Social Media, SEO and Co: These are the top 5 topics in online marketing

In cooperation with our partner, the DSP selfcampaign, we have exclusively analysed which were the most important topics in online marketing in 2018. 

Topic No. 1: Social Media

By far the most important topic for online marketers are the social networks Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. More than 82 percent of all articles read by decision-makers dealt with this topic. This is the result of a recent survey by our affiliated data partner selfcampaign.

No wonder – after all, most advertising-relevant user groups in social networks are on the move. In addition, influencer posts as well as postings that are targeted to specific groups can reach a particularly large number of people. According to a recent ARD/ZDF online study, almost one in three people in Germany uses Facebook, 15 percent of the population uses Instagram.

While Facebook has the most users between the ages of 20-29, Instagram is particularly popular among 14-19 year olds. Advertising on both channels can be customized and is relatively inexpensive compared to other formats. If you want to offer customer-oriented service and sharpen your brand image, you can't help but run a Facebook and Instagram channel and maintain it accordingly. 

SEO or SEA? Best in combination!

Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) ranked second among the most searched terms. Search engine marketing is about using search engine results to direct visitors to your website. There are various ways to achieve this: Search engine advertising (SEA) tries to attract as much traffic as possible to its own website through individual ads tailored to user groups in the search results list. 

The fact that this form of advertising is not only particularly successful, but is also becoming increasingly popular is shown by the fact that it is the fourth most important search term for online marketing experts: Pay per Click (PPC). This model is particularly popular for Google Ads. There, a certain budget can be defined, which not only pays per click, but also dynamically adapts the advertising to the user behavior, so that it achieves the optimal reach. 

SEO tips as of today

Search engine optimization (SEO) is characterised by the fact that instead of advertising, the content of the pages is prepared in such a way that they end up as high as possible in the search result list. Good search engine optimization is a science in itself: Since Google – as the most important search engine – itself provides only a few tips on how its algorithms work, SEO professionals must always keep up to date and, if in doubt, analyze and try out for themselves how various measures are reflected in the result ranking.

The most important rules of thumb for an SEO-optimized text are currently: key terms on the topic should be in headings, texts should be structured in a legible way (e.g. with short sections, subheadings, enumerations) and moderately useful (external) links should be set. In short: If the text has a lot of added value for the searching user, it will usually end up high in the results. 

Mobile use dominates

Mobile" is ranked third among the top topics in online marketing, just ahead of Pay per Click. Mobile use dominates in Germany: over 55 percent of their online time is spent on smartphones. That's why web offers and services should be accessible quickly and easily, especially on mobile devices. 

What has legal status changed in online marketing?

In 5th place of the most sought-after topics was "law". Much has changed in the past year, not only as a result of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For example, senders of newsletters or operators of e-mail marketing must be able to prove the recipients' consent. Influencers must identify advertising – whether paid or unpaid – at the latest since a ruling by the Berlin Regional Court in 2018 if they do not wish to risk a warning.

Nevertheless, it remains an exciting marketing field for companies: Authenticity plays the main role here - that's why most people now rely less on stars and more on micro-influencers with a follower number in the four- to five-digit range, which are particularly well suited to the product or brand.