July is nearing its end and 5 months from now, we are going to say goodbye to 2019. It's hard to believe that 2020 is right around the corner. And it's such a wonder that each year, technological innovations are driving digital marketers to the edge, forcing them to step up and adapt to new technology. Digital marketing paved the way to multichannel marketing, but fast-forward to today and we are now in the era of omnichannel marketing.
Many are happy with the progress but it gets even the best of us. SEO specialists, digital marketers, tech geeks, what have you, are having trouble keeping up. On the brighter side, these new systems, marketing techniques and algorithm updates open new doors. Come 2020 onward, you may see these marketing trends taking centre stage:
1. Voice search and smart speakers
A major development in the last few years has been the invention of smart speakers. Social Report notes that in 2018, more than 56 million smart speakers were sold to buyers.
However, even though more and more households use voice technologies like Google Voice Search, Alexa and Siri, voice marketing and advertising are not as widely used. But slowly, the narrative is changing.
Smart speaker advertising is still pretty new and companies and users are still warming up to this technology's existence. While this trend is still in development, business owners should try optimising their website content for voice search.
Voice search comprises 20 per cent of all Google search queries. Moreover, a study by Thrive Analytics shows that 71 per cent of mobile users in the 18 to 29 age bracket use voice assistants on their smartphones.
Voice technology is changing the game for businesses of any size, so it makes sense to adopt this trend as soon as possible. There is still a lot of room for growth and development. According to marketing experts, the secret to voice search optimisation is making your content more conversational. This works all the time.
>>Read more about optimising your website for voice search here.<<
2. On-SERP SEO
You may not have heard about zero-click results, but you may have seen them. A zero-click result automatically provides answers to your Google search query, appearing in the form of boxed snippets.
Where do these results come from? Well, Google generated them on its own. Unless none of the snippets interests you, you can scroll further down below to see the Adwords and organic search results.
Google will automatically produce these search results to accommodate broad queries. Everything from “What is an SEO Company?” to “What are the latest web design trends?” comes with a snippet, through which users can catch a glimpse of featured web pages. Snippets divert the attention of the user, discouraging them from scrolling through the SERPs.
Why is a Google snippet worth your time? Because the majority of Google search results (more than 60 per cent) are now zero-search, as reported by Jumpshot. Expect a great number of keywords to generate less profit.
In some cases, automatic snippets feature websites that rank well on the search engine results page. Unfortunately, companies vaguely know how to optimise content that Google will showcase as a snippet. Still and all, this development can be good for your online marketing campaign.
>>Find out how Google diversifies search engine results.<<
3. Advanced chatbots
Written content will remain king - but with some twists. Smart Insights claims that content will have the biggest commercial impact in the next three years. It will serve as fuel for chatbots, which many believe will become more prominent beginning in 2020.
Research from Juniper Networks shows that AI chatbots are growing more sophisticated and popular. Companies will be able to save a projected 439 billion USD annually while adding 112 billion USD to their revenue until 2023. These sums prove why large organizations are keen to invest in newer and highly productive chatbots.
Businesses of any size can benefit from the use of chatbots. If you have a website with some degree of traffic, even a simple chatbot can help answer your visitors frequently asked questions, thereby converting them into warm leads.
>>Will chatbots be in your future? Click to read more!<<
The Evolution of Marketing
Indeed, the face of marketing is changing and marketers need to change with the times.
Now that 2020 is almost upon us, business owners must look into new and innovative ways to increase their income streams. Or perhaps explore new marketing platforms that can catapult your business to better progress.
It's best to act as early as now or your competitors will beat you to it.
