In this week’s Content & Coffee with Brafton, Lauren Kaye talks about why a personalized web experience isn’t always positive when it comes to search. Click the video to watch our recap, or read the text below.
The emergence of content analytics and the proliferation of big data makes it easier for marketers to cull and parse information and understand more about their target markets. This allows creatives new opportunities to produce web content that truly resonates with readers, but format often determines how responsive leads are to customized collateral.
A Responsys survey from April 2013 found that consumers consider personalized display ads in SERPs to be the least important aspect of digital advertising. In fact, 67 percent prefer marketers to personalize email content, 44 percent want custom social ads and 40 percent embrace individualized mobile posts. Search remains the one area where consumers gravitate toward completely objective online content, and for good reason.
Content for SEO positions high-quality media in front of searching eyes. Consumers turn toward sites like Google for information about what to buy, and they don’t want display ads ruining their research processes. If you think about it, content marketing engages audiences at the top of the funnel, while social media content and email channels target prospects who have already opted in for information.
Marketers must know when to leave granular data out of the content creation process. Blogs must speak to a wider audience, and segment readers based on the subject matter they show the most interest in long term. If companies produce narrow-minded blog posts, they neglect the wider audience that’s potentially online today.
