Looking Ahead:Internet Marketing Trends for 2013

Bernard MayPresident

Adam de JongMarketing Manager

Agenda

SEO trendsSocial and content marketing trendsPaid advertising trendsMo/Lo trendsConversion trendsReputation trendsYour action plan for the new year

SEO Trends

Search algorithms will get more sophisticatedUser experience will increasingly affect rankingsPersonalization will become more prevalent

Search is more Complex

SEO is more Technical

Technical proficiency will become more criticalSite architectureSite performancePage speedRich snippets

SEO Is More ExpensiveSEO is More Expensive

Cost of SEO will continue to increaseRankings matter, but traffic and conversion is more importantTarget long tail keywords that convert

Improving SEO will benefit not just search engine rankings but will help with organic promotion all over the webSEO requires content creation and promotionBlog posts, coupons, classifieds, videos and more

SEO is Internet Marketing

Link Generation

Link diversification will become the normLink trading and 3-way links appear as though they may come back into vogueThe cost of sophisticated links will increaseObvious linking will be ignored/penalized

SEO Takeaways

Keep up with more complex search algorithms by getting more technical

Pay attention to site structure, canonicals, duplicate content

Personalize content for targeted audienceShare quality content offsite—start distributing coupons, classifieds, videos, etc.Diversify your linking strategy

Content & Social Media Trends

Content Value Exchange

Content partnerships will become more common (exchange of value for backlinks)Having quality content will remain essentialStandard for content quality will increase as content improvesGoogle Algorithm will become smarterMore niche experts

Integrating Multimedia

Content integration is keyAs mobile grows, video will become more importantVideo and images dominate more of the Universal Search ResultsVisualization gains popularity due to growth of Pinterest, Infographics, and Instagram

Social Signals Impact SEO

Social will become a somewhat stronger indicator of rankingsSocial will become more imbedded in all aspects of everything we do on the webGoogle+ will integrate with more of the Google worldSponsored content is soon to be the next big paid marketing strategy

Forget the Vanity MetricsCompanies will start to rethink their Social Media campaigns and focus on investing in campaigns that generate ROIEngagement rather than likes, pins and re-tweets will become the measure of success

Content and Social Media Takeaways

Provide a value exchange with quality contentFind your nicheExplore multimedia and integrate it with your content campaignsMake sure your brand has a presence on social media sites that accomplish your goals

Paid Advertising Trends

Paid Search is More Expensive

Click are costly, so you must diversity your PPCAdwords: Text & displaysGoogle Product Listing AdsComparison shopping enginesMarketplacesMobile ads

Retargeting is Key

Retargeting will continue to grow in importanceNew sophisticated ‘cookies’ will track usersMaximize traffic by bringing visitors back to your site

New Focus on Attention Grabbing Ads

Video ads will be more effectiveNew ways to grab user’s attentionRich media gets more sophisticated Dynamic ad content that slide out or down and videos that expand and play with a mouse over

PPC Takeaways

Diversity your paid ad campaigns by targeting specific channelsCreate dynamic ads with visualizationUse retargeting to increase your ROI

Mo/Lo Trends

Explosion of the Mobile Market

Mobile has surpassed desktopTargeting will be done by device type and geotargetingecommerce on mobile will become more elegant and easier to use

Mobile and Local (MOLO) will become integratedLocal Search is becoming increasingly relevant and Local Apps are becoming increasingly importantGoogle will further monetize local search/MapsReviews will continue to influence traffic and sales

Local is Everywhere

Mobile and Local Takeaways

Create a mobile optimized websiteCreate a Google+ local business pageSubmit your business to the top national data providersCreate profiles on the top local review sites such as Yelp, Foursquare and CitySearch

Conversion Trends

Conversion Rate Optimization

Traffic is more expensiveConversion is more importantWeb design and analytics tracking become crucial to your online success

Email still generates strong ROIMobile search has made email more relevant than ever

Email Marketing Going Strong

Use Google AnalyticsImplement conversion testing on your most important webpagesCreate regular email campaigns targeted to specific customer personas

Conversion Takeaways

Reputation Trends

Online Reputation Impacts Sales

57% of users now use search engines to find background online46% of adults have created their own social media profile 72% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations44% of adults have searched for information about someone whose services or advice they seek in a professional capacity

Pew Statistics, "Reputation Management and Social Media" 2012Search Engine Land’s Local Consumer Review Survey – March 2012

Reputation Takeaways

Invest in protecting your brandMonitor your online reputation so that you know what’s being said and how to fix itFocus on improving your online reviews

Respond to negative reviewers –be proactiveEncourage customers to share positive experiences with you or on review sites

Action Plan

Your Action Plan for The New Year

Generating quality offsite content that generate links and drives trafficExploring link diversification and distributionMoving into emerging mobile and local marketsLeveraging social media to get the most ROISegmenting your PPC campaignRetargeting and conversion testing will maximize the value of your trafficOptimize your website for engagement

Q & A