Have you ever visited the grocery store and forgot how many eggs you had sitting in the refrigerator at home? With the EggMinder, you’ll never have to worry again! The EggMinder is a smart egg tray that lets you know how many eggs you have left in the fridge through its built-in WiFi connectivity and a smartphone app.
You might laugh at the example above, but the truth is that almost all new technology that’s being produced today will some way, shape or form be connected to the internet through WiFi. All the way from egg trays and children’s toys to jet engines and oil drills, the connection of these physical products to the internet has produced what people today call the Internet of Things (IoT). And it could have a dramatic impact on the future of Online Marketing and SEO.
What exactly is the IoT?
In my blog today, I’m going to discuss 3 predictions about how this new connected technology will change the way marketers advertise and rank on search engines. But before we get too deep into that, I want to take a quick second and explain the idea of the IoT.
The simplest explanation of the IoT is the concept of connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet. This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers, lamps, wearable devices, and pretty much anything else that you can think of. A recent Forbes article explains, “The IoT is a giant network of connected ‘things’ (which include people). The relationship will be between people-people, people-things, and things-things.”
IoT Tech Predictions
Another recent Forbes article discussed ways in which this new network of connectivity will impact not only our lives but the way we search and optimize our information online. Today, I want to highlight three of the predictions and discuss how they could affect the future of Online Marketing.
#1 – The Shift to Conversational Queries
This is something that’s already happening today. No longer are people searching online using one or two words. Instead, people are searching for information using complete sentences and asking long-form questions. The article explains:
“Much of this is due to the development of digital assistants, which accept, interpret, and respond to vocally-input user queries. As IoT technology becomes more common in homes, keyboard entries may almost entirely disappear.”
These digital assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, are already starting to become more sophisticated in the way they interact with conversational commands. As individuals and customers become more accustomed to this form of search, keyword-based queries will practically disappear.
#2 – Organic Click-Through Rates will Fall
Due to the more conversational engagements between people and search engines, organic click-through rates will likely decline. In the past, as customers search for a product or service, a search engine results page (SERP) would require some investigating on the user’s end. The article explains:
“Users will rely on IoT technology for functions throughout their daily lives – from figuring out how long to bake chicken to ordering more paper towels – and many of these commands, orders, and conversations won’t require users to visit websites in any context.”
This might not be as bad as you might be thinking, however. Fewer people might be visiting your website, but the ones that are taken there through these new search queries will likely be more qualified and further along in the buying process. Instead of optimizing for click-through rates, marketers will be optimizing to be found by IoT searches.
#3 – Personalization will be Huge
This prediction is one that has been around for a while now. As digital marketers, it’s becoming more important than ever to deliver a personal experience to customers. Whether it’s through searches or engagements through Social Media Marketing, the customer journey is evolving into tailored content that meets the customer’s needs. The article explains:
“People want individualized experiences to avoid the feeling that they’re being mass-marketed to and to get more relevant content and information in their lives. With IoT, personalization will become not only more important, but more feasible; integrated systems will be able to collect data on individuals’ search histories, typical food purchases, driving habits, and everything in between.”
Even today, the capabilities for personalization with technology like Programmatic Advertising and Remarketing create a unique experience for customers. IoT introduces another level of personalization that will likely play a massive role in search results moving forward.
Living with IoT
The new rule for the future will be anything that can be connected, will be connected. While this might seem like a scary idea for some, the benefits are there to make our lives easier. Imagine if your alarm clock told your coffee machine to start brewing coffee for you in the morning. Even further, what if your coffee machine could order coffee supplies when it knew you were running low?
Even though these are fun examples to think about, marketers have a real opportunity to be creative in communicating within the IoT. The future of this technology is fast approaching and now is the time to find out the best way you can stand out in the IoT.