What are some important trends in digital marketing for 2020? 

Whether it's emerging trends and technologies or algorithm updates, it pays to start the new year ahead of the curve. But with so many changes constantly taking place, doing the research can be hard enough on it's own.

To help you save time, we've pulled together 7 digital marketing trends you should consider across different fields:

Digital trends in SEO and PPC 2020

Trend #1: The rise in zero-click searches could mean less clicks for your business

As of June 2019, more than 50% of all Google searches received zero clicks according to research by SparkToro founder Rand Fishkin. A zero-click search means that answers are displayed directly on the results page, usually through rich snippets, so that the user doesn't actually have to click on any links to have their query answered and leave Google's search results.

What marketers can do: 

Prepare your content for zero-click searches! For example, Google rely on rich snippets i.e. paragraphs, images, tables and star reviews to display relevant answers on results pages. These give your content a far better chance of being clicked on.

Here's eCommerce example of how rich snippets look in action:

If you haven't already, it's time to optimise your content for rich snippets. To start, use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper. Here are more tips on creating rich snippets. 

Trend #2: Organic search click-throughs are falling, paid ads are on the way up 

Accoridng to marketing analytics firm Jumpshot, click-through rates on organic searches have fallen by 13% over 2016 to 2019, which click-through rates on search ads have risen by 3.69% over the same period. What's more, only half of searchers can correctly identify between ads and organic listings. 

It's no surprise this is happening. Over the years, Google have subtly but surely blurred the lines between organic and paid search listings. 

Look at the difference between search ads in 2011 vs. search ads in 2019:

Organic traffic will always have value to your business, but we can't ignore the facts: Google is becoming a walled garden, and the likelihood of getting 'free clicks' to your content will drop in 2020. 

So if you haven't reviewed your PPC strategy in a while, it's time. Check that your set up is letting you maximise ROAS and that your search ads are taking advantage of all the extensions, keyword matches and character counts available from Google. 

Trend #3: Optimise your ads for voice search (still!)

Australians are adopting smart technology at a staggering sped. By 2018, more than 1.35 million Australian households had a smart speaker in their home. According to Gartner, an estimated 1 in 3 search sessions will be done without a screen by 2020.

Voice search has been on every marketer's radar for years now, but we only need to look at the speed of it's adoption to understand that it will be a serious direct-to-consumer channel in 2020. As the inevitable next step, we also think advertising through voice search will be introduced in the near future.  

Voice search forms a huge part of location-based searches i.e. "Where is the nearest pet store?" If your business is omnichannel with physical retail locations, then at the very minimum you should be reviewing your Google My Business listings for local SEO. 

If you're running PPC campaigns to promote stores, think about how you can customise the ads based on store locations i.e. store-specific sales or call extensions. 

Trend #4: Collaborative influencer marketing can improve your SEO 

According to Business Insider, influencer marketing will grow by almost 40% annually for the next five years. 

But this isn't just about Instagram promotions. Hiring or partnering with influencer who promotes your blog, for example, can help you build backlinks to your content which is one of the most important things to Google when evaluating your domain authority and where your page should rank.

In the past, it was common to cold outreach influencers/businesses about paid promotion or providing backlinks to your content. The transactional approach can work (if you stick to the best practices), but where's the fun in that?  

Like Andy from Orbit Media says, find the influencers in your niche and offer collaborative content marketing. Don't just pitch to them or treat them like your new salesperson; give them a chance to personally contribute to your content. Ask for a quote, a guest blog or an interview. We guarantee you will see better results by doing this!

Digital trends in marketing automation 2020

In 2018, we predicted that email marketing automation was going to dominate in 2019. Research also shows that the global marketing automation software market has generated a revenue of $3.86 Billion in 2016 and is anticipated to reach up to $7.63 Billion by 2025. 

With automation becoming the new norm, here's how businesses can really innovate their email marketing in order to stand out:

Trend #5: User-generated content for emails 

90% of today's customers say that authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and want to support. User-generated content i.e. any piece of content that is created by your customers or the public, can do wonders for your brand's authenticity and conversion rates. 

In fact, the potency of UGC as a marketing tool means that it should be adopted across as many channels as possible - but in email marketing we often see some room to improve with UGC. 

Run a UGC campaign through email - encourage your audience to leave reviews, answer surveys or send photos... there are many possibilities. It's also important that you know when to gather feedback and that you are promoting the positive content you receive, to improve email engagement and potentially conversion rates. 

Trend #6: Functional interactivity in emails

91% of buyers are looking for more interactive content online. When it comes to email marketing, one way to achieve this is by using kinetic email design:  designs that give users a visual experience through the email itself. 

In 2020, interactive content will continue to mature beyond just entertainment-value i.e. an quiz or poll. In 2020, we are looking for functional interactivity which means promoting practical actions like engagement, clicks and conversions within the email.

Here's where you can get really creative: try animated CTAs, rollover effects to showcase product offerings, interactive images and product carousels your users can control, and accordion features designed to make long-form emails more compact. Any kind of interactive approach can help you 1) get noticed and 2) drive clicks and give your users a unique experience without even having to leave your email.

And, finally... 

Trend #7: Progressive Web Apps

To put it simply, a Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website which delivers an app-like experience to users. According to Gartner Research, Progressive Web Apps will replace 50% of all consumer-facing native apps by 2020. 

PWAs are a great solution for businesses because they are much more affordable than developing a native app, faster to load and quicker to market. There's also a growing number of case studies showing the positive effect of PWAs on key marketing metrics like conversion, revenue, time on page, engagement and lead generation. 

We encourage you to explore PWAs as an alternative to building an app, but aligning the pros and cons of it first. See if your main competitors are using PWAs first and how they do it. 

Need to get on top of your 2020 planning? Our team can help you set the right goals and get ahead of the right trends. Ask us anything - we'll be happy to find the answers together!