The year 2019 is now starting and, as such, MindSEO has reviewed the main online trends you should know, to prepare yourself for the demands of the digital world.
In an increasingly technology-driven environment, you cannot ignore the influence of online on your daily actions. From controlling household objects through mobile devices, finding solutions to problems through artificial intelligence – using chatbots, even using voice to get information or listening to music, technology is everywhere and in constant progression.
1. The increasing use of programmatic advertising. The expansion of communication channels, coupled with the increasing demand for more personalised and frequent experiences by users, has made the process of buying and selling difficult. Programmatic advertising is changing the way advertisers reach their audiences, using technologies that automate campaigns and optimise ads, in real or near real time, with different levels of control and automation. According to Zenith’s Programmatic Marketing Forecasts, programmatic advertising will tend to grow by 19% over the year 2018, which means that approximately 65% of all the value spent on digital media advertising in 2019 is intended for programmatic advertising. According to the same study, these figures are expected to grow, reaching, in 2020, 68%.
2. More video content as part of the digital strategy. According to AMA – American Marketing Association, the U.S. average consumer is exposed to about 10 000 branding messages per day. The creation of quality video content and suited to the interests of the target audience is a very effective strategy in the exposure of a brand since it retains the attention and stimulates the user’s engagement, generating shares, clicks, leads and sales. Nevertheless, 70% of UK Content Managers consider that video content is a priority to be taken into account in their business strategy in 2019.
3. Be present in the micro-moments of the customer journey. As a result of the impact of mobile devices on consumer behaviour, the customer journey is now fragmented into hundreds of micro-moments. According to Google, there are about 150 micro-moments per day. These micro-moments have become the path that leads users to a store or a website, to make the most diverse decisions – I-want-to-know, I-want-to-go, I-want-to-do, I-want-to-buy– that is why it is fundamental for a brand to be able to retain the consumer’s attention and meet their needs in those few seconds, the micro-moments.
4. Need for hyper-personalisation of the digital consumer experiences. Today, in “The Era of Individual”, consumers demand deeper personalisation by brands, ensuring a better experience and, consequently, trust and loyalty. The consumer not only expects brands to know what digital channels they favour but they also expect them to be able to predict behaviours and intentions. A study by Accenture reveals that 83% of consumers are willing to share personal data in exchange for hyper-personalisation of their digital experiences, reflecting the value given to individualised experiences and the opportunity that this represents for a business. However, this process requires advanced analytical solutions, which makes essential investing in marketing automation as the basis of personalisation.
5. The increase of visual search. The adaptation of the consumer to technological advances has dictated changes in the level of online research. The trend points to an inverted search, where “an image is worth a thousand words”, starting the search through an image instead of text. According to a Slyce.it studies, 74% of consumers say that text-only search is insufficient to find the products they want. Nevertheless, according to Gartner, the brands that, by 2021, redesign their websites to support visual and voice search may increase eCommerce revenue by 30%. Thus, the ease and speed of access to information, as well as the need for more interactive research, do visual search, supported by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, a great trend and preference on the part of the users, since following a Visenze study, 62% of Millennials want visual research over any other new technology.
6. Strengthening mobile-first for eCommerce. Convenience is the main factor consumers shop for online. In the last six months, according to eCommerce data present in Statista, 79% of consumers who own a smartphone have made an online purchase using their mobile device. Coupled with this data, the average purchase orders on mobile apps are 140% higher than on mobile-friendly websites and 130% higher than on desktops. Smartphones have become the means of choice for online purchases, and some companies are already reacting, ensuring that the website is ready for mobile devices or opting for the creation of mobile shopping apps.
7. Google uses a brand as a rating factor. As Google’s Webmaster Trend Analyst Gary Illyes pointed out, Google can understand what a brand is and how it interacts with the public. There are several ways for Google to understand a brand as an entity, either through mentions without links from other brands, or context and sentiment, such as reputation, trust, publicity, customer service, among other factors.
8. Provide a holistic shopping experience. Consumers interact with brands every day, through the most varied platforms, such as e-mail, chat, social networks, website, apps, among others. Hence, why it is necessary to develop a holistic shopping experience, in which the consumer can buy in the place that is most convenient to him, without the quality of his digital experience being influenced by the chosen channel. Currently, the available digital tools and platforms allow brands to create their direct channels, enabling consumers to interact with them anytime and anywhere, which is exactly what today’s consumers demand.
9. Consolidation of SXO -Search Experience Optimisation efforts. Optimising the user’s search experience is now a decisive factor in users’ preference since they continue to privilege the first results. Google looks for solutions for its customers as this is where the search experience begins. The user asks, and Google provides the answer. Hence the tendency for the increased use of AI in the content strategy, as well as Google uses RankBrain technology to rank content according to search intent, always aiming to improve the search experience. Mastering the understanding of the target audience and personas, understanding customer to detail, using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to analyse data and measure beyond click are the starting point for optimising the search experience.
10. Advances in Smart Speakers. Voice search continues to grow and, according to Canalys, it is expected that by 2020 there will be 225 million Smart Speakers installed in homes, twice as much as in 2018. In the future, due to this year-to-year growth, opportunities arise with potential for companies like Google, Amazon or Apple, who manufacture their systems. A full control interface to allow control of all Smart Speakers from a single source, automation of devices, improvement of some functionality through more significant support from manufacturers and intelligent maintenance that can alert to some problem found, are some expected improvements highlighted by AndroidPIT.
From year to year new online trends appear, some that end up slowing and others that present a constant growth or that has a timeless character, continuing to be a trend in the following years.
MindSEO has identified 10 online trends for 2018, and some of them have become a reality, such as delivering the best and fastest user experience, voice search optimisation, and enhanced integration of advanced artificial intelligence in chatbots. In the same article, it was also mentioned that Google would rank the pages based on the mobile version. In fact, on March 26, 2018, Google announced the launch of the first “mobile-first index”, which means that from that date, Google first checks the mobile version of the website when indexing in the search results. Finally, the trend of greater protection of consumer data privacy was confirmed on May 25, 2018, by the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which replaced the data protection directive and law in effect until then.
