Big Search v Big Brand

According to a Harvest Digital study highlighted in a recent article in IT Week, a brand's influence on directing internet traffic pales in comparison to the influence of search engines. 43% of users are likely to click on links simply because they are on the first page of results, now culled not from one or two words but from three or four word search terms. The same UK study indicated a coming fracture in Google's dominance of search. As marketers, the time has passed when we could manage SEO activities with static metatags and homespun tracking tools. Search Engine Optimization is very much front and center of the marketing mix.