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Digital marketing is made up of a lot of moving parts. You can increase visibility and organic traffic through SEO, and build a brand with your social media presence. Marketing automation can save you time and provide more personalized engagement. Managing PPC can mean “jumping the line” on search engine result pages. These moving parts, along with many others, are continually changing as new technologies, techniques, and near-endless Google and Facebook algorithm updates keep many digital marketing teams on their toes (including us!).
We know that what worked in 2018 or 2019 may not work the same way in 2021, and to get the best possible results for our clients, we have to stay on top of these trends. As we enter a new decade and tech continues to change rapidly, we want to take the opportunity to share the digital marketing trends we’re excited to see more of in 2021.
1. No-Click Searches also Known as Featured Snippet
Generally, when you have a question, you type your question into Google, hit enter, and click on the article that best answers your question or gives you the information you need.
Sometimes though, the answer is suggested to you in a paragraph at the top of the result page. These boxes, called Position Zero in search engine results, often come with an image and all the information you were looking for displayed in an easy to distinguish box. You have the answer you need, so you don’t need to click on an article. This is what’s called a no-click search. Google and other search engines provide these to help people find answers quickly and keep people on their website (and off of yours).
For business owners wanting to attract visitors to their website, it can be frustrating to see lower traffic because Google is handing your potential customers the answer. But, these snippets don’t always spell bad news. When search engines use your website to show information to searchers, it shows you’re providing valuable content. The trick is to make sure you add something to these snippets that will draw the reader in and entice them to click on your website for more information, and away from the search engine that has provided them with a quick answer.
There are many ways you can do this. Think about how you can update your page titles to indicate what searchers will get when visiting your site. Can you make your ‘how-to’ list a little longer while staying accurate, so that the snippet’s information is cut off and searchers have to click through to see the full list? You can also use schema to enhance your content and provide details about your website’s trustworthiness and authority, like ratings and reviews.
No-click searches may be beneficial to the reader and the search engine company, but you can also use them to your advantage. Being the subject of a no-click search means you’re halfway there — people are interested in what you have to say. Your next step is to attract them to your site for more of what you have to offer.
2. Google Verified Listings for Local SEO
For businesses that operate on a local level, such as a plumbing company or a veterinary clinic, your Google My Business listing provides valuable information and helps establish your geographical location.
Having a geographically-defined service area with Google My Business listing aids in showing up for “near me” searches. It also lets customers learn more about your business within Google Search results. At a glance your potential customer can see your open hours, address, and star rating left by other users.
In order to make sure the information displayed is correct, you should verify your Google business listing and keep information up to date. The benefits of verifying your business are:
You can manage your business information in Search, Maps, and other Google properties.
Verified businesses are considered more trustworthy and reputable than unverified competitors.
When you verify your business, you’re preventing fraud in the event that someone else tries to act as the owner and claims your listing as theirs.
If you’re not sure about your listing, you can check the verification status of your Google My Business listing. If it hasn’t been, you can start the simple process to get your business verified by Google.
3. Voice Search
Digital Marketing Trends: Voice Search Example
Voice-activated digital assistants continue to be huge sellers, and let’s be realistic – some households talk to Alexa, Siri, or Cortana more than they speak to family members. The popularity of voice search both at home and on our phones has led to one of the most significant shifts in using keywords.
Think about it. When we type a search into Google, we phrase it differently than when we use Alexa for information. For example, a person looking for the nearest Indian restaurant might type “Indian restaurant Raleigh” into Google, but might ask Cortana, “where is the closest Indian restaurant?”. When writing content, choose your keywords based on the questions people may ask when using Siri or Alexa. This can increase your visibility, and this digital marketing trend shows no sign of slowing down.
4. Visual Search
Instead of typing a description into Google, users can now upload an image and get information about an item just from a picture. If they’re uploading a plant photo, the search returns species information, while a landmark image will return historical data. When a user searches a product, it returns similar products and where to buy them. Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, and related search tools turn a user’s camera into a search bar.
How can your business leverage visual search? You can Add high-quality images tagged with descriptive keywords, introduce an image search into your online inventory, and (if your target market uses Pinterest), consider advertising on this platform. Brands that advertise with them get the benefit of boosted search results.
Additionally consider the following:
having an image sitemap will increase the likelihood of your images being discovered by search engines
use descriptive filenames for images before uploading them to your website
add alternative text to all image aka “Alt tags”
5. Online Reviews
Online reviews can make or break your business’s ability to attract new customers or clients. While any company can talk up their products or services, other consumers can provide real, unbiased reviews. Having many reviews from verified sources can make your business stand out from the competition and start building trust before they even click on your website.
Google Reviews on Phones
The most useful review for a business to receive is through Google Business. These are the most trusted sources, they’re the most visible, and your Google Business listing lets people call or visit the website. Facebook is another excellent source of online reviews, and you can use them to build a testimonials page on your website, while Yelp is suitable for restaurants, hotels, and recreational businesses.
To increase the number of reviews you have, provide your customers with a simple link to your Google Business listing to leave a review. Even if they’re all 5-star ratings, businesses with few reviews get fewer conversions than companies with 100+ reviews, even if a few of them aren’t great.
6. Automated & Smart Bidding in Google Ads
To get the best possible results from a Google Ads campaign, Ads specialists analyze every piece of data and continuously tweak and adjust keywords, bids, and ad phrasing. While this obsessive attention to detail gets results, it’s exhausting. A business owner trying to run a campaign may become completely overwhelmed and end up failing.
Enter automated bidding strategies. These allow Google to use machine learning to analyze the tremendous amount of data it has on its users to adjust your bids in real-time. Ads specialists can embrace automated strategies while still being in complete control. Automated bidding isn’t anything new – Smart Bidding made its debut in 2016 – but most business owners aren’t aware of what it is or what it does.
It’s important to note that there are still plenty of human strategies involved in optimizing PPC performance. You can’t just set it and forget it and expect results – you still need to test everything, including testing automated bid strategies against each other.
