20 Digital Facts That You Need to Know

01. Mobile internet usage is projected to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014

The facts and numbers around mobile usage is pretty staggering. Over 1 billion mobile devices are currently in use, and the number keeps on growing. We use and rely on our phones on a daily basis and if you don’t have a mobile friendly website you will get lost in the shuffle. By 2014 mobile internet usage should outpace desktops. This stat varies by source but 2014/15 is right around the corner. 2013 is the year to think about how your website caters to the mobile market.

02. Yes, you really do need a mobile friendly website

Not having a mobile friendly site will hurt the user experience as well as brand reputation. Google did a study on what users want from a mobile site and here are a few key points: 50% of people said that even if they like a business, they will use them less often if the website isn’t mobile friendly. And 48% said that if a site didn’t work well on their smartphones, it made them feel like the company didn’t care about their business.

03. Responsive design is the solution to the mobile dilemma

If you are not mobile friendly the solution resides within a technique called responsive design. Essentially this happens in the coding of the site and allows you to create one website that works across all devices. Knowing that 2014 is around the bend, and if you are planning to redesign your website, I strongly encourage implementing a responsive site. With the one site for all devices mindset this eliminates the need for specific mobile domains. With one site for all devices, content is managed in one spot and you don’t have to worry about a seperate domain for mobile search rankings.

04. Search engine websites are the most visited websites on a smartphone

Another Google study sheds light onto what users are doing with their phones. With users moving towards a mobile environment, a mobile site coupled with SEO is needed in today’s market to maximize exposure.

05. Mobile search drives online & offline actions

“As consumers increasingly turn to their mobile phones, it is critical for businesses to understand the range of “mobile conversions” that can occur, such as phone calls, store visits, or purchases on other devices. In partnership with Nielsen, Google analyzed over 6,000 mobile searches and the actions that resulted, drawing precise and measurable connections between mobile searches and the online and offline conversions that they drive.” Full Study

06. SEO is a thriving digital marketing tactic

Web Marketing 123 found in their Digital Marketing Report that about 80% of both B2B and B2C businesses are doing search. With those companies that are relying on search, about 40% planned on increasing search budget for 2013.

07. SEO is for lead generation

In the same Digital Marketing Report, Web Marketing 123 found that “Compared to last year, nearly 50% more B2Bs now identify social media as having the most impact on lead generation (2011 vs 2012). In a similar vein, 20% more B2Cs now identify SEO as most impactful for lead generation (2011 vs 2012).”

08. Crappy SEO is dead

Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithm updates have cleaned up a lot of deciptive and manipulative tactics that used to be able to generate strong rankings. As Google evolves, ranking factors will continue to become stricter but the core to a well-ranking site will be quality content that gets properly promoted and networked. Here are some more thoughts on creating valuable content.

09. Creating “evergreen” content will establish relevancy

Just as the name implies, evergreen content is “always fresh” (forever green) and not relative to one specific moment in time. Evergreen content is pretty general and will bring visitors to a website for a long period of time. This type of content helps establish the basics that define your business or objectives. This type of content establishes relevancy as the content created is relative to business objectives and searches. More info

10. Creating brand related content will establish expertise

Content that highlights your company’s accolades, work and expertise will help establish expertise as press releases, white papers and case studies all push an organization’s levels of expertise. More info

11. Creating industry related content will establish authority

Content that provides insight into your business’ overarching industry. Examples include: Blog posts, infogrpahics and other insightful content. Content types like the ones mentioned will help establish authority as this type of content can get networked through SEO, PR and social media.
More info

12. Opportunity exists within paid search

Compared to organic search, fewer companies are participating in paid search. If looking to explore a new marketing channel a B2B organization may find success with paid search.

13. Paid search should get utilized for PR

The most common goals for paid search revolve around lead generation and the sale of a product or service. However, according to a recent SEMPO report, those objectives are on the decline. They are still them main goal but according to the report, driving traffic and brand awareness have been rising objectives for paid search. With this mindset, paid search can be used as a PR tactic. More info

14. Paid search is quick

A paid search campaign can get set up in a matter of minutes and an ad can be approved by Google in a relatively short amount of time, too. With this flexibility paid search ads can start and stop as you see fit and can help battle a crisis on the web.

15. Paid search is budget friendly

You get to set your own budget. Budgets small or large can be successful in AdWords. We created a paid search campaign for a local client that utilized $500 worth of clicks and we saw a 20% increase in website traffic.

16. Paid search is accurate

Time of day, language, location and device can all get fine-tuned in AdWords to help deliver an accurately placed ad to your audience.

17. Bid on competitor terms with paid search

Battling a competitor? You can bid on their brand terms to help drive traffic to your website. This technique may also be relevant during a crisis situation. However, you can not use your competitor’s branded terms in your ad’s creative.

18. A mobile app needs to be educational, entertaining or resourceful

Just like a YouTube video, your app needs to fit within one of these rather broad categories. If it doesn’t, rethink your idea as it’s going to be hard to have an app that gets downloaded and used if it isn’t educational, entertaining or resourceful. All three of these categories can share similar elements but an app that’s meant to be entertaining really needs to be a game. More info

19. Don’t release an app without a promotion plan

An app can easily get loaded up on iTunes or Android Market but how will people find it? Yes, an app can get “optimized” for app store visibility but a clear and concise app promotion plan will need to be well thought-out and executed. Keep in mind that an educational, entertaining or resourceful app is easier to promote, too. Incentivizing an app download is one method to build awareness but not entirely recommended. Incentivized downloads can get costly and users will most likely only use the app once to claim the incentive and never use it again. More info

20. Your “app” may not even need to be an app

With technology ever growing, immersive app-like environments can now be created within your phone’s web browser. If your idea revolves around the motion of the phone, camera or geo-location you will most likely need to go down the app road. For general information, interactivity or if you are trying to leverage web-based content, a web-based app can get created. The above chart is very handy for deciding whether a web or native app is necessary.

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