Search ranking factors in 2023

– Craig Wilson

Search is still a crucial element of many of our client’s marketing strategies. Search allows customers to easily find and access information about products and services…and hopefully your business. By having a strong search presence, your business can increase tit’s visibility and reach a wider audience.

The most difficult aspect of search is understanding what factors Google (mainly) use to rank website in their results. The algorithm is updated almost daily and from time to time there are significant updates that can see results change considerably.

Here are what we believe the most important ranking factors in search in 2023 are likely to be:

1. Relevance: The relevance of the content to the user’s search query is crucial. Google’s algorithm is designed to understand the intent behind the user’s query and return the most relevant results.
2. Content Quality: High-quality, well-written, and informative content is more likely to rank well in search results.
3. Backlinks: The number and quality of websites linking to a page are still an important ranking factor.
4. User Experience: A positive user experience, including fast load times and mobile-friendliness, can help improve a website’s search ranking.
5. Technical SEO: Properly structuring a website, including the use of meta tags, header tags, and alt tags, can help improve search ranking.
6. Featured Snippet: It has become increasingly important to be featured in the featured snippet block of Google search as it can help to increase visibility, click-through-rate, and brand awareness.
7. Voice Search Optimization: As the number of voice search queries is increasing, optimizing the content for voice search is becoming an important aspect of SEO.

Please note that the ranking factors tend to change over time and the above list is based on current trends and understanding, it’s always best to keep an eye on the updates of Google’s algorithm. We have found by following the basic principles of quality SEO for the last 15 years our clients have enjoyed consistently excellent search results and subsequent traffic growth.