Of all of the fundamental aspects to marketing, search marketing is in the top two most important. If you want to be discovered, search is essential.

But, it’s not easily understood. Why? Is it because it leans more science than art?

Maybe.

Honestly, I blame buzzwords (like the one in the cartoon above).

I try to avoid them. This commitment comes mostly from the fact that I like and respect words. That means I must choose carefully, ensuring the words I use retain their meaning. Buzzwords erode meaning.

Buzzwords are the cable news of words.

Search marketing is packed full of buzzwords, making a vital component of all marketing strategies intimidating and unapproachable.

Instead of buzzwords, let’s use data to understand.

Important search marketing facts:

• Google is responsible for 095 billion desktop searches per month in the U.S.
• Google is responsible for over six billion mobile searches per month in the U.S.
• Google has 89 percent of the mobile organic search market

Of course, each of those numbers represent a person with a problem to solve… a person who is trying to connect with a business to solve their problem.

These numbers also highlight why digital marketing types react so much when Google makes a change. As an example, here is a recent change from Google worth examining.

Google has stopped showing paid ads on the right-hand side of the search results page. Google wants more space for its Maps results, it’s Google+ results, etc., and the real estate on the right side of the search results page is ideal. Less inventory also means higher bids per keyword, making Google more money per keyword.

So, the change makes sense for Google. In fact, it seems overdue.

But, how does it impact your business? There are two primary takeaways for you.

First, because Google has stacked four paid ads on top of the organic results now, to make everything fit. Now there is less real estate for organic results. That makes the first 7 organic positions even more important than they used to be. Hence, your organic search marketing efforts should kick into overdrive.

Second, if you have a bricks-and-mortar business, local search becomes majorly important. In this case, the search results page will display paid ads, then local results, and then organic keyword results. Local now trumps organic, a particularly noticeable fact on a mobile device.

“Search optimization” has an ever-complicated definition. It means your business must be locally optimized for search engines (mobile) and keyword optimized (mobile and desktop) in order to be discovered while paid search marketing is still the most sure way to drive website traffic.

It’s important to understand search, because the slightest updates have ripple effects that create challenges and opportunities for your business. Make the necessary adjustments to your online presence and search marketing strategy, or risk your business becoming slowly invisible online.

Fight through the buzzwords and tech speak to understand. Search marketing still holds massive growth opportunity for your business. Don’t miss out.