We have collected opinions from some of the leading experts and practitioners on search marketing trends to look out for in 2013, which we hope will provide you with some insight for your 2013 search marketing activities.
Search Marketing Trends 2013
 | Patrick Altoft, Director of Search, Branded3 |
 We will see ‘not provided’ data continue to grow in Google Analytics meaning that SEOs will lose more and more valuable keyword data. Google will continue to roll out link spam algorithms such as Penguin but on a much more regular basis, and will take steps to stop link spam working before it affects rankings rather than relying on penalising sites after they get to the top. I think this will be the biggest change in 2013. Google will also continue to erode the space for organic results in SERPs pages with things like their hotel search function and car insurance quote engine. | |
| Nigel Muir, Managing Director, DBD Media |  |
 Google algorithm changes and challenges: SEO to evolve not dieGoogle algorithm changes will continue to have an impact on SEO during 2013. But core considerations for businesses will remain the same. The rise of authorship is important and businesses will implement relevant changes to impact search results. Ultimately here there will be more emphasis on the individual as a source of authority, contributing more to a website as a whole passing authority. Next we’ll see the increasing importance of content investment, associated with the rise in importance of social signals. Finally, Google has recently introduced the ability to disavow links in its webmasters tools. This will introduce SEO discussions about whether links should be discredited and how these should be identified. 2013: Yahoo!’s renaissance? Yahoo! and its search engine Bing have long been overshadowed by Google. But with Marissa Mayer – Queen of Silicon Valley and widely seen as Google’s secret weapon during her previous tenure with the search giant – at the helm, 2013 needs to be a year of resurgence for the ailing Yahoo!. It’s make or break. The appointment of Mayer might create some interesting new opportunities for advertisers and consumers. Watch their space. | |
 | Kevin Taylor, CEO, Gravytrain |
| 2012 will be remembered largely for a turbulent year for organic search. Looking back, Google has ended a 2 year period where they have well and truly caught up with those seeking shortcuts to the top of the Search engines. Coinciding with the changes from Google, we’ve seen the rise in “Content Marketing”, with many agencies gearing their offering towards this. | |
| James Murray, Insights Manager, Experian Digital |  |
| The UK is making more searches, spending more time on search engines and making more complex searches than ever before. By understanding the impact of these changes, digital marketers can to reduce their paid search spend, target the right keywords and create web content that is relevant to the constantly changing demands of their target audience. As more rigorous demands are made to prove ROI and maintain high conversions, understanding the customer behind the searches will become more important in 2013. In 2013, one of the most important success factors will be the integration of search into a more comprehensive digital strategy. As consumers come to expect a seamless customer experience from a brand regardless of channel, it becomes more important than ever to work collaboratively and eliminate the silos that exist between different aspects of digital teams. In many ways, search is the glue that holds digital together; strengthening the effectiveness of social, email and advertising strategies. With this in mind, search will still be at the forefront of digital, but it will be stronger by virtue of the other elements it combines with. | |
 | Adam Skalak, Head of SEO, iCrossing UK |
| 2013 will bring with it further convergence of SEO, content, social and PR activities, in my view search converging with marketing is an important trend we should all be keeping our eye on. The practice of pursuing one dimensional keyword strategies in SEO programmes should finally become a thing of the past. SEO will rely heavily on engaging content and there are interesting opportunities to be had with Google’s Authorship. We should expect further changes from Google this year. In October 2012 Google introduced a tool which tells them which links should be ignored – ‘ Disavow’ within the Google Webmaster Tools Console. I’m fully expecting Google to rollout another large algorithm update or an upgrade to the Penguin update – Google would be foolish to ignore the useful data ‘Disavow’ is producing and I’m sure they’ll act on it in 2013. | |
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