Press ReleasesSearch marketing is integral to all that happens online, think about it, search accounts for 58% of all digital advertising spend according to the IAB’s latest adspend study. It’s a huge business and it pays to know what it’s about. We thought you might like to understand more about search and delve deeper into the murky world of SEO.
Search marketing – a quick overview
It was only in the early 90′s that the internet started to become a mainstream communication channel; as households gained access to faster internet connections, companies began to build websites for sales and marketing purposes. This in turn brought the need for companies such as Yahoo, Altavista and Google to appear as the web space became more crowded and information needed to be organised in a sensible way.
Search marketing was born.
With more and more websites competing for attention on a daily basis, brands had to find ways to make themselves heard among the noise. Since search engines used certain algorithms to index and rank web pages, brands and marketers started to think of ways to understand these algorithms in order to improve their ranks for specific keyword searches, and they’ve been playing a cat and mouse game with the search engines ever since.
Where next for brands?
Keeping abreast of Google’s algorithm updates
Google are just like any other business, just bigger. The company has to innovate to stay top of its game and improve its service for consumers; that’s exactly what the intention is with the repeated search algorithm updates.
The problem arises when businesses are trying to use Google as a marketing mechanism. As our last blog post detailed, search engine optimisation is an art form which can offer substantial ROI, but brands need to know what Google are planning to ensure they’re planning is in sync with Google’s strategy.
What brands should always bear in mind is that the consumer is at the heart of everything; if you’re optimising content for Google make sure it’s still entertaining otherwise it’s going to make no difference whether your brand is featured at the top of Google rankings or not. Content should always be king, and your consumers should be at the heart of your campaign, keep Google in mind and know how to play the SEO game, but don’t let it dictate your play!
The latest of Google’s algorithm iterations is all about real time search, which means regular content will succeed and static content will struggle. I for one think this is a good thing as it keeps the internet fresh and current, exactly what it’s most used for.