The Digital Summit is a leading national series of digital marketing and strategies.  Thousands of digital marketing leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators attend the summit each year to stay a step ahead in the ever-changing digital economy.

 I had to opportunity to attend the Digital Summit Dallas in early December.  The 2-day (over 50 workshops) conference was jam packed with digital marketing best practices, latest trends and strategy. While I couldn’t possibly share even a summary  presented during the conference in a blog post, I thought I would share the latest trends impacting digital marketing. You can find the Dallas Digital Summit 2019 agenda here. 

DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS 2019

 

Website Design and SEO Trends:

• 72% of marketers state relevant content creation is the most effective SEO tactic.
• On average, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing (and generates 3X the leads.)
• 71% of Millennials would try a chatbot experience from a major brand.
• 48% state a website’s design is the most important factor in deciding business credibility.
• 40% of marketers say algorithm changes are the biggest obstacle to SEO success.
• 64% of businesses saw leads/sales increase after a website redesign.

Google Trends:

• 15% of Google searches have never been previously searched.
• The top 4 search results yield 96% of clicks.
• Google drives 96% of U.S. mobile search traffic.
•  By 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches.
•  46% of searches are of local intent.
• Google “near me” searches doubled in 2017.
• An average of 63K Google searches are performed every second.

Google My Business Trends:

• 46% of searches are of local intent.
• 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends.
• 25% said reviews had to be written within the last month to be relevant.
• Audit negative reviews. Report those that are suspicious and/or contain inaccurate content.
• Businesses get 42% more requests for directions if they’ve uploaded images.
• Profiles with images also get 35% higher click through to their websites than businesses without.  

Mobile Trends:

• 71% of marketers believe mobile marketing is core to their business.
• 84% of small businesses using mobile marketing methods report an increase in new customers.
• 80% of consumers stop engaging in content that does not display well on their device.
• Users are 5X more likely to leave a site that is not mobile designed.

Social Media Trends:

•  62% of marketers chose Facebook as their most important platform.
•  62% of marketers plan to increase their investment in Facebook Video in 2018.
•  Square videos on Facebook take up 78% more space resulting in better engagement than horizontal.
• 84% of marketers are using paid social media promotions.
• 92% of consumers read online reviews.
• 81% of marketers reported increased website traffic with as little of 6 hrs/week of social media marketing.
• 83% of brands found Facebook Live effective for reaching customers.
• Enjoyment of video ads increase purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%.
• Customer conversion is 129% higher when social media is part of the buyer’s journey.
• 47% of Millennials state their purchase decisions are influenced by social media.
• 90% of Instagram users are under 35 years old.
• The best time to reach Pinterest users is Saturday, 9-11 p.m.

Video Trends:

• 80% of all digital traffic will be video by 2020.
• 50% of internet users look for videos related to the product or service before visiting a store.
• YouTube videos on mobile outreach every TV time slot.
• Videos generate 12 times more shares than texts and images combined.
• Customer testimonials, “how to” and “demo” are the most effective types of video content.
• 95% of a message is retained when seen in a video.

Kash Data Consulting LLC is a Search Marketing firm with significant years of practical experience in SEO, Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Social Media Marketing, Local Search Marketing, YouTube Optimization and Content Writing with WordPress CMS in Plano, Frisco, Allen and surrounding DFW Metroplex areas.

Blog Post edited by Tarundeep Kaur, freelance content strategist and writer passionate about SEO and Social Media Marketing, Plano Texas. You can reach me on Linkedin.