All Internet marketing agencies know that advertising and marketing brands on the web is more of an art than a science. SEO, social media marketing and more are all constantly-evolving fields, and it’s nearly impossible to perfect one’s online marketing strategy before a new Google regulation comes along.
In 2014, this rapid-fire evolution of online marketing was no different, and the changes that we saw take place over the course of the year will make for a very interesting 2015.
Here’s a brief list of some of our favorite and least favorite trends in the world of online marketing solutions that took place throughout 2014:
Best: The embracing of content marketing
Online marketing companies and SEO companies continued to understand how important it is to create high-quality content that engages and informs the end user. This was highlighted further when Google released its annual search engine algorithm updates, which were intended to be even more vigilant against spammy or duplicate content. Moving into 2015, it’s clear that content is king — especially when companies that regularly post to their blogs will receive five times more web traffic than those that don’t, and 97% more inbound links.
Worst: Social media’s decline as a source of organic reach
Once considered in the upper echelon of tools used by online marketing agencies, social media’s SEO efficacy continued to dwindle in 2014. Facebook’s organic reach for brands that use it is now less than 50%, meaning fewer people are using social media as a way to discover brands without being subjected to paid promotions.
Best: Mobile marketing’s ascent
In 2014, mobile web use surpassed desktop Internet browsing for the first time in history. For online marketing agencies, this marked a significant change. Now, it’s no longer optional to market to mobile web users — things like responsive web design and mobile video ads are a thing that every brand must embrace to get ahead from now on. And when mobile marketing is much more effective than traditional web marketing, brands stand to reap some major benefits from doing so.
Worst: Google makes it harder to access keyword data
In 2014, website owners found that they could no longer access their sites’ organic keyword data or branded keywords like they once could. This Google update made things pretty difficult for SEO professionals and online marketing agencies that had relied on this keyword data to track a campaign’s success. Moving into 2015, companies will have to rely more on paid advertising and AdWords in order to get ahead in the SEO race.
What were your favorite and least favorite things that online and SEO marketing companies did throughout 2014? Share with us by leaving a comment below!
