As our interview series draws to an end, we managed to quiz the entire team at 1st on the List to get quality tips on the latest trends in the market. Chris and his team came up with some really insightful predictions and insights on the industry.
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What aspects of mobile marketing would explode in 2013?
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What does YouTube hold in store for online marketing in the near future?
In terms of Search Engine Optimization, which is our specialty, the opportunity to create promotional, informational and engaging videos for your clients or stakeholders and then optimizing those videos to be found by Google and other Search Engines is huge.
Google recommends marking up YouTube videos with schema.org so that the image of the video clip is shown right beside your listing in Search Results. These “Rich Snippets” draw searchers attention to your website and away from your competition. They also provide information directly related to their search and help to increase your click-through-rate.
In summary, creating and optimizing your YouTube videos can help to increase traffic to your website and further build your brand.
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Sponsored content versus display ads – which one do you think will dominate the online marketing industry?
Recently Hubspot published their 20 Must-Know Marketing Trends for 2013 . In this report they state that “Creating more and more content will be among top priorities for marketing teams in 2013.”
We know that content is king and that marketers will aim to produce more content and one way to do this is through sponsored content. Unique and quality content builds a brand’s credibility from a Search Engine’s perspective, which in turn can improve rankings and search visibility. Not only does the sponsored content give you exposure where it is posted it also works in the background to improve a website’s visibility.
Of course, when choosing between sponsored content and display ads for your own marketing strategy you must evaluate your target market and marketing goals.
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Local geo-targeting – how do you see it evolving?
One area of interest is Google Places. This free listing service has been around for a few years but more recently we have seen Google begin to favor Google Places listings for local searches. If a local searcher queries “financial planner Vancouver” Google will show a few organic listings and then a number of Google Places listings. These are the companies listed with the small map marker and pinned on the Google map right within Search Results, generating a lot of interest. Google knows that providing local, relevant search results produces a good user experience and is less likely to show “non local” results for services that must be consumed within the region the search is performed.
Another area of interest is the increasing opportunity to geo-target keyword phrases on your website. We have achieved amazing visibility for clients doing business in a local area. By optimizing the content on their website for specific cities, regions and neighborhoods these clients get found
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What is your favorite online marketing tool?
We have recently started using AnalyticsSEO which is one of the best “all in one” tools for SEO we have seen in 14 plus years of being in the business.
This tool takes an all-encompassing approach to SEO and provides tools for analyzing the key technical components of a website that influence Search Rankings, tracking visibility and competitor performance, improving individual pages, investigating the impact or following a website has as well as a great results section that helps benchmark online efforts and measure potential of future efforts.
The staff at AnalyticsSEO have been accommodating and willing to show us how to get the most of this tool and customize it for our own purposes.
For years, experts have been predicting that mobile devices will take over PC’s. Moving into 2013 we strongly believe that this has happened. In 2012, more people bought smartphones than PCs.
The aspect of mobile marketing that we will help our clients focus on the most in 2013 is creating, optimizing and maintaining Mobile Friendly websites. From what we have seen, most businesses are doing well if their website has an attractive design, is updated and is somewhat optimized. But now they need to also focus on having a website that renders properly for various smartphones and tablets.
Google is able to detect what type of device a searcher is using. If the searcher is using a Smartphone with a smaller screen, Google will give results of websites will render properly for these users.
1st on the List Promotion Inc . is a top SEO company based in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. Founded by Chris Genge in 1997, 1st on the List has over 15 years of experience in providing high quality ethical search engine optimization services to several North American businesses including a few Fortune 500 companies.