The world of local SEO is a moving target. As search engines evolve, so do how businesses can optimize their online presence. In this post, we’ll look at some of the trends shaping local SEO in 2023.
Universal search
One of the most important trends affecting local SEO is universal search. This feature of Google allows users to search for local businesses, products, news, and images in one easy step. It also provides results based on both location and keywords. This hugely impacts local businesses trying to optimize their online presence!
To succeed with universal search, you need to know how your customers search for your business online. You can use tools like Google Trends and Keyword Planner to discover which phrases people use when looking for services like yours and what keywords they’re searching. Then make sure you’re optimizing those pages with relevant meta descriptions, headings tags, and title tags so that they come up at the top of Google’s results when someone searches for them (this process is known as “on-page optimization“).
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), a lightweight version of HTML, is one of the most important SEO trends for local businesses to understand in 2019. If you’re not already familiar with it and its implications for search engine rankings, you should be.
AMP pages are built on AMP HTML—a custom markup language created by Google that helps speed up mobile webpages. AMP pages load faster than standard web pages because they’re designed to prioritize content and remove unnecessary elements like ads or fancy design elements that may slow down load times. They also contain fewer plug-ins—which can lead to slower loading times—and are more interactive and engaging than traditional static websites thanks to rich media content, including videos and slideshows that play right away when you open them).
Knowledge Graph
Google Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base that provides structured data about people, places, and things. It’s a database of over 1 billion facts and is available to Google Search and other Google products. The Knowledge Graph can be accessed through the sidebar in the SERPs (search engine results pages) and on mobile devices, where it appears as an information card below the main search result. Users can check out everything from their favorite celebrities’ birthdays to their hometowns—and even see what languages they speak!
Schema data
Schema data is one of the most useful tools for local SEO. It is used to tell search engines what your content is about, so when someone searches for a specific thing (like “coffee shops in Manhattan”), Google knows which results are most relevant.
Schema can be used on both desktop and mobile platforms. The latter is especially beneficial because it helps users find businesses in their area more easily.
Mobile optimization
Mobile optimization will be a major focus of local SEO in the year ahead. If you’re not optimizing your website for mobile users, you’re missing out on a huge portion of the market.
It’s important to remember that not all searches are created equal—and many potential customers will be referencing their phones when looking for businesses like yours. Your business must appear in these searches if you want to get noticed and attract new customers.
Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. With over 6 billion people worldwide owning smartphones today (and many more expected by 2023). It makes sense that this trend will continue accelerating next year and beyond!
Closed captioning
Closed captioning is a way to add text to a video. It can be used by people with hearing loss, language barriers, and disabilities such as dyslexia or learning disabilities that make reading difficult. It also helps children learn how to read and write.
A good example of closed captions is in the movie theater: during the show, you’ll see words appear on screen so you can understand what’s going on even if you don’t speak the same language as the actors.
Voice search optimization
The future of search is not just about voice. It’s the most natural way to interact with a device, especially when you need to get something done quickly.
Over the next few years, voice search will be more than just a trend. It’s here to stay, and marketers should pay attention and plan accordingly.
In 2019 alone, Google did more than 20 billion searches via voice—nearly double the number of searches it did in 2018! This rapid increase shows that we are moving away from keyboards as our primary method for interacting with devices.
Voice has been available for quite some time now. Still, marketers must keep up with this rapidly changing landscape if they want their business to succeed online in any way, shape, or form.
Conclusion
In general, the local SEO is changing. Local search engines and location-based services are becoming more important than ever. The key to ensuring your business stays relevant in this digital age is to be aware of these trends and how they affect your website’s performance. By following these tips, you can ensure that you’re prepared for whatever comes next in local search optimization!
