How Can SEOs Prepare for Google Algorithm Updates in 2023?

Author: Guy Sheetrit Updated Date: March 7, 2026 Category: Online marketing , search engine optimization

2023 is finally here, which means it’s time for Google to once again update its mysterious search algorithm – you know, the one that provides the most relevant search results. But how does this affect SEO pundits and professionals worldwide? For a deeper dive, explore our guide on Google Analytics.

For starters, they need to stay abreast of the latest developments and trends so they can incorporate them later into their strategies and ensure their clients receive game-changing creative business advice.

Even though the core SEO activities will remain unchanged in 2023, organic search techniques must take into consideration Google’s growing bias towards websites that are secure, fast, easy to use, and mobile-friendly. To beat the competition in the SEO game nowadays, check out this list of key trends as well as their preparatory measures below: For a deeper dive, explore our guide on Google Knowledge Panel.

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Think About the Rise of Voice-Controlled Digital Assistants and Search Methods

According to Social Media Today, almost 50 percent of users now use voice search to research products. This explains the increasing popularity of digital assistants and voice search. While our smartphones have been voice-search enabled for quite a while now, their accuracy has improved greatly in the last few years due to developments made in the field of natural language search. In fact, it’s now come to a point where voice search almost resembles an intuitive and fluid conversation. All this is instrumental to its widespread adoption.

Major players like Apple, Google, and Amazon are already making headway in the voice search game thanks to products like Siri and Echo Dot. If you want to keep up and also remain relevant, start optimizing for voice search. Here are some ideas:

Focus on Natural Language Queries

The importance of keywords will never phase out of existence, but at the same time, full questions and sentences are gaining traction. Optimize for these by considering the queries you want your site to be known for. Find out your current rank by searching for them. Produce innovative content that answers those queries and also create content that features a more conversational approach to match the phrasing used by people for their queries.

Use Featured Snippets

Answer boxes also termed featured snippets, have always been considered “position zero” when it comes to SERPs, but the rise of voice search has increased their importance. When a voice query’s search result comes with a featured snippet, the answers can be read aloud to the users.

Incorporate bullet or numbered points or even a table of highlights for your content to increase your chances of grabbing a featured snippet. Alternatively, create Q&A type of content.

Optimize for Apps and Actions

Know that users don’t just ask their digital assistants questions; commands are issued too. So, consider methods to optimize your site for the same. Use app indexing or deep linking to provide users with access to your website via voice search.

Prepare for Linkless Link Building

Want to employ the best link-building strategies for your business? Well, linkless link-building is where it’s at! As contradictory as it might seem, linkless link-building is quite effective and works particularly well for small businesses. The truth is, Google algorithm updates like Fred and Penguin have made link-building harder for websites. Employing freebie links or poor link profiles? Well, prepare to get penalized by Google. So, future-proof your SEO in 208 by focusing on long-term, strong link building and appreciating the significance of linkless backlinks.

Develop Long-Term Rapport to Get Quality Backlinks

Try to develop real-world relationships if you wish to get backlinks your competitors covet. Good PR helps you acquire backlinks for every size and type of business. Combine outreach and proper PR to create lasting relationships with good publications to strengthen the referral authority of your website. What’s more, instead of a backlink, even a mention can go a long way.

Monitor and Develop Link-less Mentions

Keep in mind that search engines are now capable of associating brands with mentions, and employ this method to decide the authority of a particular website. Search engine Bing apparently found out how to connect links to mentions a long time ago, and even Google has been doing the same for quite some time now.

So, do not rely only on traditional backlink monitoring. Invest in a quality web monitoring tool to maintain records of your brand mentions and concentrate on PR activities, brand awareness, online reviews, and reputation management.

Choose Mobile-First Indexing

Haven’t yet adopted a mobile-first SEO approach? Well, change that ASAP! With the launch of the highly-anticipated mobile-first index, renew your focus on the mobile side of things. Considering how 52.99 percent of web traffic came from mobile devices until the third quarter of 2017, according to Statista, make sure your site is compatible with mobile devices as most users who reach your website now will use their smartphones or search on the go.

Ramp Up the Speed

Pay attention to the speed of your website because that affects SEO, especially on mobile devices. According to a SOASTA study, 53 per cent of mobile visits get abandoned after 3 seconds. So, your site needs to load within that time. Check your site speed with tools like Pingdom or be aware of images, JavaScript and other objects that can bloat the website.

Provide Content Through Design

Google’s search quality evaluator guidelines reveal that mobile users search for different content compared to desktop users. Remember that someone using a desktop computer will always search for a certain number of settings, but mobile users have the opportunity to be anywhere at any moment.

Thus, get a truly future-ready mobile site once you become capable of responding to the user context. Think it sounds futuristic? Well, there are already several ways how you can achieve this, especially when it comes to e-commerce sites. For a deeper dive, explore our guide on E-Commerce SEO Services.

Rely on the Power of Instant Apps, AMP, and Progress Web Applications

Google has always made the user experience a priority, and brands have been encouraged to do the same. Think your app or site already offers users a great experience? Well, then stick to your strengths. However, in case you wish for an upgrade, check out the following options:

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) – Google has been trying to push its “lightning-fast” web solution for mobile to SEOs ever since it launched. The company has decided to make it quicker and more engaging for the program to become more popular.
Android Instant Applications: Share and access these apps through a link without downloading it entirely. Through this process, mix some of the benefits of mobile sites with the app experience.
Progressive Web Apps: These are mobile web that resembles an app, capable of online functionality as well as combining some of the pros of applications into the mobile web framework.

Embrace Machine Learning and AI

Did you know that Google has slowly increased the use of machine learning and AI in the algorithms used for ranking purposes? These algorithms do not follow a preset course of rules but grow and learn every day. The question is, how do you optimize artificial intelligence? And the answer is, you don’t. Maintain the basic SEO best practices, and your site will continue to perform well. Always keep an eye on the latest news and become familiar with the important ranking factors.

Concluding Remarks

Keep an eye out for new changes made to the SEO mechanism made by Google. In the meantime, follow the tips given above to prepare for the coming algorithm updates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is this guide about?

This comprehensive guide provides strategies and best practices for achieving success. Following these approaches can help improve your results and competitive advantage.

Q: How long does it take to see results?

Results vary. Most strategies require 3-6 months before significant improvements. Ongoing optimization and consistency are essential for sustainable success.

Q: Do I need professional help?

While basic implementation can be done independently, professional guidance often accelerates results and helps avoid costly mistakes.

Q: What are the most important factors for success?

Key factors include thorough research, consistent execution, quality over quantity, regular performance monitoring, and adapting to industry changes.

Q: How do I measure success?

Track KPIs like traffic, conversions, revenue, and engagement rates. Regular analysis helps identify areas for improvement.

Q: What channels should I focus on?

Most businesses benefit from SEO, content marketing, social media, and paid advertising. Start where your target audience is most active.

The Evolution of Digital Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing has transformed dramatically over the past decade, evolving from simple banner advertisements to sophisticated, data-driven strategies that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning. Understanding this evolution provides context for developing effective modern marketing strategies that resonate with today’s consumers.

Modern digital marketing requires integrated approaches combining multiple channels into cohesive customer experiences. The most successful businesses recognize that consumers interact with brands through complex journeys spanning multiple devices and platforms.

Content Marketing Best Practices

Content remains the foundation of successful digital marketing, serving as the primary mechanism for attracting organic traffic, building brand authority, and engaging target audiences. Effective content addresses specific search queries while providing genuine value to readers through comprehensive answers and actionable insights.

Data-Driven Marketing Decisions

Modern marketing success depends on sophisticated analytics enabling data-driven decisions. Understanding which metrics connect to business outcomes allows continuous optimization and improved return on investment through testing and iterative improvement.

Building Brand Authority

Establishing thought leadership provides significant competitive advantages including increased brand awareness and customer trust. Effective thought leadership addresses emerging trends, challenges conventional wisdom, and provides actionable guidance.

Maximizing Marketing ROI

Proving marketing ROI requires clear objectives, sophisticated tracking, and continuous optimization. The most successful marketing organizations treat marketing as an investment delivering measurable returns through continuous testing.

Learn More: Home

The Modern Link Building Landscape: What Actually Works in 2025

Google’s link quality assessment has evolved dramatically since the original PageRank algorithm. Today, links are evaluated not just for authority metrics (DA, DR) but for topical relevance, anchor text distribution, traffic verification, and editorial context. A single link from a genuinely relevant, trafficked page on a real publication can outvalue 50 links from low-traffic “authority” blogs.

The sites winning in competitive SERPs today are earning links through a combination of digital PR, content-based outreach, and systematic relationship building — not bulk outreach or link schemes.

Link Acquisition Strategies With the Best ROI in 2025

Original Research and Data: Proprietary studies, surveys, and datasets generate passive links for years. A survey of 500 industry professionals with interesting findings will get picked up by journalists, bloggers, and industry publications without active outreach. Tools like Typeform (survey), Screaming Frog (data collection), and Data.gov (public datasets) make this accessible even for small teams.
Journalist Sourcing (HARO/Connectively/Qwoted): Responding to journalist queries with expert commentary is one of the highest-ROI link building activities available. A 15-minute response to the right query can land a link on Forbes, Inc., or a major industry publication. Response rate improves dramatically with specific data points, contrary opinions, and named expert attribution.
Broken Link Building at Scale: Use Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify broken outbound links on high-authority pages in your niche. Create replacement content, then notify the linking site. Conversion rates of 5-15% are common because you’re solving their problem, not creating one.
Strategic Guest Posting: Guest posting still works when done selectively. Target publications where your target customers actually read, with real editorial standards, on topics directly aligned with your core content pillars. One guest post on the right site beats 20 on generic “write for us” directories.
Unlinked Brand Mentions: Use Ahrefs Alerts or Brand24 to monitor mentions of your brand without a link. A simple, polite email requesting a link converts at 20-40% — they already think you’re worth mentioning.

Link Velocity and Natural Profile Development

Google’s algorithms detect unnatural link acquisition patterns — sudden spikes in links, uniform anchor text distribution, links from the same IP ranges, or links appearing faster than a site’s content cadence would logically generate.

A natural link profile looks like: varied anchor text (branded, naked URL, topically relevant, generic), diverse referring domains (not all in the same niche), links appearing over time correlated with content publication, and a mix of dofollow and nofollow links (nofollow links from real sources are a positive signal, not neutral).

If you’re conducting active link building, mirror natural patterns: acquire 5-10 links from a campaign, then pause outreach for 2-3 weeks before the next push. This pacing looks more organic and reduces algorithmic sensitivity. For a deeper dive, explore our guide on Conducting SEO Audit Scratch.

Auditing Your Existing Link Profile

Before building new links, audit what you have. Toxic or low-quality links can drag down otherwise strong pages. Monthly link audits should check for:

Links from domains with spam scores above 30 (Moz) or Trust Flow below 10 (Majestic)
Links from hacked/compromised sites (sudden drops in referring domain traffic)
Over-optimized anchor text patterns (more than 20% of links using the same exact-match keyword)
Links from clearly irrelevant industries or foreign-language sites with no logical connection

For genuinely toxic links, first attempt removal via email outreach. If unsuccessful after two attempts, submit a disavow file through Google Search Console. The disavow tool is not a cure-all — use it surgically, not as a routine maintenance step.

By Guy Sheetrit
Feb 6, 2018