A Year in Digital MarketingLooking back and looking

forward

Overview

1. Google in 2014

2. Growth of mobile

3. Linkbuilding in 2014

4. Social media in 2014

5. Content marketing in 2014

6. Digital marketing in 2015

Digital Marketing in 2014

Google in 2014

Google - 3 P’s

Penguin Panda

Pigeon

Google Panda Update

• Panda 4.0 rolled out in May and 4.1 in September• Targets poor content

– thin content– duplicate content– machine-generated content

• Panda 4.0 affected 7.5% English queries• Panda 4.1 affected 3% - 5% queries• 27th Panda update from Google• High quality small-medium sites should rank better

• Lesson – invest time in quality content for your site

Google Penguin Update

• Penguin 3.0 rolled out in October• Worldwide update• Impacts <1% English queries• Targets websites with bad links

• Lesson – quality over quantity with links

Google Pigeon Update

• Launched in July for US English results

• Not fully rolled out in UK• Focus on local search results

• Lesson – local rankings becoming ever more important in search

What these updates tell us

• Quality content is being rewarded• Fresh content is a must• Low quality links can hurt you• Links from quality sites are valuable• Important to think locally as well

HTTPS / SSL Certificate

Security could influence rankings

• Google starting to use HTTPS as ranking signal

• Affects less than 1% global queries• No real impact to date

• Advice – start to think about switching to HTTPS

Continued Growth of Mobile

Mobile continuing to grow

67%

44%

133%

25%

Growth 2014 v 2013

Min Growth Max Growth Mobile Traffic Now Greater

12 Websites from different sectors

Mobile continuing to grow

Totals 2013 2014 % Diff

Desktop1,015,72

81,063,66

3 4.72%Mobile 545,251 852,172 56.29%

Why is mobile important?

• More people are using mobiles to surf the web

• Smartphone ownership increasing– 65.2% in2013 (UK)– 92% projected in 2017 (UK)

• Google showing mobile-friendly in search

Source: www.mobilesquared.co.uk/blog/uk-mobile-smartphone-forecasts/

Google mobile friendly search boost

• Mobile friendly sites could boost your mobile rankings in future

• Test your site here:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Google mobile friendly success

Google mobile friendly fail

Not mobile friendly

Linkbuilding in 2014

Is guest blogging dead?

• What is guest blogging?• Increase in low quality, spammy posts.• Still viable technique if used right.• Build relationships with relevant blogs /

sites.• Engage with owners.

• Guest blogging isn’t dead, it’s evolving.

Matt Cutts on guest blogging

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMxC3wQZOyc

Social Media in 2014

Facebook in 2014

• #IceBucketChallenge• Algorithm update lets users see posts

important to them• Sponsored posts increasing• New search features just added• Update coming in early 2015– Reduce promotional page posts– Posts that reuse same content from ads

• Pay to show your content

Facebook Pages update

• Latest page update in March 2014• New streamlined look• Easy to use admin section• Watch other pages• Promoted videos in ads• Updated news feed as well (mobile

friendly)

Facebook Pages 2014

Facebook News Feed 2014

Twitter in 2014

• Design update in 2014 reflecting feel of apps

• Best tweets more prominent• Pinned tweets to top of page• Filtered tweets – tweets, photos, replies• Promoted videos in ads• Testing a buy button• 500 million tweets a day

Twitter in 2014

What was the most retweeted tweet in 2014?

Twitter in 2014

And the rest

Goodbye Google Author

• 2014 saw the end of Google Authorship

• Google publisher still going

• Will Google+ be next?

Instagram, Vine and Pinterest

• Short video becoming more popular• New filters and editing features with

Instagram• Advanced editing features for Vine• Buy from site on Pinterest

Evolution of Content in 2014

Content Marketing in 2014

• Content continuing to play an important role

• Much more than blog content• Multiple content channels• Customers will play a role

Paddy Power Rain Forest

Read all about it here: http://blog.paddypower.com/2014/06/08/the-truth-about-paddy-powers-stunt-in-the-amazon-rainforest/

Beats By Dre - Instagram

Red Bull

Quick Recap

Digital Marketing in 2014

• Google keeping us on our toes• Content still crucial• Quality vs quantity when building links• Pay for social media• Mobile traffic will take over desktop in

future• Security becoming increasingly important• Guest blogging isn’t dead...... yet!

Digital Marketing in 2015

Mobile will keep growing

• Mobile traffic is only going one way• Is your site mobile-friendly?• Meet user expectation• Google will reward sites that are– Don’t loss traffic due to a poor site

Google mobile search

• Mobile-friendly sites rewarded• Usability crucial– Remember your users mobile experience

• Mobile searches will overtake desktop in 2015

• Include local and long tail terms for mobile content

• Google mobile-friendly ranking update

Apple’s potential impact

• Apple may ditch Google as default search provider

• Bing or Yahoo waiting• Apple have 31% of UK mobile

market*• Keep an eye on developments

* source: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2378318/apples-uk-market-share-grows-to-31-percent-on-bumper-iphone-6-sales

Content will become the norm

• Everyone is investing in content• Need to do more to stand out• Remember role of mobile with

content• Content needs to be relevant• Change of focus from keywords to

topics• Keep an eye on your competitors

Social media in 2015• Social channels will continue to play big

role• Pro-active approach• Customer service channel• May begin to impact on your rankings• Twitter will continue to be about real-time– Suarez World Cup bite– Oscars selfie– Oreo Super Bowl

Facebook in 2015• Page owners will need to invest resources– Time– Money

• Facebook search• Engagement still key• Algorithm update coming early 2015– Reduce promotional page posts– Reduce reuse of content from ads– Content will be key

The role of Google+

• End of Google Authorship in 2014• Not really worked out• Google hangout• Role with YouTube

Linkbuilding in 2015

• NoFollow and citations will carry weight

• Brand keyword focus• Long tail keywords• Earn your links• Build relationships• Quality of links is crucial

Secure websites

• Remember your HTTPS certificate• Google security update likely in 2015• Trusted sites will be rewarded

Don’t forget email

• Email still has a role to play• How we use email changing• Remember mobile when designing• Cost-effective digital channel

Google knowledge graph

Google knowledge graph

Threat of Google on your content

Threat of Google on your content

Continued growth of CRO

• CRO is conversion rate optimisation• A website is never complete• Run tests to improve conversion• Companies of all sizes investing in

CRO• 2015 is a big year

Big 5 in 2015

• Mobile – search and design impact• Content – yes it’s still king• Apple could have a big say• Quality links more important than

ever• Invest in CRO and your website

www.thetomorrowlab.com

Thank you

Any questions?

Email: nial@thetomorrowlab.com Twitter: @nialtoner |

@thetomorrowlab