Last December the Anvil team harnessed its crystal ball, stared into the future of digital marketing, and delivered an advantageous set of predictions for the 2013 digital marketing landscape. Fortunately, the Mayan’s crystal ball was malfunctioning and the prediction about the end of the world was debunked. So Anvil is taking this opportune moment to review the accuracy of our 2013 search engine and social media marketing predictions.
2013 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Predictions:
AuthorRank: On September 27, 2013 Google Webmaster Tools Analyst John Mueller stated that AuthorRank is not a factor in ranking search results at the present time. However, for some time now Google Webmaster Tools has been providing search metrics for an author’s Google Authorship-related content demonstrating that Google is still tracking and accumulating this data. Although Google claims the data is not yet being used for search ranking purposes, it is still very much interested in utilizing it to boost “subject area authorities” in search. The key takeaway here – Anvil’s timeline for this prediction was a bit premature, but we highly suggest that you begin building your AuthorRank now.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: B
Big Data Integration: As predicted, the availability of Big Data had a significant impact on digital marketing plans across various industries. Nothing illustrates this better than the infographic from bigdata-startups.com indicating that in 2013 investors allocated three quarters of the total investment value from 2008-2012 to big data startups. Investors, companies, and individual marketers are keen to the fact that using big data is an effective way of drawing insights into consumer behavior and generating greater value from marketing campaigns. As an increasing number of organizations acquire access to big data, the need for analytics specialists continues to grow. Analytics specialists’ futures are as bright as the results they deliver.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A
Interactive Content: “74% of businesses believe user experience is key for improving sales” according to the User Experience Survey conducted by Econsultancy. Interactive tools offer the kind of “stickiness” that marketers and brands are willing to shell out money for. According to Forrester Research, “rich digital media is not just a trend; it’s the future of advertising. Agencies leveraging innovative design tools and technology have proven their effectiveness in driving higher engagement online in a cluttered Web environment.” The movement toward interactive content is just beginning.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A+
Less Value Placed on Keyword Targeted External Links: The value of keyword targeted external links has been debated by search engine optimization experts for quite some time. In recent months search engine representatives have subtly hinted on multiple locations that certain elements in the algorithm reward external links to quality sites. Considering the frequency at which this algorithm changes, it is hard to state whether or not this ranking factor declined throughout the year.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: F
Volatile Search Engine Rankings: Since the introduction of Google Social Search in 2009, social media has become a prominent ranking factor. There is no evidence that social media has caused volatility in search rankings. There is potential for reaching stability. A scientific correlation study performed by Dr. Matt Peters and the Moz Data Science Team revealed that “after Page Authority, a URL’s number of Google +1s is more highly correlated with search rankings than any other factor.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: C
Pay-per-Click (PPC): Google AdWords rolled out Enhanced Campaigns during 2013. The move from Legacy to Enhanced campaigns was accompanied by several significant changes, the major change being the ability to manage campaigns across multiple devices. Speculators suggested this to be an attempt to increase mobile advertising revenue. On the mark? Yea, we were dead on.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A+
Mobile Marketing: According to a study performed by the UN in 2013, approximately 85.71% of the world’s population have access to mobile phones while only 64.28% have access to toilets. A shockingly real statistic. As mobile usage continues to increase dramatically year over year, tracking visitor usage data has become a top priority for digital marketers, just as the Anvil team suspected. According to Google and Nielsen, 73% of mobile searches trigger additional action and conversion. Based on this information alone, all marketers should feel driven to develop a mobile strategy.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A+
Conversion Optimization: Focus on conversion optimization is at a high and deemed crucial by marketers. Yet, marketing analysts are still frustrated by the elementary state of the tools that are readily available to them. Google Analytics launched a new technology to users that uses algorithmic models and reports to detail attribution. Data-Driven Attribution has been proclaimed an extremely useful tool. To the dismay of a majority of Analytics users, this feature is solely available to premium users. Fingers crossed that this feature is rolled out to all users in 2014.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A
Social Media Marketing Predictions in 2013:
The Rise of Social Search: Due to a loss of traffic in 2013, Facebook was unable to reach competitor status with Google. Our prediction was a bit off in this case.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: F
Visual Marketing: Images > text. Gifs, infographics, etc. experienced a sort of renaissance during 2013. Today, both gifs and infographics have flooded the Internet, our inboxes, our lives. Gareth Cook explains that “in the era of big data, where information moves faster than ever, infographics provide us with quick, often influential bursts of art and knowledge—on the environment, politics, social issues, health, sports, arts and culture, and more—to digest, to tweet, to share, to go viral.” Anvil’s prediction = 100% correct.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A+
Facebook Growing Pains: Facebook’s battles are never-ending. The social networking mogul’s necessity to monetize the platform, desire to replace Twitter as a vital news source, and its ever-changing demographic continue to plague the company’s growth. Anvil expected the ad offerings to progress towards the maturity and stability of AdWords. Small steps were taken to improve targeting and analytics, but in order to expand its advertising life-cycle bigger opportunities need to be explored.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: A
Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Predictions 2013:
Google+ Local Gets a Paid Option: Google, you really let the local businesses down this year. Despite the multitude of pleas from local businesses, paying for an enhanced listing is still not an option on Google+ Local. On the bright side, there is a new Google+ Local layout!
Prediction Accuracy Grade: D
Apple Will Launch Its Own Local Listings: Didn’t happen.
Prediction Accuracy Grade: F
Overall, the Anvil team’s crystal ball seems to be working about as well as a weatherman’s daily predictions. Please feel free to share any feedback that you have on the 2013 digital marketing landscape.
*Research completed by Niki Grambo.