With a new year upon us, and with it some expected headwinds for the economy, it’s probably a good time to review your website’s current search rankings. Ensuring that your website is coming out on top of search results can provide your business with a much needed boost for 2023.
Although the search landscape continues to change, and organic search results continue to fall further down the page, a surprisingly large number of organic traffic is still being shown in most of the analytics reports I review on a monthly basis. For some of you who have read our previous posts on SEO, you might find this list repetitive but it’s always a good idea to review these ideas on a regular basis and ensure your website is structured to perform at its best. The search engine optimization (SEO) ranking factors are subject to change, as search engines continue to refine their algorithms to better understand and rank web pages. However, the following three factors are considered to be particularly important for SEO ranking in 2023:
- Content Quality and Relevance: High-quality, relevant, and useful content remains a critical factor for SEO ranking. Search engines aim to provide the best possible user experience and give priority to pages that offer valuable information to users.
- User Experience (UX): A positive user experience, including page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and overall website design and functionality, are increasingly important for SEO ranking. A user-friendly website that is easy to navigate and access will receive a higher ranking compared to a site with a poor UX.
- Backlinks: Backlinks, also known as “inbound links” or “incoming links,” are still considered a strong indicator of a website’s authority and relevance. Search engines view websites that receive many high-quality backlinks as more credible and valuable, and will therefore rank them higher.
It’s worth noting that these factors are not the only ones that search engines consider when ranking websites. Other factors, such as technical SEO, keyword usage, and social signals, also play a role in SEO ranking. However, focusing on these three key factors can help to improve a website’s overall SEO performance. If you’ve got any questions or concerns about your website, or if you’d like a complimentary Basic SEO Review, please feel free to reach out to us, we’re here to help.
Illustration courtesy of All Free Download