I’ve written previously about the need to re-evaluate search marketing by attending to how users encounter your BRAND through search as opposed to the dated approach of focusing on where your URL appears.  This week a study emerged from a the search marketing agency Slingshot, showing that the click-through-rates (CTRs) on search result pages (SERPs) are diversifying dramatically such that only 52% of Google users and 26% of Bing users are clicking on anything on page 1.  People use search in multifaceted ways so we have to stop believing in the old alchemy of the magical number 1 slot and the obsession over where our URL ranks.  It’s the total experience of the brand that matters and those who make this transition quickest stand to gain the most from their search marketing efforts.

For years, the thinking has been that the top slots produce the lion’s share of the user activity on SERPs.  Various studies in the mid 2000s indicated that the top three slots got as much as 50-60% percent of the activity.  I’m not sure that the story was ever as dramatic as those stats indicated but the present reality is certainly different.  As Google and Bing have moved to build Universal Search Result pages that include blended results from a  variety of content sources, users have begun exploring the SERPs more readily.

Depending upon their mindset, the SERP gives the user many directions to pursue.  Are you just learning about a certain product or service?  Visit manufacturer sites and read articles on the topic.  Are you narrowing down or comparing options?  Visit review sites, blogs and forums.  Sick of reading and want a simpler overview….look for videos. Need something near you……check out the local listings.  The list of options grows annually and we all benefit from the multiplicity of content that is available.

All this reinforces the idea that brands need a content marketing strategy that contributes to the proliferation of content and conversation about them.  A content marketing strategy focuses on the needs of your audience and the best ways to provide them with useful information.  Useful content leads to greater distribution of content and therefore a wider variety of ways that users can encounter your brand off any specific SERP.  This trend along with the trend towards mobile access of digital content are the two most game defining changes that marketers must embrace in the coming year.  Embrace the change!  It’s a good thing.