Almost 90 percent of search marketers have indicated that the recent changes in the Google algorithm has had a very significant to significant impact on them. Also the same number of respondents said that the mobile internet along with local search has had a very significant impact on them.
This data was just released in the SEMPO State of Search Marketing Report 2012. Nearly 900 search marketers took part in the survey. The survey was conducted online between 12 -15 March 2012. The survey was conducted in 34 countries with more than 65 percent respondents from the USA.
It was clear from the survey that all the respondents irrespective of where they worked, in an agency or in the in-house departments of companies, were unanimous in their reply that the Google algorithm changes and mobile internet use has had an impact.
The Google algorithm changes they were referring to was Google’s Panda algorithm update that was launched in the month of February 2011 and has subsequently had a number of updates. Another algorithm change that has had significant impact is the Penguin update that was done in April of last year. However, the penguin update was not as frequently updated as the Panda update. This does not mean that marketers can breathe easy. Google has warned of more updates to their algorithms. So, marketers brace yourself for more such events.
As for agencies they also reported similar impacts. Here too more than 90 percent reported an impact due to the increasing use of mobiles to search the web and more than 85 percent attributed the impact to Google’s change in algorithms.
Some of the other results that the survey threw up related to the total valuation of the search marketing industry. SEMPO and eConsultancy which conducted the survey now put this industry at $26.8 billion for the year 2013. Another important finding of the survey, that will please all marketers, is that most companies have reported they are going to increase their digital marketing budgets. This was indicated by an overwhelming 96 percent of all the respondents.
This obviously is good news!