Top tips: Search marketing for the 2012 Olympics

In 2012, London will hold the record for hosting the Olympic Games more times than any other city (three). As the UK prepares to become a global magnet for athletes and tourists alike, companies of all sizes will be looking to tether their brands to related promotional activity. Within the online space, search has become more important than ever in generating visibility, but as online platforms continue to evolve at pace, what will the SEO landscape look like in 2012?

There can be no doubt that search engine optimisation (SEO) has firmly established itself as a viable marketing medium and will inevitably gain more importance within the next few years. However, for marketers keen to leverage their Olympic connection, the wheels need to be set in motion now.

There are certain trends that seem to be on the rise. According to a recent IAB/PWC report pay-per-click (PPC) spend continues to increase. Although costs are on the up too, digital marketers will continue to leverage their creativity in this area – which can only be positive for the industry. Likewise significantly stronger interest in natural search performance indicates that SEO is going to increase in importance.

The convergence of social media with both paid and natural search adds another dimension to the industry, making it more powerful and relevant than ever.  Advertisers will no doubt be looking to leverage these platforms more and more over the next couple of years, as social networks begin to integrate more closely with search engine marketing. However, recent developments with Twitter monetising its service might make bigger waves than first anticipated.

New search engines entering the market, such as Bing, may make a bigger dent in Google’s market share and provide a better opportunity for advertisers to target different users.  Specialist semantic search engines may also become more prominent. As greater emphasis is placed on engaging consumers with good written content – ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’ marketing – it may well be the case that link building becomes less relevant.

Consumers are also becoming more aware of SEO and so there may be a backlash against those that use PPC. The result could be an ‘un-seo-able’ search engine devised independently to provide an entirely different and more transparent revenue stream. In addition, the linguistics used in search may change as new words and slang develop.

It’s also important to consider how consumers will connect online in 2012. As portable hardware, like the iPad, becomes available, there’s sure to be an even greater surge in app creation, creating new opportunities for search and design specialists keen to enhance their offerings.  Another major development is in visual search capability, which will allow users to see results in an image form rather than text. Initially it may focus on travel, health, leisure and shopping but could extend to other areas too. This means search won’t be able to ‘cheat’ with image alt tags.

The build up to 2012 is happening now – Wenlock and Mandeville are already popping up across the social media landscape. However the search industry won’t have evolved beyond recognition. Speculation is possible, but by no means binding. One overriding certainty is that marketers should be putting their strategic plans in motion place in order to keep pace with the opportunity on offer.

By Chris Speed

Head of paid search

I Spy Marketing

www.ispymarketing.com

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