MozCon: Six digital trends we’re still talking about
Last week we attended MozCon to learn from industry leaders and our own peers what's hot and not in online marketing. Even with representatives from all sorts of industries and agencies, there were quite a few trends that were universal to managing an online presence and website.
Our key takeaways from MozCon include:
A/B Testing: Test everything! If you have the ability, test your landing pages and test your emails. See what content resonates with your visitors, see what colors your audience prefers, see which calls to action actually move your customer through the buying process. Testing helps you understand your audience.
Analytics: Another tool that helps you understand your audience is analytics. Don't be afraid to dive deep into your analytics to see where they're coming from and where they're going on your site. Watch the paths they take to navigate your site and use that information when the time comes to update information or your site, or even condense down information because visitors aren't using those pages anyway.
Context in your content: Marketers love talking about having content on your website and the importance it plays in not only helping the search engines find and rank your website, but the value it provides your online visitors. No longer are we in the age of keyword-stuffing or writing content specifically for the search engines. We are definitely in the era of writing for the visitor, for your potential customer. Search engines are becoming more sophisticated and are beginning to understand context and make the link between context that's enjoyable for a person and content that's written for a robot.
Local search results: When focusing on context you should also focus on being local. Use your SEO to your advantage in your location and make sure it's easy to understand where you are. To fully utilize your local listings, it's key that your company NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) are consistent and accurate. For example, your Google My Business page should have the same NAP as TripAdvisor.
Mobile: The theme in this blog should be that your website is designed and built with the online visitor in mind. Making the user experience as enjoyable as possible, from your website loading quickly, either using a responsive design or mobile solution, to following Google guidelines.
Predictive search: A new trend we're going to keep a close eye on is the emergence of predictive search. Google is working on its Google Now product, tying in most of its other products and search functions into one platform. Google Now aims to tell you what you want before you want it. It'll recognize patterns about your search behavior, calendar items, and social networks to provide you information on a topic before you even think to look it up. Think Siri with precognitive abilities.
We loved seeing what others in the online space are talking about and what trends having staying power in our fast paced industry. If you attended MozCon, please share your favorite takeaways below. Which digital trend do you think is going to make the most impact on your website or marketing strategy?