4 Trends SEO and Digital Marketers Need to Adapt in 2014 to Survive

Focus on high quality content, build credible backlinks, reach out to the mobile audience, etc. are some of the commonly found advice on digital marketing platforms.

But there are a few other things marketers need to focus their attention this year.

They include:

Data Driven Approach
It’s all about how well you can understand and use data to improve marketing strategies. A report on Forbes quoted research company Gartner that there could be around 4.4 million data related jobs within the next two years.

Specialized services where a client’s data is gathered and analyzed to optimize sales, optimize price strategizing, suggest new services, or customize existing packages are the trend today.

But before this could be offered as a service, data study culture should be first incorporated within the company.

This can be done by;
a) Training Staff to Study Basic Study: If a culture of data based approach is to be integrated within the company, everyone has to be trained to understand basic tools like Google Analytics.

This helps them converse better with clients or streamline their work. It also helps to reduce the burden on qualified data reporting staff- they need not be inundated with request from other staff.

b) Identifying qualified staff to understand and interpret deeper data: Needless to say, important data need not be shared with everyone.

This job can be entrusted to a team of experts who work on multiple reports required for the company.

Customizing Content:

We all know that high quality content can never become outdated. But marketers will have to make the shift from promotional content to valuable content. Companies can use their knowledge in their niche to produce information relevant to their consumers.

This information in turn becomes a promoting tool for the company. The idea is to create content that resonates with the audience and get them to react.

Visual Content:
This could include videos, infographics, social media photos, etc. A scientific study has pointed that our brains are trained to process around 75% of visual information.

The figures are much less for information that’s processed through content presented without visual effects. An average internet user, they say, watches around 35 videos per month.

Also, the compulsion to buy a product is far more effective when presented through a video or through a photo. Information shared through an infographic stays in the mind for a longer period.

Shift Focus from Link building to Brand Building:

All these years, we’ve been told that link building was the sole purpose of SEO. But after a series of Google updates, the SEO segment is much more mature than it was earlier.

The focus has now shifted towards brand building.

Some effective brand building strategies could include;

a) Brand building through employees: How are your employees talking about your brand online? Is there something unique about your employees that help them identify elsewhere?

b) Google Authorship: Google prefers to rank content written by certain authors than others.

It’s no longer enough to focus on straightforward strategies like social media marketing or content marketing. The idea is to identify individual needs of companies and come up with a strategy that is customized accordingly.

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5 comments

Sunday April 21, 2014 - 10:11 am
Engaging in Data Driven approach and Brand building are the most significant trends digital marketers should employ in 2014. Online marketing and strategizing are based on these two trends. This is not to say that creating and sharing visual and valuable content are not important. A proper balance in the use of data driven approach and proper link building must be carried out! This comment was shared in kingged.com - the social bookmarking and content syndication website for Internet marketers where this post was shared. Sunday - kingged.com contributor http://kingged.com/4-trends-seo-digital-marketers-adapt-2014-survive/
Arun Kallarackal April 22, 2014 - 3:41 am
Focusing more on improving and enhancing brand is what will matter the most from now on, I guess. I agree that so far, the focus has been on building backlinks. But that trend is going to change for good from now. Of course, link building will be here to stay. But brand development will have much more importance the link building. Another thing that I liked much in the article is the mention of visual content. Sure, it is going to see a rise in its use. Making good use of it will give a good advantage from SEO point of view. Especially infographics and videos can be used well. I found the link to this post on Kingged. I'll upvote and Kingg it there! Arun
Ryan Biddulph April 22, 2014 - 4:45 am
Understanding and using data to the best of your ability is key. Watching trends matters much but if you do not get what you are analzying, you're doomed. I'm huge on visual marketing. People seem to love eye candy, so I say, why not simply appeal to their needs? Use videos, imagery and other forms of visual content to appeal to your market. Power post. I found it on Kinnged.com, and will vote it up.
Ann07 April 24, 2014 - 2:10 pm
Certainly, both SEO and digital marketers should put an attention and focus on these four trends in order to live and win. As for my opinion, what will matter the most nowadays is your knowledge to use data in improving your marketing strategies. All of these trends given are worthy to be engaged in. This article is indeed helpful and informative. Thanks for sharing us such interesting blog content! Best, Ann07 By the way, I found this post shared on kingged.com
Poulami Ghosh May 1, 2014 - 12:22 am
Hi ZK, Thanks for sharing this great content.The tips you mentioned above are very helpful and informative.Looking forward to your next post.
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