My 3 Key Takeaways from 2010

It’s December and what a scary thought. Another year (not to mention, decade) has suddenly passed by and already it’s time to embark on next year’s plans. With 2010 soon to be behind us, I’m taking a look back on my key learnings for the year.

1. Change, Change, Change

Search marketing has always been about change, and 2010 was no exception.

We saw alliances (Bing-Yahoo, Yahoo-Google, Bing-Facebook); fall-outs (Google-China); evolution (Google Instant, Instant Previews, Reviews); and of course, the Death of SEO… again.

Expect 2011 to be no different from years before. As always, we need to be ready to do what we do best: adapt and flourish with change.

2. Always be Prepared for “What Ifs”

Sometimes money gets taken away, other times budget is up for grabs. The key is being prepared to demonstrate on an ongoing basis what search is contributing (linked as closely to ROI and Key Performance Indicators [KPIs] as possible) and what opportunities are being missed as a result of not investing.  

Gap analysis played a key role for me in 2010. In fact, it helped to increase my annual media budget by 45%. So don’t underestimate the value of gap analysis to secure additional budget and answer those awkward “what if” questions.

Gap analysis will continue to play an important part of my 2011 strategy, but not just in terms of increasing PPC media. Perhaps more importantly, it will be used to help build up the SEO function and the Search Marketing Organization as a whole.

3. Don’t Operate Within a Bubble

As important as it is to keep up with search marketing developments and techniques, sometimes in business, knowledge on its own is not enough. It is just as important to make sure you don’t operate within a bubble. You need to continuously sell search marketing to key people within your organization to help keep it top of mind, remembering to tailor your approach depending on different people’s interests and what they are measured on.