Searches To Hit the Social Highway in 2012

by Lazarus Rankish Hunt - 1/10/2012 12996 Views

SEM & SMM Promotions to Grow Manifold in 2012

The year 2012 shows promising signs of increase in the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) spending according to a research carried out by Brightedge, titled '2012 Search Marketers Survey Report.' With the addition of social signals to count in search engine marketing, businesses are twice as much confident about the effect of SEM on their ROI and it is reported that 72 percent of recently surveyed search marketers foresee increase their SEM investment this year over 2011 while another 26 percent intend to spend at the same level, and just 2 percent of respondents opting to reduce their overall search marketing spending. Brightedge also reveals that the maturity of enterprise SEO platforms has resulted in reaching mainstream adoption, as businesses realize that it is the most viable option ahead. Except for 2 percent of the respondents, all others are unanimous about inclusion of Social Media Marketing in their organization’s marketing strategy.

Marketers yearn for Global Support

With cloud computing gaining mileage, Brightedge’s SEM Survey points out that 83 percent of respondents foresee enterprise-grade infrastructure that are scalable and secure as becoming central to their marketing strategies in 2012. As more and more businesses grow global, 78 percent of those surveyed stated that they would be in business with a SEM partner whose marketing solution can provide global support in 2012. BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu responding to a SEW query says, “Last year, we saw a lot of the theme was around tracking ROI, organic search and better quantifying ROI. This year, it’s a lot more about social signals on SEO. As enterprises and brands have developed ways to understand the value of organic search, they’re expanding their footprint.”

Business, Search and Social Anlaytics to the Fore

All marketing campaigns and strategies need to be documented and the data analyzed at different phases and levels so as to find the best route forward and so is the case with any Search and Social promotion data. Businesses that can’t evaluate data would never find ways to draw conclusions as Search engine and social data can become overwhelming unless managed appropriately. That is one reason businesses and brands need experts to manage Social Media strategy and data for them which ofcourse not all can do on their own. Search analytics allow you to build customer profiles, create audience-specific content, and inform other online channel to invest in more customer/prospect-centric targeting solutions. Through better implementation and integration of SEM data, tools and technology, we can build realistic approach models and strategies that are effectively increase ROI. As much as technology has been paving the way ahead for the best SEM strategies all around, it is sure to grow even more tech-bound this year. SEM strategies need to be monitored with the best analytical tools, while being planned strategically by the best marketing brains in the business to find the best ROI.

Search Gains More Social Edge

Another trend that is gaining force is that SEM and SMM service providers are increasing their workforce, as more businesses and brands are beginning to expand their social media presence as they realize social media to be a core element in their brand positioning with it being resource intensive and promises more customer engagement creating a great scope for Search engine ranking, generation of organic links and consequently better sales and ROI. One important fact that has dominated 2011 has been the generation of social signals to add value to SEO and SEM efforts as the major search engine algorithmic shifts are leveraging on social signals in ranking a product, service, page or a site.

With online searches aiding more than 71% of global buying decisions, brands that have a bigger social media footprint are sure to show up more on the searches due to the recent amalgamation of Social and search on Google Search. Google's rise to the top as the most sought online destination and with tweets, +1's, likes and shares promoting customer trust on the products and services it gets all the more vital to be visible in the Social Media to make it into the search results. An year ago, social media engagement was an option but now there is a compulsion to participate large scale (so as to build a bigger presence than competition) or be left out.

Thorough its week 1 update for December, Google announced that with the view of narrowing down a search query to the best possible result, long-tail keywords and documents are sure to be indexed and ranked better for relevant queries while Google's last update for December 2011 promised more pulling of geo-relevant data on its search pages for megasitelinks which would only help strengthen brands and brand images if the Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Marketing strategy is executed right. Future Google's algorithmic changes would sure strengthen the social weightage on delivering the best results on the search page and what we have seen so far is only a start to what can be expected in the coming months. Share you valuable opinion on how you intend to promote your products/services with social media and search marketing in 2012.

Category :

SEO News

Tags :

Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, SEO News, Social Media Promotion, Social Media Bran

About Lazarus Rankish Hunt

Hi … I am Ranki, a Journo by profession now enjoying a free fall into the future of SEO. Writing is a flow of my being, an extension of the self that is unstoppable, even if it isn’t embraced, embalmed and mummified by recognition. I am here to enjoy the ride, since I have no fixed date with destiny. I Manage Media and Strategize Content at Submitinme. I fill up spaces on pages with the feeling that I am shouting from the roof tops for the Eared crowd to hear and find the latest break-outs in the field. There could be more or less of me, if you care to .... more info