Article submitted by Grace Murphy
Since the invention of the internet, digital marketing and SEO have evolved quickly and changed with almost alarming regularity. That is perhaps even more true today. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of digital marketing, both during the pandemic and in the following months.
The increased importance of digital marketing and SEO isn’t the only change that the pandemic and the other challenges of the past year have bought to the market.
Digital marketing has evolved swiftly in response to the global social and economic crisis. As a result, the market is incredibly different from the way it was when the pandemic began.
Business leaders must understand the changes that the digital marketing sector has undergone, even if they don’t operate in this market.
Digital marketing and online advertising affect every organisation throughout the corporate landscape. Keep reading, and we’ll explore some of the most significant trends in digital marketing and SEO and how they’ll affect your business in 2021 and further ahead.
There Are More SEO Service Providers Out There
As the world moves online and more individuals find themselves out of work, more and more people are launching new SEO agencies to meet the rising demand. While some of these new agencies might be run by experts, some might be led by individuals who don’t have the experience to provide clients with the services they require.
As such, business leaders need to be more discerning when choosing SEO service providers. Try to find an experienced service provider with in-house capabilities to ensure that you get the most out of their services. A good example can be seen through the link building agency UK Linkology, which has more than a decade’s experience in the industry. Their team of experts can provide you with a better service than a newer, less well-established agency. They provide the flexibility of a dynamic agency with the expertise of a long-standing successful company to ensure that clients get the most out of their services.
When choosing an agency to work with, make sure you check their credentials first. Seeing how well they rank for their services is also a worthwhile element to consider.
Automation Saves Time And Effort
Automation is the future of digital marketing, but it’s also shaping the present. Automated tools, whether they’re blog post scheduling software or email automation solutions, can save your business time while helping you to create and distribute quality digital marketing materials.
These automated software tools only work if they’re combined with human logic and if they’re programmed correctly and given the right information. That means that you need to take the time to find the right solution and then ensure that it is programmed correctly and has all the information it needs to ensure that it runs perfectly and actually saves you time, rather than using more of it. With the right automated solutions, you can optimise your digital marketing strategy and make the most out of your team’s time and budget.
Video Content Converts
The expression ‘content is king’ remains true in 2021, but now there’s more than one type of content to consider. Written blog posts aren’t the only things that businesses, even SMEs, need to consider. Video content is easy to consume and great for all types of businesses, making it a vital part of any modern digital marketing strategy.
Creating innovative video content that converts viewers into paying customers isn’t as difficult as you might think. Thanks to the amazing quality of most modern phone cameras, video editing apps and online platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, it’s surprisingly easy to create and distribute quality video content.
Influencer Marketing Is Still Viable, But The Sector Is Evolving
Influencer marketing is a growing phenomenon where bloggers, vloggers and social media stars with a large online following can collaborate with brands to help them reach a wider audience. The practice has come under a lot of scrutiny over recent years, as influencers haven’t always made it clear when they are advertising products and when they actually use the items that they’re promoting. The ASA has repeatedly reminded influencers of their duty to abide by advertising rules and worked with brands to help them to ensure that their products are showcased correctly. If your business wants to move into influencer marketing, then make sure that you understand the regulations around this practice and that you collaborate with individuals that offer transparent promotion to their followers. When done correctly, influencer marketing can be an innovative way to reach and connect with a vast audience and push them towards checking out your products or services.
Technical SEO Needs To Be A Priority
Previously, many small businesses focused on content marketing and worked hard to optimise their site for their target keywords in order to get noticed by their target audience. Many organisations that didn’t have in-house technical teams have overlooked technical SEO, but this is no longer an option. Google’s latest update aims at improving the user experience. It’s called the page experience update, and it primarily focuses on core web vitals, website security and mobile optimisation. As such, businesses need to make sure that they check their websites core vitals and that they improve any technical issues promptly. If your company doesn’t have the in-house capabilities to undertake a technical audit and fix any issues that your website might have, then you should consider hiring a managed IT provider. Their team can help you to get your site to where it needs to be and review it in the future to ensure that it remains up to date and continues to offer users the online experience they expect.
Change Remains Inevitable
These are just a cross-section of some of the most relevant and important digital marketing trends that will have an impact on businesses in 2021. However, the market is continually evolving, and further changes will mean that businesses need to stay on their toes and keep watching for new developments.
That means that you should find a digital marketing newsletter that appeals to you and sets out information in a way that you find enjoyable. By signing up for one or more newsletters on the topic of SEO, you’ll be able to quickly grasp new changes and adapt to them promptly.
If you are a Worcestershire business looking for marketing advice get in touch with the Growth Hub team on the details below.