Search marketing has become a vital tool in any brand’s
digital repertoire. When search marketing was born in the mid-1990s, manual
submission, the Meta keywords tag, and keyword stuffing were all regular parts
of the tactics necessary to rank high. In 2004, link bombing with anchor text,
buying hordes of links from automated blog comment spam injectors, and the
construction of inter-linking farms of websites could all be leveraged for
traffic. In 2011, social media marketing and vertical search inclusion are
mainstream methods for conducting search engine optimization.
Just like everything digital, search marketing has shown
dynamic behaviour, changing and evolving every day. It has transformed from a
marketing tactic, to more of a branding play for brands and search marketing
agencies alike. Brands (primarily with the assistance of a search marketing agency) are
showing a renewed commitment to investing resources in a comprehensive, SEO
optimized web infrastructure that is search engine friendly given the engines’
constant promise to refining their algorithms over time. What does the future
hold for Search Marketing? Let’s take a look at the top trends that will direct
search marketing going ahead:
2014 saw a huge increase in number of clicks and impressions from smartphones,
and mobile isn't slowing down in 2015 either. Marketers spent 49 percent of
their paid search dollars on mobile platforms during the 2014 holiday season,
according to a report from Marin Software, and many marketers expect the focus
on mobile to increase in 2015. With the rising trend of creating a responsive
web presence and giving priority to consumer experience on mobile by brands,
mobile PPC will also take the centre stage in 2015. As mobile searches are
increasing day by day, brands will need to prepare themselves to monetize these
searches in 2015.
Persona Targeting Comes into Play
Search marketing has always been based on keywords. A search marketing
agency has typically advised brands on building their web content
around desired keywords for effective capitalization of their digital
possibilities. This might evolve in 2015 as persona targeting will gain
importance. In the world of online searches, personas are developed based on
how a user interacts with a website (browsing patterns, how they interacted
with the website, etc.). Retargeting allows us to create a bigger pool of potential
consumers based on website interaction. Persona targeting allows brands to look
at what makes the person distinct in real life, thanks to social media data,
and relate that information to both how they acted on the webpage and what
keywords they used.”
All Hail Quality Content
Quality content will
still be the King in 2015. Throughout the past few years, content marketing
emerged as an important trend in the SEO community. In 2015, the significance
of quality content in search marketing will only increase as people have
smartened up in their virtual habits. They are more aware of spam content and
have learned to identify it at the outset. They have become less and less patient
resulting in high bounce rates and lower webpage sessions. Content in 2015 (as
always) will need to be relevant,
engaging, and interesting.
Media Coverage will
be an Important Factor
Working in tandem with your social media marketing agency’s efforts, effective
utilization of industry bloggers and media agencies will lead to increased
mileage in your search marketing initiatives. Google gives a lot of
consideration to industry leading media outlets. Networking with these agencies
and bloggers will be another advisable move in 2015 for search marketing.
Explore Less-Crowded Platforms
Platforms like Bing and Yahoo have lesser traffic; but guess what, they also have less competition (and cost). Marketers would shift a part of their search marketing budgets to capitalize untapped and less-crowded platforms like the ones listed above.
