BrightEdge 2013 Search Marketer Survey Results

An Industry-wide SEO Overview
2013 Search Marketer Survey

An Industry-wide SEO Overview
2013 Search Marketer Survey
Letter from the CEO
Welcome to the 2013 Search Marketer Survey from BrightEdge. The goal of the survey is to clarify the prior-
ities and needs of the top search marketers around the globe. With over 500 search algorithm changes in the
past year, this survey seeks to offer guidance on how leaders continue to stay ahead in the competitive search
marketing industry.
Were in an industry that is now 15 years old and growing rapidly. SEO is forecast to be a $2.2 billion industry,
according to the Forrester U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast 2011 to 2016. As search has grown, BrightEdge
has grown and changed as well. In the past year, we have more than doubled our business and our customer
base. I am happy to announce that we now serve over 500 companies and 4,500 brands from our offces in
San Mateo, New York City and London.
As we look forward to 2013 we wanted to hear from the best minds in Enterprise SEO about their expectations
for this year. Given the size and diversity of our customer base, it was clear that understanding the priorities of
our customers would provide great insight into the impact of the changes we observed last year and where the
search market is headed in 2013.
What youll fnd in this survey are leading trends for 2013 as seen through the lens of some of leading minds
in search market. We use this insight to direct our investment in technology and people so we deliver what
matters to our customers. I hope you will fnd these results as informative and insightful as we do.
Heres to a great 2013!
Regards,
Jim Yu
Founder and CEO, BrightEdge
Index | Contents
Global Enterprise SEO
Global Enterprise SEO & Rankings
Global Enterprise SEO & Keyword Discovery
Global Enterprise SEO & Competitive Analysis
The Business of Enterprise SEO Forecasting Rank Improvement
The Business of Enterprise SEO Forecasting Return
Enterprise SEO & the C-level Executive
Enterprise SEO & Integrated Marketing
Enterprise SEO & Local Search
Enterprise SEO & Video Optimization
Enterprise SEO, Mobile, and Tablets
Enterprise SEO & Analytics on Mobile and Tablets
Enterprise SEO & Universal Search - SERP Changes
Enterprise SEO & Blended Rank
Enterprise SEO & Social Sharing
Enterprise SEO & Social Media Sharing, Pages and Rank
Enterprise SEO & Social Media Topics And Trending
Enterprise SEO & Social Media Channels
Enterprise SEO & Panda
Enterprise SEO & Content Creation / Management
Enterprise SEO & Content Marketing
Page Centric Enterprise SEO
Enterprise SEO - On-page and Off-page Optimization
Enterprise SEO & Penguin Violation Flags
Enterprise SEO & Link Building Internal Links
Enterprise SEO and Data Integrity and Security
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Ten Key Takeaways from the 2013 Search Marketer Survey
Mobile and tablet search is the next frontier
Local search is bigger than ever
Video offers search and social opportunities
Its time to quantify and communicate SEO value
ROI across multiple channels like search and social is what truly matters
The C-level is paying more attention to SEO
SEO metrics need to keep up with SERP changes as they happen
Social for SEO is big; so is SEO for Social
Content Marketing is back, and in a big way
Page-centric SEO makes its mark
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GLOBAL ENTERPRISE SEO
How important will ranking Global Search Engines be in 2013, compared to 2012?
source: www.brightedge.com
GLOBAL ENTERPRISE SEO & RANKINGS
How important will ranking in Baidu (China) be in 2013, compared to 2012?
Overview and Analysis
SEO marketers at global companies aspire to reach customers worldwide, and drive leads, revenue and
traffc through global SEO initiatives. Looking beyond a single country also helps them demonstrate a
greater ROI on marketing investments. Not only does this boost marketing ROI but also maintains global
brand consistency while accommodating local nuances. A global concerted approach to SEO marketing
addresses these needs.
Survey Results
With roughly 540 million internet users, 900 million mobile users and 388 million mobile internet users,
China is the worlds largest internet market. Baidu, Chinas dominant search engine, is one of the most
valuable gateways to this large internet user base.
Survey Results
6
GLOBAL ENTERPRISE SEO & KEYWORD DISCOVERY
How important will discovering keywords relevant to global audiences (such as Bing users in
France) be in 2013, compared to 2012?
GLOBAL SEO & COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
How important will discovering competition for keywords relevant to global audiences (such
as Bing users in France) be in 2013, compared to 2012?
User intent in search,expressed in terms of keywords used, varies by country and search engine. One of the
key challenges marketers face in their global SEO initiatives is identifying the keywords that are relevant to
specifc global audiences and country-specifc search engines such as Bing searchers in France.
Survey Results
To drive higher rank and conversions across geography-specifc search engines, marketers need competitive
intelligence specifc to each of these search engines. They seek granular insight into the competition for every
keyword and keyword group to devise strategies that help increase their Share of Voice against competition.
Survey Results
7
THE BUSINESS OF ENTERPRISE SEO FORECASTING RANK IMPROVEMENT
How important will forecasting rank improvement for targeted keywords and keyword
groups be in 2013, compared to 2012?
THE BUSINESS OF ENTERPRISE SEO FORECASTING RETURN
How important will forecasting the projected return from SEO be in 2013, compared to 2012?
Projecting rank improvement for targeted keywords and keyword groups gives marketers deeper insight
into specifc keywords and keyword groups that promise the greatest return. SEO marketers can use these
projections to create keyword opportunities that target rank improvement for the most lucrative keywords
and keyword groups.
Survey Results
Forecasting the return on SEO projects by projecting the revenue and conversions from keyword opportuni-
ties matters to marketers. These projections help marketers understand the ultimate impact of SEO on their
business. This enables them to make a business case to executives for SEO investments while allowing
them to prioritize opportunities that promise the maximum returns.
Survey Results
8
ENTERPRISE SEO & THE C-LEVEL EXECUTIVE
Does the SEO function have a greater strategic importance at the C-level of your organization
in 2013, compared to 2012?
Organic search is now proven to deliver hard business results such as revenue and conversions to business-
es of all size across industries in a cost effective manner. To drive even greater results from organic search,
marketing organizations needs to increase their investment in SEO. A key driver for channeling further SEO
investment is the visibility of organic search benefts at the C-level and executive support for SEO programs.
Survey Results
ENTERPRISE SEO & INTEGRATED MARKETING
In 2013, how important will it be to integrate marketing data across channels and measure
cross-channel ROI, compared to 2012?
The online marketing ecosystem has fragmented dramatically as innovation in digital drives demand for a
number of search and social media marketing platforms. In 2013 consumers and brands look towards inte-
grated marketing across multiple disciplines to better understand productivity of each channel as well as
interaction between each channel to drive conversions.
Survey Results
9
ENTERPRISE SEO & VIDEO OPTIMIZATION
How important will optimizing for video be in 2013, compared to 2012?
ENTERPRISE SEO & LOCAL SEARCH
How important will optimizing sites for localized search results (such as Google results for
searches by users in London) be in 2013, compared to 2012?
YouTube is the worlds second biggest search engine so it is no coincidence that the importance of video
optimization is on the rise. Video and its intrinsic social sharing options also have a great impact on rankings.
Video offers SEO marketers the opportunity to expand their footprint on the SERP by seeking placement
among the universal results pack, in addition to text, image, places and news results.
Survey Results
Search engines seek to enhance user experience by delivering more relevant and personalized search
results. They increasingly serve results that are customized to the location of the users. This offers a huge
opportunity for marketers optimizing their web properties and SEO campaigns to local search results and
preferences.
Survey Results
10
ENTERPRISE SEO, MOBILE, AND TABLETS
In 2013, how important will optimizing your site for mobile/tablet search be compared to 2012?
Mobile search is growing as the adoption of mobile and tablet devices surges. Many brands are
finding more searches come from mobile devices, making it imperative that marketers understand
the differences in how people search on mobile devices compared to desktop search. Following best
practices to ensure a sites mobile content can be properly viewed by search engines is a key priority.
Survey Results
ENTERPRISE SEO & ANALYTICS ON MOBILE AND TABLETS
In 2013, how important will SEO analytics on your mobile or tablet be compared to 2012?
Mobile and tablet usage is surging. At the same time, the workforce is becoming increasingly mobile. Mar-
keters are no exception to these trends and accessing SEO analytics on the move is of growing importance
to them.
Survey Results
11
ENTERPRISE SEO & BLENDED RANK
In 2013, how important will it be to understand your true SEO performance by measuring blend-
ed rank among all search results including image, video, places, news and social results?
ENTERPRISE SEO & UNIVERSAL SEARCH SERP CHANGES
In 2013, how important will it be to adapt your SEO metrics to SERP changes such as results
pages with 7 results, as these changes occur?
SERPs no longer feature just text-based results and have evolved to include image, video, social, and local
results. Marketers now need to know the rank of their pages among all types of results including image,
video, social, and local. Metrics and strategies based on blended rank and not just text results alone allow
marketers to devise SEO strategies based on true measure of SEO performance.
Survey Results
In 2012, Google made more than 500 algorithmic changes including signifcant updates to the SERP. These
changes include results pages with seven organic listings instead of ten, different placements for Google+
profle pages and transition to Google Product Listing Ads. Adapting SEO metrics to refect the changes
made to the SERP as these changes are rolled out help marketers exploit opportunities faster.
Survey Results
12
ENTERPRISE SEO & SOCIAL SHARING
How important will social sharing of content as a means to improve rank be in 2013,
compared to 2012?
Enterprise SEO requires looking across traditional SEO techniques and social media channels. Social is
a productive channel since search engines increasingly rely on social media traction for pages in order to
decide how to rank them. The more the search and social teams work together, the greater the synergies in
terms of rankings and sharable content. What is shared ranks, and what ranks is shared.
Survey Results
ENTERPRISE SEO & SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING, PAGES, AND RANK
How important will it be to understand the correlation between social sharing of your pages
and rank for these pages in 2013, compared to 2012?
Understanding the exact correlation between social sharing of your pages and rank is essential as market-
ers further integrate social media and SEO strategies. Identifying this correlation and analyzing the content
being shared helps marketers reinforce whats working while adjusting social sharing activities that do not
have a positive correlation.
Survey Results
13
ENTERPRISE SEO & SOCIAL MEDIA TOPICS AND TRENDING
In 2013, how important will it be to identify topics trending in social media in order to drive social
sharing for pages relevant to these topics and drive rank?
ENTERPRISE SEO & SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
Which social media channel(s) will you be focusing on in 2013?
Understanding topics that matter to social media users and sharing relevant content as these topics are
trending is critical for engaging these users. The key is to identify user interests as they are expressed in
social media and catch their attention by providing content targeting these interests. This triggers sharing of
relevanl content in social media and infuencing its rank in search results.
Survey Results
Search engines are increasingly using social media activity like Twitter Tweets and Facebook Likes and
Shares to determine which pages are most relevant for keyword searches. Depending on the goals for
social engagement, different marketing organizations prioritize different social media channels.
Survey Results
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ENTERPRISE SEO & PANDA
In 2013, how important will it be for your SEO technology to automatically fag Panda viola-
tions and provide recommendations that ensure compliance?
ENTERPRISE SEO & CONTENT CREATION / MANAGEMENT
In 2013, how much time will you spend on content creation and management, compared to 2012?
Google rolled out over 23 major Panda updates in 2012. This has driven a change and focus in marketing
strategies and hence a shift in content production as part of the SEO process. It is very important to
identify thin content, duplicate content, and practices such as keyword stuffng and flag Panda violalions.
Survey Results
Google updates in 2012,such as Panda, combined with the convergence of search. social and content
marketing strategies has meant that implementing a planned, detailed, and holistic approach to content and
SEO across all digital media channels is essential. Producing, managing, and sharing quality and relevant
content is going to be a key priority for enterprise search marketers.
Survey Results
15
ENTERPRISE SEO & CONTENT MARKETING
In 2013, what type(s) of content will be most valuable for your digital marketing?
PAGE-CENTRIC ENTERPRISE SEO
How important will a page-based SEO approach (as opposed to a keyword-driven approach)
be in 2013, compared to 2012?
vilh an increased focus on crealing and pronoling highqualily conlenl, narkelers are invesling heavily in
conlenl nanagenenl. The lype of conlenl lhal narkelers prefer varies greally by lheir induslry and how
users in lhal induslry consune conlenl. Fegardless of lhe induslry and lype of business, narkelers see
value in largeling nore lhan one lype of conlenl in order lo acconnodale diverse user preferences.
ulliple conlenl lypes also provide narkelers nore oplions lo nake lhe conlenl engaging. As narkelers
engage lheir audiences, lhey aclively consider how easily lhe conlenl lype lends ilself lo sharing by users.
Survey Results
A page-based approach involves a 360 degree analysis of all SEO factors affecting the rank of a page for
targeted keywords and then optimizing these factors. Making pages the center of the SEO universe enables
marketers to take a holistic approach toward optimizing and driving rank for each targeted page.
Survey Results
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ENTERPRISE SEO ON-PAGE AND OFF-PAGE
In 2013, how important will it be for your SEO technology to provide both on-page and off-
page recommendations for every targeted page?
ENTERPRISE SEO & PENGUIN VIOLATION FLAGS
In 2013, how important will it be for your SEO technology to automatically fag Penguin violations
and provide recommendations that ensure compliance?
A holistic page-based SEO approach requires analysis of all parameters affecting rank for a page including
on-page and off-page, and optimizing them. As the number of pages on the site increases, technology that
automatically provides recommendations will prove to be extremely invaluable.
Survey Results
With Penguin, Google continues to evolve its algorithm to promote great content and discourage web spam
through practices such as anchor text stuffng, buying links and acquiring too many low-quality links. Mar-
keters need to automatically monitor compliance with Penguin guidelines and take corrective action fast, if
needed, to preserve their SEO performance and good standing with Google.
Survey Results
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ENTERPRISE SEO & LINK BUILDING INTERNAL LINKS
How important will it be to analyze internal links for every page in your domain in 2013,
compared to 2012?
ENTERPRISE SEO & DATA INTEGRITY AND SECURITY
How important will integrity of SEO data be in 2013, compared to 2012?
Internal linking is an important part of SEO strategy to help search engine spiders reach pages, signal im-
portance of a websites most important pages and simplify navigation. Analyzing internal links for each page
helps marketers get the most out of internal linking while also watching out for over-optimization.
Survey Results
Enterprise search marketers are among the most data-driven professionals. They make important decisions
around keywords, pages, content, link building and social media activity based on the data they have on
hand. Clearly, they must have access to data and analytics that they can trust.
Survey Results

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