SEO and content marketing experts are familiar with Google’s core updates, which impact how the Google search console assesses content. This might cause eCommerce sites to have underperforming pages or boost underperforming ones in the search rankings. Either way, we should prepare for changes in SEO and content marketing strategies to keep eCommerce sites relevant.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, video marketing, featured snippets, and content authority are booming trends in 2023. Search engines make these updates to understand user search queries better and provide relevant sites in their organic search results. Fortunately, you can implement them quickly with AI tools and a few changes to your previous content marketing strategy.
Search engine optimization pays off in the long run but needs consistent maintenance and updating efforts. It offers a higher click-through rate on average over paid advertising, targeting specific keywords for a particular period. In that light, we will explore upcoming trends eCommerce businesses should watch out for in 2023 for an optimized SEO strategy.
New Search Engine Optimization and Content Trends in 2023
If you have yet to implement this strategy, now is the time to implement a weekly SEO audit for your eCommerce site. Updates are rolling out faster than usual to keep up with changes in the online shopping experience. For example, we now have chatbots like LaMDA and GPT-4 on the scene, providing conversational searches, including support for voice search.
Also, consumer behavior has changed, with many seeking more rounded information before purchasing. They make fewer purchases but spend more money. Some attribute these changes to economizing on shipping costs.
With that in mind, here are the top new SEO and content trends eCommerce brands must know:
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Voice search
- Mobile-first content
- Product schema markup
- Augmented reality
- User experience
- Video content
- Featured snippets
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Content Optimization
Today, you can use AI software for keyword research for ad campaigns or organic rankings. These tools can review customer data more efficiently and in a fraction of the time it would take us to do the same thing. The result is a better understanding of the customer experience, from research to purchasing.
Email automation has benefited from AI tools that produce relevant content for customers. They can use words and tones that align with the needs of potential customers.
Brands embracing artificial intelligence in SEO and content strategy often use it for the following:
- Generate headlines, subheadings, and content bodies
- Research and determine which topics are relevant to the customer experience
- Research keywords and write meta descriptions.
Machine learning results in personalized shopping experiences. It optimizes and helps modify content to keep the customer journey exciting. Furthermore, you can use it in your chatbots to interact with buyers.
Your eCommerce services online will stay ahead of machine learning and AI. It is personalizing the online shopping experience for more consumers. Hence, you must incorporate it into your online business.
The Rise of Voice Search
Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant have driven online sales through voice search. More consumers crave communicating in their natural language when shopping online for products. Therefore, it is time to optimize your eCommerce business to accommodate voice commands.
Voice-assisted eCommerce transactions are projected to reach $20 billion in 20223, proving their ongoing adoption. So, how do you optimize your eCommerce business for voice commands?
There are several ways, including the following:
Using conversational language in your content
Avoid overly technical words or phrases to provide customers with a more conversational response. You don’t need a chatbot to implement these modifications. Instead, tailor your content to be more casual.
Answer typical questions
Typical questions are often long-tail keywords. So, new content in 2023 should focus on long-tail keywords. That means going beyond your product pages to offer more blog posts about your niche.
Modern consumers are gravitating toward voice searches for online shopping. Refine your SEO strategy to accommodate it as the year goes by.
Mobile-first Content
Mobile-first indexing has grown since its introduction in 2020. Nonetheless, optimizing for mobile devices is still in play.
Everything, from your product pages to your blog posts, should be written for mobile devices first. More product searches happen on mobile today than last year. Also, voice commands are more prevalent on smartphones and tablets.
Mobile shopping is a growing trend that might soon dominate the industry. Brick-and-mortar stores gave way to buyers who shop online. Hence, we can expect more buyers in mobile shopping than desktop.
The Product Schema Markup
The product schema markup is structured data you can implement for your eCommerce website. Others include the following types of structured data that you can implement for your eCommerce website: review, breadcrumb, and organization.
These details enhance the visual appeal of your product offerings. New customers will take more interest when they see shopping features like reviews or ratings on your product listing. As a result, you can increase sales as they come in for online shopping.
Besides the visual appeal of the product schema markup, this information helps a search engine better understand your page. Your page will have a better ranking if it takes less time for the crawl bots to move through it.
Benefits of the Product Schema Markup for SEO
The following are the benefits of using this structured data in your SEO strategy:
- It takes up more space in the Google shopping results.
- It provides quick answers to typical questions.
- It increases the visual appeal of search results.
You can add these details on your own if you have coding experience. Otherwise, contact a website design and development professional to add it.
Virtual Reality
The recently launched Apple Vision will set a new tone for online interactions. Other virtual reality (VR) headsets will also influence and move content from text, images, and videos to virtual worlds.
Augmented reality (AR) is still new, even for Google in organic searches. Online shopping experiences will improve as buyers view products in AR.
Google has rolled out an early adopter program to implement augmented reality in search results. Nonetheless, you can use it to display your best-selling products to those who shop online. That will offer customers a better viewing experience as they review your website's content.
AR can enhance your search listings. Google will add a “View in 3D” button to the products, helping buyers obtain accurate data. They can see how the products look from all sides.
This experience is similar to what you’ll get in-store. We often pick up products and turn them around to see all sides before placing them in the shopping cart.
The User Experience
One thing that hinders buying online is poor website design. You can provide a personalized shopping experience through product recommendations. However, the bounce rate on your website will be high if the page loads slowly.
A good design will keep users on your platform. Also, it is one way to distinguish yourself from many brands selling the same products.
Things to Look Out For
Here are aspects of the user experience to improve if you sell online:
- Page loading speeds
- UX design for navigation
- Engaging elements like photos and videos
The goal is to keep buyers interested long enough to make purchases, making the investment in the user interface and experience worthwhile.
Video Content
Today, more retailers are adding video to their content than ever. That is because videos have higher impressions than text and images. Hence, it is a trend you are better off following in 2023.
Google and other search engines are updating features to improve video results for search queries. They include the following:
- Seek markup: Aspects of your videos might answer specific questions based on user intent. In such cases, Google can highlight those sections for the queries. Seek markup explains your URL structure to Google.
Google will link to that part of your video automatically. Hence, seeking markup should be part of your video SEO strategy for 2023.
- Clip markup: While seek markup is to direct Google, clip markups help users to jump to specific points in your videos. That makes navigation easy, providing information faster.
Let’s assume you have video content on tips for using a product. You can create clip markups for each direction, making it easy for users to go to recommendations that concern them. This is part of the personalized shopping experience mentioned earlier.
Featured Snippets
Featured snippets differ from the search results after entering a search query. They appear as small boxes above the organic results, containing direct replies to the questions.
We’ve had featured snippets for a while. However, they will have more prominence in 2023 than ever before. They provide more direct value than meta-descriptions.
The following are things to consider when optimizing content for featured snippets:
- User intent
- User profile
- Search pattern
Your content should focus more on question-based keywords. You can use the autocomplete feature or forums to find them.
Keep Up With the Trends - Final Thoughts
You can lose loyal customers and retail sales by relaxing your SEO strategy. Unlike digital marketing campaigns that run for specific periods, it is an ongoing optimization. Hence, you must know about new updates that provide a more personalized experience.
Shoppers want a quick shopping experience like the in-store experience. Also, your retail sales depend primarily on your organic rankings.
Search engine optimization continues on online marketplaces and social media platforms. Add it to a well-strategized digital marketing campaign on multiple channels, and you will stay ahead of the game.
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