Category: do not fake sales

Will AI kill keyword gurus in 2020?

Sarat Pratapchandran1 Comment

letter oneThe Internet grew. New terms like search engine optimization (SEO) created thought leaders, book publishers, keyword specialists, and gurus of search.

Our vocabulary created many enterprising business models in the last decade.

We promised the corner cupcake store owner higher rankings on search engines. She got data on traffic, visits, referrals, direct hits, and examples of organic growth, half of which she never understood.

We became experts in search making money on similes, metaphors, and the unused thesaurus. But one thing remained clear: websites that created authentic, fresh, valuable content gave search engines a run for their money.

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes coffee for you, runs your inventory, manages your supply chain, and delivers profits. AI will easily drive your web traffic to the top spot of search engines.

You don’t need a digital marketing agency, a search engine specialist or a keyword expert. The middleman will vanish.

Firms like WordLift, Woorank and Alli AI are helping businesses get higher search engine rankings without an intermediary. If you have reached maturity in online marketing you will rely more on AI this decade rather than search engine experts.

But folks like me will depend on books like Word Power Made Easy, by Norman Lewis. There is a difference between original and artificial in our vocabulary and that will never go away.

Content marketers vie for buyer attention

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Smart content marketers are helping us make purchasing decisions in a world dominated by low attention spans.

Content marketing helps you meaningfully sell your product or service on the Web, especially in business to business (B2B) marketing. According to Michael Bremmer, Vice President of  Newscred, compelling content and a helpful attitude will deliver solid business results.

Businesses that educate their buyers and help them in their journey will make better results. Those that self-promote and create content for the sake of content will die as someone will strive to give an authentic voice.

Content marketing has blurred the lines between marketing and sales. The modern-day sales rep is now a smart content marketer who helps influence a buyer’s purchasing decision using new tools and a helpful attitude. Content marketers are educating buyers, building long-term relationships and closing deals without the help of traveling salesmen, using data analytics and persona-based research.

With most buyers doing 80% of their research online, there are fewer opportunities for traditional sales folks to intervene.  The “delayed engagement,” among prospects offers content marketers opportunities to help in conversions.

In our cluttered world with lots of unwanted information, how can we help our buyers? Bremmer suggests 3 tips to excel in a world dominated by unwanted content:
1. Stop promoting your business. Instead, create content for real people, your buyers.
2. Be the best answer on the Internet for whatever business you are in.
3. Delight your buyers by being the most helpful and be the best educator in your space.