Search Engine Marketing Trends 2024

By TechDogs Editorial Team

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Overview

Have you ever Googled something? That’s akin to asking if you’ve ever drank water in the modern age, right? However, have you ever searched for something online (not necessarily on Google!) and ended up with something entirely different? Or perhaps you had to scroll to page 6 of the search engine page results (SERPs) to get what you needed? Well, it is highly unlikely in the modern world – but why?

That’s because brands and businesses leverage Search Engine Marketing to ensure their customer and potential consumers can find them easily. Yet, of late, brands are competing for the same set of keywords and search results. This has made it even more critical for brands to ensure their name ranks higher on search engines. When someone searches “Mercedes car” the result should be the German carmaker and not the car owned by the singer Mercedes, right?

So, how can brands ensure visibility for their business in the dynamic and competitive age of digital searches? Search Engine Marketing (SEM) will be the North Star guiding them towards success! Yet, when millions of B2B professionals and marketers navigate the SEM realm and follow the same path, how can you stay ahead of the curve?

For starters, explore our article as we unveil the Top 5 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Trends for 2024!

In the labyrinth of the online world, there are whispers of a change. Web pages echoing a secret through the digital corridors. Yes, we are talking about some of the best-kept secrets in the digital world.

As the year changes, so does the realm of search engine marketing – but what doesn’t change is the fact that the most keen-eyed marketers start identifying trends months in advance. Marketers, the alchemists of Search Engine Marketing, are aware that it takes only the blink of an eye for a paradigm shift. Hence, businesses must stay up to date on the latest happenings in the SEM world.

Last year, we unveiled the top SEM trends, including automated bidding, local/visual/voice searches, audience segmentation and conversational queries. This year, whether you navigate the digital realm daily or are an occasional wanderer, these trends should be your guiding compass.

Join us as we decode the top 5 Search Engine Marketing trends that every marketer needs to know in 2024!

Trend 1: Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Will Continue Transforming SEM Strategies

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Not to state the obvious but Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have had a significant impact on various industries across the digital spectrum. In 2024, search engine marketing strategies will continue to be influenced and improved by the powerful duo of AI/ ML.

This year, many companies will start utilizing machine learning algorithms to analyze their customer behavior to determine the most effective targeting strategies. Additionally, artificial intelligence will be leveraged to create more accurate consumer demand forecasts and optimized ad campaigns. Together, they will create a recipe for SEM success!

According to Hootsuite, a social media management platform, 23% of marketing professionals are already using AI, while 26% of organizations are using AI specifically for marketing and sales. These numbers are expected to increase as AI/ ML has proved to be a game-changer for certain SEM processes. For instance, Kodehash, a software services provider, is actively using artificial intelligence tools, such as Midjourney, to create visual content based on dynamic customer demands.

This trend is validated by Lindsey Gamble, Associate Director of Influencer Innovation at Mavrck, who says, “AI tools can be game-changers for marketers. They can expedite the brainstorming process with data-driven suggestions, optimize content for specific channels, and help automate content repurposing across various platforms.” Naturally, AI/ ML-driven platforms will enable marketers to work faster, smarter and more effectively in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Who doesn’t want to leverage AI/ML in SEM workflows? Answer: no one! To start, marketers must implement AI-driven tools for dynamic keyword optimization that continuously analyze and adjust keywords to their SEM strategies, enhancing their relevance and maximizing search relevancy. Moreover, marketers should utilize AI algorithms for predictive analytics across audience segments. For instance, AI tools can help identify patterns and preferences, enabling more targeted and personalized SEM campaigns that resonate with specific customer segments. Finally, marketers need to integrate AI automation into their bid management processes, allowing AI algorithms to dynamically adjust bids based on real-time data. This will not only optimize ad spending but also ensure your SEM campaigns are cost-effective and performance-driven.

Trend 2: Search Engine Marketers Will Need To Optimize For Voice Searches

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Voice search is becoming more popular with the rising adoption of voice assistants, such as Alexa and Google Assistant. Although we covered this trend in last year’s SEM trends, there's no denying that voice searches will continue to grow in the coming years and remain an important part of SEM strategies.

As voice search is becoming more accessible to consumers, businesses will start shifting focus from traditional text-based searches and begin optimizing their landing pages and websites for voice queries. Since voice search is different compared to text-based searches, businesses that are ahead of the curve will have better visibility for users leveraging voice searches. Moreover, voice search is generally used for local queries, as users are often looking for businesses or local points of interest using voice search. Hence, optimizing voice searches will see greater emphasis from brands relying on local SEO.

Also, think of this: by 2026, more than half of all American internet users will use a voice search assistant! Add to this the fact that, according to Forbes, roughly 58% of consumers use voice searches to find local businesses and 28% of users rely on voice searches at least once a week. Luxolo Majoka, a digital marketer and business leader explains why voice search will be beneficial for SEM strategies, saying, “Understanding your search intentions is critical to creating content on your site that answers queries. When users search by voice, they form complete sentences instead of entering keywords as in traditional searches.” Hence, marketers cannot (and should not!) avoid optimizing for voice searches in 2024!

TechDogs’ Takeaway: If you haven’t already optimized your brand content for voice searches, here’s how you can start. Marketers aiming to leverage voice searches need to tailor their content for conversational queries, aligning with how users would articulate voice searches. This includes optimizing keywords to match natural language patterns that will enhance visibility for voice search results. Next, marketers must capitalize on location-based queries by optimizing for local intent. This can be done by including location-specific keywords and ensuring accurate business geo-information. Moreover, as voice assistants prioritize proximity, local optimization will be crucial for voice search strategies. Talking of voice assistants, marketers must recognize the growing influence of voice assistants such as Siri or Alexa and develop strategies that align with voice searches via such devices. For instance, marketers must consider voice-friendly ad copies and landing pages to enhance the user experience for voice searchers.

Trend 3: Optimizing For Video Ads Will Remain A Major Driving Force

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Creating video ads that rank high on Google search results or YouTube is very challenging – but it can give a major boost to any business! Yet, this requires marketers to focus on video SEO practices. Hence, in 2024, video advertising driven by visual SEO will continue to grow and become a crucial tool for marketers relying on targeted ads.

Visual ads have a more significant impact than other forms of advertising, such as simple text or banner ads. Furthermore, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are increasingly promoting the use of video advertising. In fact, 91% of businesses have used video ads as an online marketing strategy in 2023 and 89% of consumers said watching a video ad convinced them to buy a product or service. Take notes, marketers!

Hence, we will see more brands step into the visual SEO arena to derive engagement, conversion and brand recognition from highly targeted video ad campaigns. According to Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Statistics 2023 report, up to 70% of non-video marketers plan to start using video ads in 2024 and beyond. Matt Navarra, a social media analyst explains, “TikTok will continue to reign the social arena through engaging and authentic UGC videos.” With short videos gaining momentum with consumers, it will be worth paying attention to video ads and visual SEO strategies in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: We bet most of you are already using video ads to target audiences. To create attention-grabbing thumbnails for such video ads, marketers and designers should use A/B testing and assess various designs to understand what resonates best with the target audience. A compelling video ad thumbnail can significantly boost click-through rates, drawing users to your webpage! Next, it is critical to incorporate relevant keywords in video titles, descriptions, meta tags, etc., as this optimization helps search engines understand the context of the video, improving its discoverability and ensuring it reaches the right audience. Yet, most of all, marketers need to harness the power of short-form video content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Consider repurposing engaging snippets of existing video ads and cross-posting them to social media platforms, as such videos resonate with audiences and can enhance your overall SEM strategy.

Trend 4: Marketers Cannot Miss Out On Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

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We bet you’ve heard of ChatGPT over the last few months. As AI chatbots reshape how consumers search and find information online, marketers will start leveraging Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) to adapt their content accordingly and prepare for the future of web searches for 2024 and beyond.

AEO is the process of optimizing content for “answer engines” – think of ChatGPT, Google SGE, Microsoft’s Bing chatbot and others. As they are AI-powered technologies that synthesize information to answer user queries, content that is optimized for answer engines will have higher visibility for such AI engines. Not just AI chatbots but even smart assistants and voice searches (Trend 2) are getting an AI makeover, with users increasingly seeking answers without clicking through to a web page.

Hence, we will see marketers pivoting to create concise, direct content that can easily be ingested by AI engines. This will increase the chances of being cited by AI-generated responses for web searches. We believe this will become a “do-or-die” trend for search engine marketers. Why? Because as of 2023, 77.8% of the searches on Google show AI-generated results – can’t miss out on this, folks!

TechDogs’ Takeaway: We’re living in the age of AI and adaptability is the name of the game for marketers. First of all, SEM professionals must craft content with clear, concise answers to common queries, as optimizing for AI-generated “snippets” will enhance visibility and user engagement. Next, marketers need to leverage AI tools to identify conversational keywords and phrases. Using AI tools will help marketers understand user intent and incorporate the insights into SEM strategies that align their content with AI-generated responses. Finally, marketers need to enhance the user experience by integrating interactive elements such as images that ChatGPT and other AI engines prioritize to respond to users. Even without directly visiting your website, providing instant answers via AEO will foster a more personalized brand connection with the searcher.

Trend 5: Zero-click Searches Will Majorly Reshape Search Engine Marketing

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Although zero-click searches have been a prominent trend for a while now, we expect it will be in the spotlight for most SEM professionals in 2024. As AI-generated searches are taking over (Trend 4), the competition for being visible to web searchers, without them clicking through to the webpage, is heating up.

Zero-click searches occur when a user finds the answer to a query without needing to visit any website from the search engine results page (SERP). This means the user gains valuable information for their query without clicking through to the web page with the answer. The majority of zero-click searches are a result of SERP features that promote a low click-through rate, such as featured snippets, the Local Pack for businesses-near-me searches or even the Google Shopping feature for shopping-related searches.

According to the SEMrush Zero-Clicks Study, 57% of mobile searches and roughly 25% of desktop searchers now leave the SERP without clicking on an organic or paid result. This is being attributed to knowledge panels or AI-assisted search results. Marketers will look to minimize the impact of zero-click searches by adjusting their strategies – mainly by trying to appear on the featured snippets. To achieve this, SEM professionals will explore a variety of methods, such as answering frequently asked questions, incorporating question keywords, structuring information in natural language, using schema markup, etc. With zero-click searches set to rise, marketers will start rethinking and revising their SEM strategies in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Most marketers view the introduction of AI-powered searches and zero-click searches as a threat. To stay in the game, marketers should start by crafting content that precisely addresses the users' queries as understanding search intent and tailoring content accordingly will help in reducing the likelihood of zero-click searches. Next, marketers must optimize their content for featured snippets and markup schema by structuring it to answer common queries in Q&A formats. Appearing in featured snippets increases visibility and may encourage users to click through for more detailed information, rather than relying on the information provided by the zero-click search. Finally, marketers must focus on crafting compelling meta descriptions that entice users to click through to the website. Clearly, communicating the value of your web page’s content within the meta description makes users more likely to click through rather than stay on the search engine results page.

Conclusion

The world of SEM has seen constant change but perhaps never as much as we’ve seen in the last few months. The rise of Generative AI has created uncertainty – however, forward-looking SEM professionals will look to ride the waves and emerge successful later in the year. If you’re one such marketer, continue to integrate AI/ML tools, optimize for voice searches and video ads, adjust strategies for AEO and create valuable content to rise above zero-click searches.

That’s all for this time – see you next year with the latest in the ever-changing world of Search Engine Marketing!

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Tags:

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Search Engine Marketing Trends Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning (ML) Search Marketing SEM Strategies Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

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