Are you prepared for this year’s new digital marketing environment? Whether you’re sure you have your strategy locked down or you’re still trying to find the best approach, shaping campaigns always starts with knowledge. The more you know about what you’re up against, the better you can react to it and adapt.
Make the most of the coming year with this list of 10 critical marketing strategy statistics. From what matters the most in terms of specs to special new strategies you should consider, this list has a little something for everyone.
Overview
Mobile Pages Must be Fast
Google recently announced algorithm changes that make mobile page speed a significant ranking factor. If you haven’t yet mobile optimized your website, or if your mobile port is poorly optimized, your page loading speed may suffer as a result.
Just how fast is fast enough? This article claims that mobile websites with a loading time of 3 seconds or less enjoy bounce rates nearly four times lower than sites that take up to 10 seconds to load. If you’re closer to the long end of this spectrum, reassess your elements and media to see if there’s anything you can trim back.
Start Ranking for Voice Search
WordStream claims that 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020. Think that’s too far in the distant future? It’s actually just a year and a half away, meaning you should start laying out a path to optimize for voice search results now, rather than waiting.
You can improve your voice search ranking by targeting common conversational phrases people commonly ask, like “Find me the telephone number for Red Lobster,” or “Where is the nearest library?”
Increase Your Average Content Length
Long-form content is becoming longer once again. What originally started as a preference for 500-word articles quickly moved to 750 words, then 900 words, then 1,000 words. This year, some resources are showing the best average content length for conversions to be around 1,800 words.
Be prepared to include more of this long-form content, but don’t forget to swap in shorter, snappier pieces, especially for social media and mobile sharing campaigns. The goal is always to strike a balance and keep it useful.
Shopping Cart Reminders Work
Experian, a big data analysis company, recently held a study on whether or not shopping cart reminders (emails letting shoppers know they didn’t complete their purchase) work. They found that shoppers who received at least two to three emails were 2.4 times more likely to follow through by coming back to the site and processing the payment.
Our recommendations here are to make shopping cart reminders a part of your e-commerce infrastructure, but be cautious about sending emails too often. Reminders that happen more than once a day may be perceived as spammy.
LinkedIn is Growing in Popularity
Is your B2B business on LinkedIn yet? Are you making LinkedIn a significant part of your marketing campaign? If the answer is no, or if you aren’t focusing on the platform, you may be missing out. The Content Marketing Institute reports that 94 percent of all B2B businesses now use LinkedIn. When they do, they greatly improve trust for consumers if they approach it right.
InfoGraphics are Still Relevant
Infographics can be incredibly useful because they present a significant amount of data in an easily digested format. This is especially true in technical industries and B2B marketing, where statistics and terms may be the norm. Perhaps that’s why Jesse Mawhinney from HubSpot is reporting that utilization of infographics is up by nearly eight percent since last year alone. Mawhinney also claims that infographics are better at directing people to take specific information-driven actions, like signing up or buying a service.
Google is Still King
There’s a lot of buzz around other search engines right now, including Bing and some device-specific search engines. You should at least consider Bing in your campaigns, but in all reality, Google remains king. They’re still responsible for channeling through 96 percent of all smartphone searches and around 94 percent of all organic traffic. This includes voice search, text search, and image search to the tune of 63,000 searches every single minute.
Long-Tail Search Targeting Improves Conversions
Do you target long-tail and semantic search phrases? If you haven’t yet made this a part of your SEO plan, now is the time. This HubSpot article claims that 50 percent of all searches now contain a minimum of four words (and sometimes more). This means the old methods of using a single keyword just aren’t as effective anymore.
The best way to implement long-tail and semantics is to target phrases people actually use when searching Google. Head on over to the search bar; start typing a few related keywords. Watch the suggestions that pop up – they’re hints to help you along on your way.
Promotional Ads Can Result in Penalties
Running a network of websites with newsletters for ad revenue? There’s a frightening new statistic you need to know. Google is taking a firmer hand against sites that over-use promotional ads and links on-page, especially on mobile. The new rules show that any ads or promotions, including interstitials, banners, and pop-unders, should take up no more than 15 percent of a web page.
Worried about pop-ups for language selection or location – or maybe GDPR warnings and cookie clarifications? Don’t be. Google has clarified that these forms of interstitials will be held sacred and indemnified from penalties.
Business Responses on Social Media Help
Do you respond to your consumers (B2B, B2C, or even P2P) on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter? If you don’t, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity to lock in more conversions. Sprout Social reports that acknowledgment significantly increases brand appreciation, especially when businesses respond publicly.
Simple acknowledgement helps, but it isn’t always enough – you need to respond quickly, too. The same research showed that customers want to be responded to in four hours at the most, meaning it may be time to evaluate off-hours support agents.
