The State of SEO survey highlights – SEO enters the mainstream

There’s a worry amongst marketers – am I following the right path in my strategy?  

A new report released by Zazzle Media has revealed that SEO is becoming a key area for the majority of marketers in the UK, with seemingly more prominence given to the sector than ever before. Here’s the top stats from the new report – where does your business fit into this wider industry opinion? 

State of SEO improving

The inaugural State of SEO Survey approached over 30,000 UK marketers for their views on the industry as well as their personal knowledge levels of the intricacies of the sector. The survey revealed that 88% of marketers believed SEO was an important element of their marketing plans, with over 60% of these going as far to say the that it was an extremely important factor in the success of their marketing operations.   

It seems that this belief in the sector is paying off:

• 77% said that SEO has increased the amount of leads
• 79% felt that SEO had improved their brand awareness
• 48% said that SEO had decreased the cost of customer acquisition for them

But there’s still work to do

Despite these positive indicators, there is still a lot of work to do before SEO becomes second nature for many marketers. 

A third of marketers surveyed said they did not have the budget to achieve their desired objectives in SEO, whilst 9% of marketers still consider SEO as not important at all to their online marketing efforts. 

Whilst 71% of those surveyed felt that their organization’s knowledge of SEO was ‘expert level,’ this survey revealed that marketers are still struggling to keep up with the fast paced changes in the sector, revealing some sizable knowledge gaps. 

• Only 30% of marketers surveyed correctly identified that ‘Llama’ was a fake Google Algorithm change.
• Almost half (43%) still have a disavow file post Penguin – there is ongoing debate about the value this could provide now, but it’s clear that it is worth keeping up to date with these arguments.  
• 41% of the surveyed marketers are ready for Mobile First Index. The same amount is in the process of doing something about this crucial change, but not ready, and 6% had to click ‘What’s Mobile First Index?’

Managing director of Zazzle Media, Simon Penson, commented on the findings: “Our survey shows that there is an encouraging appetite and appreciation for SEO in the marketing community, despite a few hang ups concerning the fast paced nature of the sector. I know from personal experience how much change is part of the DNA of this wonderful industry. If you’re not comfortable with it then you usually find the door quickly. But such a pace of change does create significant challenges for those attempting to ‘keep up’ with the very latest approach and tactics required to win.”

source https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/09/30/the-state-of-seo-survey-highlights-seo-enters-the-mainstream/