Search Engine Journal (SEJ) recently released their latest State of SEO report with a wealth of trends and predictions for 2023. In the report, they analyzed the latest research and expert POVs to understand the biggest challenges SEO professionals faced this year and what the biggest changes to expect for SEO in 2023 are.
To be honest, the only prediction I want to hear about 2023 is that it won’t look like the last two years. But if you want your strategy for the coming year to be successful, you need to consider the potential challenges that may arise.
What will be the challenges for SEO in 2023 and beyond? Let’s explore the POVs of respected experts, including Rock Content!
Key takeaways from the State of SEO report
SEJ’s State of SEO report predicts that machine learning qatar whatsapp data and AI, Google updates, and the deprecation of third-party cookies will be the biggest changes in SEO through 2023.
To properly prepare for future threats, SEJ asked respondents what the three biggest changes in SEO would be in the coming years. Here are their responses:
Machine learning and AI (18.7%)
Google updates (18.0%)
Discontinuation of third-party cookies (13.9%)
Google Zero Click Pages (12.9%)
Search for talent (11.5%)
Machine learning and AI
Machine learning and AI will be very important for SEO in 2023. It is already being used in various aspects of SEO, from content optimization to link building and keyword research. Even AI-powered content is already being created today.
When Google’s Helpful Content update was rolled out in August 2022 to “ensure people see more helpful, original content written by people, for people in search results,” the first impression was that it was referring to AI content tools.
According to the search engine's webmaster guidelines, Google's search attorney John Mueller, content automatically generated with AI writing tools is considered spam.
The only way to ensure that your content will be well received is to know your audience inside and out and use Machine Learning and AI as auxiliary productivity tools, never losing the human touch.
Google Updates
Google continues to roll out algorithm updates. It’s an ongoing process, and SEO professionals should stay up to date on the latest changes to ensure their strategies are beneficial in 2023 and beyond.
Google updates like BERT (NLP) released 3 years ago and EAT (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) are expected to continue changing SEO until 2023.
Discontinuation of third-party cookies
The deprecation of third-party cookies will bring more data privacy and consent management challenges.
In the future, cookies will exist in two different forms: cohort-based marketing and first-party relationships. Both present huge opportunities that should be considered when planning an effective marketing strategy.
Collecting personal data is not necessary for SEO, providing a fantastic opportunity for marketers to drive more traffic to their website without relying on third-party cookies. Remember, SEO takes time, so it’s best to get started sooner rather than later.
Google Zero Click Pages
Approximately half of all searches end without a click on an organic search result. These are called zero-click searches and occur on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yandex.
With the addition of more and more new SERP features that allow users to access a variety of widgets alongside organic results, zero-click searches have become much more common. Some examples of SERP features that contribute to zero-click searches are Direct Answers and Google’s Knowledge Panel.
How can marketers ensure they’ll still get organic traffic? If your target keyword is already associated with a SERP feature, such as a direct answer or knowledge panel, you may want to focus on other areas of SEO. Consider adding content that addresses different user needs or writing more long-tail keywords. Remember, writing content that will be valuable to your readers is the most important thing. If you provide value, your site will receive repeat traffic in the long run.