Improve existing content
It is important when you already have content on your website that targets a specific keyword not to write a separate piece on the same topic. This will lead to ‘keyword cannibalisation’ where multiple pages compete for the same keyword, usually with none of them ranking at all.
The best strategy is to improve the existing piece by adding new content into it. There are various online tools you can use to help you with this, for example the Cognitive SEO Content Tool. Simply search for the keyword you are targeting, add your existing title and content and select optimise. The tool will present you with relevant topics and keywords to add to your existing article to help it rank higher.
SEO TIP 7: Build links
Whilst backlinks can be a real challenge to achieve, they are also very effective and so worth the effort. There are certain SEO strategies that will help net you high quality backlinks, and they are proven to work.
Look for online tools that allow you to identify which sites are linking to your competitors. Once you work out which sites are prone to share content in your area of expertise, you can then pursue them for yourself.
It’s also good practice to link out to relevant, authority websites. If you want others to share your content, then you are going to need to reciprocate. So if you want to build links, reach out and make them too! Just be sure to only link to sites with authority.
SEO TIP 8: Build on what IS working
It may not all be bad news. Some of your optimisation tactics may already be working. But you’re going to need to analyse your existing search traffic to find out.
Use an analytics program like Google Analytics to check which are your best performing web pages. Find out which keywords your audience is using to access your content. Take a look at your top posts and work out what the common factor is that is making them successful. It could be content quality, post length or format.
Seek out your most popular posts that have continued to attract traffic over time and come up with new ways to update them.
SEO TIP 9: Get reviews
We usually push the importance of reviews when working on Google local SEO. But bear in mind that the higher you rank, the more your business will get out of it overall. So reviews must be considered a vital SEO strategy, whether or not you are a local business. This really is one of the best SEO tips 2023 has offered us so far.
To get reviews, you generally have to ask for them. Make this a set process. Automate it. Just do whatever you can to get those reviews on Google, Facebook, Trust Pilot: wherever. They all count.
Customer reviews are one of the best SEO tips for 2023.
SEO TIP 10: Boost site speed
Google loves a fast loading website. So if yours is on the slow side, you’re going to need to speed it up. Whilst images are generally some of the worst offenders for slowing down a site, there are other things that can have an effect.
Certain website plugins and extensions can put the brakes on site loading speed for example. Think about whether you need everything you have installed. How much value are they adding to your site versus the damage they are doing in terms of site speed?
Sliders are one of the worst offenders. They can be something of a resource drain, so work out if you really need them. Do people click on your offers? Or do they scroll past them to get away from the annoying automatic movement?
Site speed can also be increased through careful hosting selection. This is one of the SEO tips for 2023 that really could do with some expert intervention, as it’s often down to technical factors.
Need help with your SEO?
There’s a lot to take in when it comes to search engine optimisation. If you could use some assistance on a professional level, why not talk to Figment an SEO agency in London? We’ve been achieving amazing results for numerous businesses, and we could make a difference for you too. Contact us today for a chat about how we can help.