The top 2023 marketing and SEO strategies are 100% focused on the customer. The brands that succeed are the brands that know, respect, and connect with their customers.

You need to know your customer. You need to understand their challenges and needs. You need to communicate in simple language (hint: ditch the jargon). You need to connect and be relatable.

To succeed in 2023, you need to know the top marketing trends and SEO strategies that put you in front of your customer.

To succeed in 2023, you need to start doing the work now.

SEO and Google Statistics You Need to Know

Keep these SEO and Google statistics in mind as you build your 2023 marketing and SEO strategies:

1. 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
2. 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search.
3. 92.96% of global traffic comes from Google Search, Google Images, and Google Maps.
4. SEO drives 1,000%+ more traffic than organic social media.
5. 60% of marketers say that inbound (SEO, blog content, etc.) is their highest quality source of leads.
6. 12.29% of search queries have featured snippets in their search results.
7. The #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average click through rate of 27.6%.
8. The top three Google search results get 54.4% of all clicks.
9. There are an estimated 3.5 billion searches on Google each day.

Top 3 Marketing Trends for 2023

These top 3 marketing trends are critical to your brand success in 2023:

1) Content Continues to be King and Queen

Your content matters. Blogs, videos, case studies, social media posts, infographics, glossaries, and every single page on your website needs to be customer-centric. Your customers want information, and they are looking for brands that can answer their questions and solve their problems.

For example, use your blog to educate, inform, and connect with your customers. An ideal blog combines scientifically backed facts with content that informs and entertains in a relatable and friendly voice.

2) Focus on the Customer Experience

Research your customers and understand how they use the internet. For your highly informed and educated customers, give them case studies and thought leadership content that goes beyond the obvious facts. For customers new to your niche, give them blogs, short-form videos, and infographics that quickly and clearly answer their questions.

Google ranks content that prioritizes a good user experience at the top of their search results. Treat Google like a customer and remember the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

3) AI and Machine Learning Make Inroads

Predictive analytics, crunching your website traffic data, natural language processing, and delivering personalized content are key to a smarter, stronger, and more responsive marketing strategy.

AI and machine learning tools give marketing teams insight into who they should target, how they should target these people, and what their target market wants and needs. Ultimately, AI and machine learning tools can help you turn clicks into sales.

How to Use SEO in 2023

Think of SEO as the bedrock of your marketing strategy. Successful brands are the brands that, year-after-year, get the essentials of SEO right.

Remember: Everything starts with a Google search.

As you build your 2023 marketing strategy, make sure you have these SEO essentials working for you:

1. E-A-T: As an YMYL brand, you need to make your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness obvious to Google. Every piece of content – blogs, videos, social media, web page, case studies, and more – need to reinforce E-A-T.
2. Voice Search: Your customers and marketplace are mobile. This means they use voice search a lot. Think about how you ask questions vs. how you type questions. Write your content the way you speak. Short sentences. Simple language. Avoid jargon. Answer questions directly.
3. Complex Queries: Google wants to give people all the information they need about any given topic. This means you need to go beyond the basic information and be the go-to resource for your industry and niche. For example, when writing about your ingredients, include the benefits, sources, scientific studies, recommended daily amounts, and any other details that help customers make informed decisions.
4. Featured Snippets: People trust the first organic search result they see, and this is typically a Featured Snippet. To win Featured Snippets, you need to create content that directly answers customer problems. Take advantage of lists, FAQs, how-to’s, and one- and two-line sentences that address search intent.
5. Core Web Vitals: A positive user experience is Google’s top priority. Google uses Core Web Vitals to measure the quality of your website and web pages. Focus on a fast page loading speed, minimizing pop-up ads, a secure website (HTTPS), and an easy-to-use mobile experience.

Building Your 2023 SEO and Marketing Strategy

Your 2023 marketing and SEO strategy needs to be 100% customer focused.

Be there for your customers. Give them the support and information they need. When you do this, you build brand loyalty and trust.

Focus on getting the SEO essentials right: customer research, knowing search intent, creating high-quality content, E-A-T, and being where your customers expect you to be.

2023 success is all about Google search results.

Related: Why Marketing Matters Most During a Recession Giving Google and Your Customers What They Want