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With the explosion of technology in the digital space, customer expectations and website capabilities are constantly changing. As we approach the middle part of 2017, now is a good time to closely examine trends that will have the greatest impact on the industry this year.
There are now more than a billion websites available, and the amount of data online has exploded from 130 exabytes in 2005 to an anticipated 40,000 in 2020. In response to the incredible amount of information available online, brands now compete with each other to provide customers relevant content. This has driven industry advancements and led to greater customer expectations from brands and their associated websites.
Advancements in voice search and artificial intelligence (AI) will drive rich answers that will help marketers understand the customer intent behind I-want-to-go, I-want-to-know, I-want-to-buy and I-want-to-do micro-moments. Google has developed algorithms to cater directly to the search intent of the customers behind these queries, enabling customers to find the right answers quickly.
With the advent of these new technologies, securing positions at the top of the Google SERP, such as through local 3-packs and Quick Answers, will likely become even more important for brand recognition and reputation.
[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]
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