Is SEO Dead in 2023?

Written by?Adam Carpenter

Are you tired of hearing digital marketers say that SEO is dead? Well, good news! We’re here to tell you that SEO is still alive and kicking in 2023.

If it’s alive and well, why are so many people asking if it’s dead?

Is SEO dead?

SEO?remains a crucial piece of digital marketing. For real. According to a?recent Statista report,?31%?of shoppers use search engines to choose their next purchase, which is higher than those who use either social media (28%) or retailers’ websites (18%).

In other words, people are still running to the internet looking for websites with info about things they want to buy. Because SEO still grabs these folks’ attention, it’s far from dead.

But it’s easy to understand why some would say SEO is dead—or at least the ER.

Why do digital marketers say SEO is dead?

Digital marketers often say SEO is dead because they feel the industry is changing too quickly. They’re unable to keep up with the new strategies and tactics. Others have been struggling to keep up with the competition.

Investing in public relations campaigns or social media has gained steam

Some marketers may feel that investing in public relations and social media marketing is more effective than SEO for several reasons:

1. Brand Awareness:?Public relations and social media marketing can be effective in building brand awareness. They enable brands to engage with their target audience on a personal level.

2. Relationship building:?Brands can establish long-term relationships that translate into positive word-of-mouth referrals and increased customer loyalty.

3. Cost-effectiveness:?Some marketers think public relations and social media marketing are more cost-effective than SEO.

Google changes make it hard to adapt

Google has been trying to save searchers time by giving them the info they need without forcing them to click on a link. For instance, Google has been providing information on its search results page. Often, what you get is enough to make a decision.

For example, if you were to search “how to fix a leaking pipe,” you may get a list of answers and related content. All of which you can access?without going to a webpage.

This is great for a consumer looking for a quick answer. Not so much for companies and the SEO teams they hire to generate traffic.

Paid search results

Paid results have had a significant impact on what searchers see on Google. For instance, paid results appear at the top of the search results page, often before the organic (non-paid) results. This means that searchers are more likely to see and click on paid results, especially if the ad is relevant to their search query.

Google has also introduced paid local results, which appear in a section of the SERP that shows local businesses related to the search query. Paid local results often feature a map and directions to the business, making it easier for searchers to find and engage with local companies. All those paid results take up digital real estate previously held by organic SEO results.

Too much competition

Additionally, some digital marketers say SEO is dead because they feel overwhelmed by the competition. More and more businesses are investing in SEO and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out.

When a firm with big pockets throws thousands—or more—into optimizing their site, it can be hard to match their investment. So, from the perspective of someone in second place, it can feel like SEO is an unwinnable game, and, therefore, effectively “dead.”

Organic SEO’s outlook for 2023

Naysayers aside, organic SEO is still an important part of any digital marketing strategy and is expected to remain so in 2023. By leveraging the following, you can ensure a positive outlook for your SEO program in 2023:

• Bing’s new AI search engine. This offers searchers more accurate and relevant results by providing advanced image search, voice search, and personalization. Google is also stepping up its?efforts to use AI?to enhance search.
• User Experience (UX). Google has placed a significant emphasis on user experience in recent years, and it’s a key factor in SEO in 2023. This includes factors such as mobile-friendliness, page speed,?ease of navigation, and overall design. Businesses that prioritize UX are more likely to rank well in search results.
• Featured Snippets: Featured snippets are a type of search result that appears at the top of the SERP and provides a summary of the answer to a search query. Optimizing content for featured snippets can increase visibility and drive traffic to a website.
• E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) is an important factor in SEO, particularly for businesses in the technical, health, and finance industries. Google is placing a greater emphasis on E-A-T to ensure that searchers are provided with accurate and trustworthy information.

SEO challenges digital marketers face in 2023

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of digital marketing, as it helps to ensure that a website is visible in search engine results. As such, it is important for digital marketers to stay up-to-date on the latest SEO trends and challenges.

Changes to Google’s algorithm

One of the biggest challenges for digital marketers in 2023 is Google algorithm changes. Google changes its search algorithm multiple times per year, which can drastically affect website traffic and rankings. As such, digital marketers need to stay on top of these changes and adjust their SEO strategies accordingly.

Voice search

As voice search becomes more popular, digital marketers must adapt their strategies to optimize their content for voice search queries. Traditional search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that focus on short, keyword-rich phrases may no longer be sufficient for voice search, as people tend to use longer, conversational phrases when speaking to voice assistants.

Content saturation

Content saturation arises out of the abundance of content on the internet, making it challenging to create material that will differentiate you from the pack. A key factor in creating standout content is to focus on quality over quantity. While it may be tempting to produce as much content as possible to increase your online presence, the reality is that high-quality content is what will truly capture your audience’s attention and keep them coming back for more.

Prioritizing a mobile-first strategy

Finally, digital marketers need to strategize for mobile-first, simply because users often favor searching on their personal devices instead of their computers. As of the end of 2022,?59%?of all website traffic was generated by mobile devices.

As more and more people access the internet through their mobile devices, digital marketers need to ensure that their websites are optimized for mobile. This includes ensuring that their websites are responsive and have a mobile-friendly design.

The future of SEO

The future of SEO in 2023 will involve:

• Using content with high author authority. Google’s seeking to eliminate spammy, auto-generated content from its search results in favor of content from true experts. If you include detailed author bios and links to their other published work, the articles and blogs you publish may rank higher.
• Google Shopping emerging as an SEO opportunity. Google Shopping provides products to searchers, including information regarding where to buy items. By creating a Google Merchant Center account and optimizing your product feed, you can increase the chances of appearing as a purchasing option for shoppers.
• Less frequent crawls by Google, resulting in fresh content taking longer to appear in SERP. Google’s trying to reduce its carbon footprint, and one way it can do this is by reducing the frequency with which it crawls the internet. Less frequent crawls may make it so it takes longer for changes you make to appear to searchers.

In short, the future of SEO is more customer-focused. It’ll be less about creating a site that reflects well on your brand and more about making content that caters to what users want or expect.

Defibrillate Your SEO with ClearVoice

It’s clear that the SEO industry is in a transformative phase. Just as a defibrillator can shock a heart back to life, the future of SEO requires a similar jolt to revive and reinvigorate it. The right strategy and approach can breathe new life into a stagnant SEO campaign, boosting its performance and driving better results.

To zap your SEO strategy back to life, you can rely on ClearVoice. You get your own team of SEO experts, ready to put use their years of knowledge and experience to reinvigorate your marketing. For help with your content strategy,?reach out to ClearVoice today!