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SEO has been through many phases since the inception of search engines and is now widely used commercially. These include the early days keyword-stuffing, webmasters controlling the SERP via volume linking, and the recent era that uses tools and technology.
In 2023, traditional marketing will be more important than ever in SEO. Everybody has the ability to use AI and tools. Any intelligent person who is willing to work hard enough to gain practical experience in SEO can learn how to do it.
It is the ROI and revenue that really matter. This is what adds value for businesses. SEO will only be valuable if it is focused on a limited set of KPIs (rankings, traffic), and uses the same tools and processes as other businesses.
Focusing on the business goals and marketing aspects of SEO strategy will help us deliver the results that truly matter in today’s market.
Business-centric SEO
SEO must be approached from a business-centric perspective if it is to deliver real business results. While traffic and keyword rankings are important KPIs to consider, they shouldn’t be the only measure of success in SEO.
What is the most important thing for a business?
SEO can increase revenue or address bigger business needs, such as increasing MQLs or driving e-commerce purchase.
Sometimes SEO can help a business with a particular problem or larger margins. It may even address a need that is not related to SEO such as aligning purchase behaviour ahead of a sale or acquisition.
SEO has more to offer than just keywords and rankings. SEO’s future is about focusing on the most important aspects of a business and then developing meaningful strategies to achieve those goals through SEO.
Why SEO Marketing is Important
Although SEO tools and technology are readily available, marketers are not using them as a marketing channel.
If we take a look at Google’s evolution and all the algorithm updates and AI components that have been added, it becomes clear that we must focus more on the user if we are to align ourselves with the direction of search.
Content is king, and has been for some time; now it’s king. Search intent This is an important aspect to consider. This is SEO’s connection to the buyer’s journey. It actually considers what people want through the search process.
Many SEO professionals are focusing on intent rather than Google’s future direction.
Google recently launched its helpful content updateThis is a tool that aims to decrease visibility of content created for search engines and not for real people. Google is indicating that SEO must shift away from ranking and towards real solutions for real people.
Marketing is the solution.
Marketing approaches to SEO include looking at customers first, understanding their needs and goals, then using SEO data for a strategy to reach them with the right content at just the right time.
This is how engagement is achieved. And, ultimately, success is tied to business activity.
Technology and AI
SEO technology has grown from a handful of core tools. There are many applications availableThis includes all-in-one SEO tools, specialized software and enterprise platforms.
You can do anything with tech, and anyone has the ability to execute SEO strategies.
Recently, ChatGPT Everyone is thinking about it, and the content arms race has begun.
How will this affect SEO? Higher-quality content will be more popular if the Internet is flooded with “pretty bad” content. Innovative and original ideas that are not possible to be assembled from the internet’s common text warehouse and consensus will have greater value.
Technology is not becoming less important. However, how we use this tech for SEO is now more important than ever.
SEO marketers who try to rank high by creating auto-generated content and then losing their rankings will eventually fail. Instead, we assist users to fulfill their intended actions and guide them towards solutions that have real value. The user wins, the search engine wins, and the business wins.
Modern SEO tech can be used to create business-focused strategies that are marketing focused. This will result in more meaningful results and help practitioners stand out from the rest.
The future of process-driven SEO is likely to be automated and become more commodity. It is time to be more creative and use human creativity.
Enterprise SEO
Although enterprise SEO solutions have advanced, there’s still one fundamental problem that remains: How to make your company successful. Enterprise SEO Strategy requires aligning across departments.
Strong marketing integration and business-centric approaches have the highest success rate and appeal. To be truly focused on the customer, it is important to work with IT, Business, Marketing, Product and Product. This problem cannot be solved by technology alone.
SEO Expertise and Experience
Many people have gained entry to the SEO industry through easy access to SEO tools. According to a study, nearly a third of SEO professionals have less than two-years of experience. A recent industry report Search Engine Journal.
The technology of today is a major part of our approach. Many SEO strategies start with keywords and tools, but never get to the nuances and business. These nuances are where the real business success lies.
A smaller workforce can mean that larger agencies have to rely more on process than business expertise and experience. This continues the cycle. Larger agencies must continue to focus on traffic and rankings as reliable metrics that can only be achieved via process.
SEO for the Future
The landscape of SEO is changing. The pace of technology is changing. SEO is becoming an increasing priority for organizations. Budgets are increasing and a more inexperienced workforce is focusing on the SEO process rather than business success.
SEO is a hugely risky business. But there are also great opportunities.
There are risks that AI will accelerate and process-driven SEO will become largely automated, which could lead to further commoditization (although this is more of a question about). when, It doesn’t matter if
SEO could evolve into a channel that is more aligned with marketing and business. This major shift will not occur without Google’s prodding or other external factors. The evolution must take place in the market.
Businesses that are flexible will succeed and grow. We need to increase our industry’s demand for higher quality SEO services.
More resources on SEO in 2023
Visual Search for B2B Marketing Success by Olga Andrienko at Marketing Smarts [Podcast]