Content marketing strategy and content generation is undoubtedly set to expand in 2013. Dale Lovell, Publishing Director here at Search News Media, explains why.
I’ve been working online since 2000 and as we approach my 13th year in the online industry one thing I know is that predictions about what will happen online tend to backfire.
They go one of either two ways. Number one, the prediction never materialises and becomes a bit of a joke; or number two, your modest estimation is proved correct, but your low estimation figures about what will happen leave you looking a bit naive within a few months. It’s a tough call.
I still remember reading extensively about how by 2006 online advertising would rival radio ads; that figure was smashed years before then. And who would have predicted back in 2005 that Facebook and social media would be such a dominant force online today?
But I’m prepared to put it out there now, as we head into the closing weeks of 2012 -
In 2013 we will see plenty more examples of SEO continuing to be displaced by content marketing.
There is going to be far more convergence and joined up thinking between SEOs, PR, social and display advertising teams. There has to be. All serious online brands will need a content agency.
Is the job title SEO executive heading the way of jobs such as chimney sweep, black smith and hawker? There are rumours and some hard evidence to suggest that Google does not like SEOs; is 2013 the year that SEO agencies take an immediate rebrand as content marketing agencies?
Content is on the rise; 2013 is set to be the year that content agencies and content marketing becomes more than the buzzword it was in 2012, something only done by switched on brands and forward looking SEO agencies.
Brands need to create meaningful, strong content to engage with their customers
In 2013 it will be what every brand, business and agency looks to get involved with. Is it the end of SEO agencies? Of course not, although I do anticipate that those agencies that have not woken up and looked at the benefits of content, guest blogging and, crucially, publishing content onsite – something Google’s Matt Cutts has cited as one of the key things a website should do – publish unique content – will fail and lose clients.
SEO, as I have blogged about previously, will be more about relationships, reputation and engagement in 2013 than it is about meta-data, anchor text and page rank. It’s about contacting influencers, amplifying your brand messages and looking for engagement.
With many traditional marketing methods coming back into play with search strategies in 2013, keep an eye out for more and more content amplification style products coming on to the market; products and services that appeal to social, display and search departments of major online agencies.
Content is at the heart of online marketing; think promoted tweets, YouTube virals, Facebook Likes, Outbrain, LinkedIn Groups and much, much more. All of these have content at their core. Expect to see and engage with plenty more like this as we head into 2013.
Dale Lovell
