This content was created by Eric Siu. This content was uploaded by Eric Siu. This is a YouTube video titled "How SEO Is Changing in 2023" (published 2023-02-14). The excerpt is a conversational discussion featuring Eric Siu and another speaker about trends in SEO: diminishing returns from traditional link- and text-focused tactics, the rise of alternative discovery platforms (TikTok, Amazon, Apple), Google shifting toward diversified (video-forward) results, the importance of "information gain"/unique content, the impact of AI-generated content, and the need to diversify content channels (podcasts, LinkedIn, short-form video). Eric Siu appears as a speaker (likely host) in the discussion.
Chapters
SEO as we know it is changing. So recently I just had a conversation with a guy that is leading growth for one of the large crypto exchanges out there, and we're just talking about how the old ways of links, content, and all that, it's changing, right? And that's not to say that links and content won't matter long term, they still will, but we're gonna see diminishing returns. And just how people are behaving now, they're not necessarily always going to Google first and foremost to make their searches, and so Google then has to adapt because because their job is to organize the world's information, but they also don't control as much of the internet as they used to control. They still control a lot, but it's just not as strong anymore because you have TikTok, you have Amazon rising, you have Apple rising. They're also continuing to compete with Meta for attention. And so that's why Google has to also pivot as well.
So first things first is diversified results. And so they understand that a lot of people now, especially Gen Z, they are actually using TikTok as the default search engine. And so they're searching for things there. And so what Google's trying to do is they're actually trying to make the results not always focused on text, showing more videos. They've always showed YouTube videos, but also perhaps showing TikTok videos as well, and also videos from other channels just because they have to. Otherwise they're going to be forced into irrelevancy. They can't force people to use all their platforms, right? And so they have to adapt in that way. And also their algorithm is changing too. There's been a lot of algorithm changes this year, but information gain is the thing because a lot of people are just kind of copying each other. Maybe 500 to 700 results look exactly the same. And so what you have to do is for the content that you're producing, it's got to look different.
You got to bring something new to the table. So even if you bring like 1 or 2 paragraphs of new data or a new story that you can share, that's going to be different than all the other information out there. And so then that's known as information gain, and the algorithms actually like that. And so you have to think about how you can constantly bring it and then bring a unique point of view.
And then, you know, these AI content writers are going to continue to change the game too, because as of right now, I don't think it's possible actually to be able to detect if people are generating unique content from AI. And so you can use a tool like Jasper.ai to do it, and there's kids that are doing homework assignments using a tool like Jasper.ai basically. And, you know, they're turning in their homework assignment to their teachers and the teachers aren't able to detect anything, right? Because You know, we're only so human. Look, the key thing is that you adapt and you don't stay stuck in your ways. It's still very valuable to build a team of content writers. It's still very valuable to, you know, build a media company, but you have to diversify your media company too. So just because you're good at SEO doesn't mean you shouldn't be also attacking on the podcast side of things, the LinkedIn side of things, hitting short-form video as well. You know, not trying to be a one-trick pony, right? Especially on SEO Twitter, they're probably the channel that complains the most, right?
And that's why I don't really follow the SEO community as much anymore, because it's just a lot of complaining. Don't get me wrong, I love SEO.
I started with SEO, but we wouldn't start with SEO SEO nowadays if we're starting from scratch because it's just too competitive. I'm saying like you have to look at the future, you have to look at what's happening and the trends, and you have to be prepared for what's coming.
Let me know what you think in the comments. But before we go, you should check out this video over here because this one gives you practical SEO tips. So this is 12 simple SEO tips to scale. Check it out over here and well, we'll see you over there.
