Digital marketing has always been a fast-paced industry, with changes happening by the minute. In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen Elon Musk successfully offer $44 billion to buy Twitter, Google announcing that they are sunsetting Universal Analytics (GA3) and numerous algorithm changes across all platforms.

But, as Ryan Hill, Senior Account Manager at SEO agency MRS Digital explains, this year, change may be more subtle with data as the driving force. 

The Changing Face of Search

Searching the web, from the days gone by of Ask Jeeves, to modern day Google, has evolved a lot over the years. Many of these changes have been driven by the frequent algorithm updates that search engine providers like to roll out. Driven by AI, NLP (Natural Language Processing) and other impactful technological changes, the search landscape of today is something of a technological miracle.

Now, in 2022, Search Marketing is not about keyword stuffing or paying for backlinks at volume, but about putting the end user first at every step. Whether that’s through fast loading, Core Web Vitals compliant webpages, easily digestible content or accessible design, Search Marketing needs a more integrated approach to be truly successful.

What is Integrated Search?

Integrated search is about a cohesive approach to search marketing across all disciplines. It brings together Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to create a search approach that is  more user focused, generates additional top of page visibility and consistently delivers better performing outcomes.

While it can seem scary putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, the combined strategy only brings a more cohesive approach to your marketing and allows each channel to support each other. 

For example, you can use PPC reports to identify high converting search terms for certain topics and bolster your SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) rankings with organic content. While PPC doesn’t increase SEO rankings, the increase in availability of data of niche search terms combined with brand level and broad term keywords allows marketers to level up their insight and unlock even clearer data driven decision making.

What Does 2022 Mean for Integrated Search?

As you’ll soon read, data driven attribution and GA4 are bringing a new approach to search tracking and modelling. This means that in 2022, marketers should move towards an integrated approach for their marketing to get the best understanding of how it is performing and the most value out of their spend.

If you have two sets of keywords to analyse, and two different approaches to PPC and SEO, the change to Google Analytics will only mean that your ability to fully track results will differ from what you’re used to. With GA4 focusing on weighted machine learning and data driven attribution over user and session data, an integrated approach will provide you with greater learning and insight on the smaller details. A wildly different approach for PPC and SEO will provide you with data points that show extremes, but less on a micro basis. Similarly, if your SEO and PPC are not working together, on search terms where paid isn’t needed to support organic or vice versa, there could be wasted time invested, and understanding that journey in GA4 may lead to wrong interpretations.

Whether you have an inhouse marketing team who already work in an integrated manner, or want to change your approach to search marketing, considering an integrated focus in light of the switch to GA4 is something worth thinking about. 

2022 is the Year of Data Driven Attribution

With Google’s announcement that Universal Analytics (GA3) is retiring next July, the way we’ll be tracking performance across websites will be changing. It will encourage marketers to move into a more events-based approach, rather than drilling into users and session-based tracking. 

This simply means that we’ll all be more focused on fully understanding the journeys up to the point of conversion, but less about the people who are making these journeys. By providing businesses with easy access to their attribution modelling through GA4, Google is unlocking something that has up until this point been reserved for GA360 subscribers only, which costs upwards of £100,000 a year.

With the introduction of GA4, Google is heralding a new era of understanding users, one that is driven by data attribution.

The Introduction of GA4

GA4, the new Google Analytics platform, provides access to Google Analytics 360 tools such as data driven attribution. This allows businesses to fully understand the conversion touchpoints through weighted machine learning. It’s a more intelligent way of understanding your conversions, and what factors were the most significant in the journey towards them being completed.

GA4 was introduced in October 2020, but it’s stark differences to Universal Analytics meant that uptake was initially low. However, it’s a platform designed for the new data driven age, with privacy and user experience taking the forefront. With the conversation around data privacy showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon Google is now forcing Analytics user’s hands to make the switch to GA4.

Google has adapted GA4 to make it more GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant. As standard it includes anonymised IP addresses, and you can set up country specific privacy settings. 

And, with the focus on user journeys and conversion touchpoints, GA4’s event-based measurement model allows you to see how someone commutes between different devices and channels in their journey to a conversion. 

Why is GA4 So Important in 2022?

While the official end date isn’t until 1st July 2023, to get an accurate history of data collection, the sooner you switch over to GA4, the more accurate Google’s machine learning modelling will be. 

Ideally, all marketers should have year on year comparable data to enable effective benchmarking of performance which means that you should have GA4 setup and working by July of this year! 

By running GA4 and UA (Universal Analytics) in parallel, you can also learn the nuances and differences in how the two approaches work. Conversely, you can also learn the benefits of GA4, and allow yourself to adapt to its slightly different approach to analytics.

Rounding Up

• GA4 is happening, so it’s better to jump on the boat early, then be left sprinting for the jetty at the last minute. Early adoption of GA4 will lead to better data and understanding come next July.

• Integrated search strategies will be more beneficial with GA4’s approach to analytics, as the focus on the user’s journey can be easily amended and streamlined by one team, over two separate approaches.

• Data-driven attribution is becoming the most popular approach to analytics and measurement, but it does require a more thought-out approach to tracking.