It can be difficult to spend less on digital marketing, while still being just as productive. However, if a brand follows the right digital marketing strategy, it is quite possible for them to do so.

The process of competing for top search engine spots for popular key phrases can be very tough. All companies in the same industry will be optimising their digital marketing content for the same terms. However, if you manage to spot a new buzzword in your industry before your competitors, and quickly create good digital marketing content around them for your website, you will be one-step ahead of your competitors. Being a first-mover not only gives you a competitive edge, but also enables you to create a ‘trusted’ status. Moreover, if you are considered to be ‘trusted’ with regard to a particular buzzword, many competitors will link to your content, to validate their own content.

Most people think of trends as something to do with music or fashion. However, trends are changing every time in every industry. Keyword trends can come about through product launches, new terminology, competitive shifts, or even wider economic changes. New jargon or slang may also develop to describe the same old items.

The process of spotting trends is an industry by itself. Below are some tips on how to spot new keyword trends that will help you get ahead of your digital marketing competitors:

• Analyse your internal search results: Use Google Analytics or some other tracking program to mine your internal search data, for new keywords. The digital marketing key phrases you should be targeting would most probably not show in the top 10, or even in the top 100. Keep an eye out for long tail keywords, which are fast increasing in popularity.

• Checks for trends on Twitter: Websites like Trendistic can give you an idea about trends on Twitter. Just run a search for a particular digital marketing keyword, and find out how related tweets are trending over a day, week or month. You can also choose to check the ‘trending’ section on your Twitter homepage, for the latest trends that are driving consumers, worldwide.

• Use free tools: Google has a range of free digital marketing tools, which you can use to check the popularity of key phrases. Some of these are Google Trends, the Google Keyword Tool, and Google Insights for Search.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing consultancy, and can be contacted on 0845 388 5583 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.