# The SEO work that keeps paying off, year after year https://smartwebutah.com/year-in-review-top-seo-strategies-of-2023/ Fast pages, a site that works on a phone, sensible use of AI, local listings and genuinely useful content: the five SEO habits that outlast trends. December 23, 2023 · Seth Shoultes Every year brings a fresh batch of SEO (search engine optimization) trends, and most of them fade. When I look back over what actually moved small-business websites up the search results, the same five things come up again and again. None of them is new. All of them still work. If you only have time to work on a few things this year, work on these. ## 1\. Make your pages fast and steady Google measures how your pages feel to a real visitor with three scores it calls Core Web Vitals: - **Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):** how long the main content takes to appear. Aim for under 2.5 seconds. - **Interaction to Next Paint (INP):** how quickly the page responds when someone taps or clicks. Aim for under 200 milliseconds. (This replaced an older score, First Input Delay, in 2024.) - **Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):** whether things jump around as the page loads, so you tap the wrong button. Aim for under 0.1. Those targets come from [Google’s own guidance](https://web.dev/articles/vitals). I explain them in plain terms on the [Core Web Vitals](https://smartwebutah.com/what-are-core-web-vitals/) page, and my [site speed](https://smartwebutah.com/wordpress-site-speed-seo-the-technical-optimization-masterclass/) post covers how to improve them on a WordPress site. The scores are only half of it. A site people enjoy using is one with a clear layout, simple navigation, and text that is easy to read. Make it usable by everyone, too: alt text on images (a short description for people who cannot see them), content that works with a screen reader, and menus you can use without a mouse. ## 2\. Build for the phone first Most people will meet your site on a phone. Design for the small screen first and let it grow for larger ones, not the other way round. - Big, easy-to-tap buttons and readable text without zooming. - Short paragraphs and a simple menu. - A secure connection (the padlock and “https” in the address bar). Visitors expect it, and browsers warn people away from sites without it, especially anywhere they enter a card number. ## 3\. Use AI as an assistant, not an author AI tools have changed how a lot of SEO work gets done. They are good at the legwork: suggesting the longer, more specific phrases people search for, spotting what a searcher is really after, drafting outlines and descriptions, and sorting through data that would take a person hours. They are not a replacement for knowing your business. A page an AI wrote on its own tends to say what every other page says. Use the tools to go faster, then put your own experience, examples and judgment into what you publish. I go further into this in [the role of AI in SEO](https://smartwebutah.com/the-role-of-ai-in-seo-whats-next-for-2024/). ## 4\. Win your neighborhood For any business that serves customers in a particular area, local search is where the work pays off fastest. - Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current, with fresh photos and regular posts. - Ask for reviews, and answer every one, good and bad. - Get specific: write about the neighborhoods, landmarks and local events your customers know, not just the city name. - Answer the questions people actually ask out loud, such as “where’s the nearest tire shop?”, since that is how people talk to their phones. My guide to [five local SEO steps](https://smartwebutah.com/5-essential-local-seo-strategies-for-small-business-owners/) goes through each of these. ## 5\. Publish things worth reading Content is still what brings most visitors in, but only content that helps. - **Write from experience.** Google’s guidelines for judging quality look for experience, expertise, authority and trust (people in the trade shorten this to E-E-A-T). Say who wrote the piece and why they know the subject. - **Answer the question fully.** A thorough page that answers the searcher’s question, and the next two they will have, beats a thin one. Long for its own sake does not help. - **Mix it up.** Photos, a short video or a simple diagram can explain what a paragraph cannot. - **Add structured data.** A small piece of hidden code (schema markup) tells search engines what a page is about, and can earn richer listings in the results, such as star ratings or event dates. - **Favor what lasts.** A guide that stays true for years keeps bringing in visitors long after a news post has gone quiet. ## What you get A site that loads fast, works on any phone, shows up in your neighborhood, and says something useful will keep climbing long after this year’s trends are forgotten. That is the work I would put first. If you would like a hand with any of it, call me on 801-688-8590 or email [seth@smartwebutah.com](mailto:seth@smartwebutah.com). ## Want help with this? Call or email and I'll tell you whether you need it. [Talk to Seth](https://smartwebutah.com/contact/) Or read [how I help people get found](https://smartwebutah.com/website-promotion-seo/).