• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, September 21, 2020

"Third-party data" saw a spike in search intent in early June—a surge that wasn’t sustained for long. The term saw a smaller bump in late August and now appears to be tapering off. During the same time period, first-party data has shown little change. I’ve long maintained that a brand’s first-party data is one of its most powerful assets, and not only because of the imminent death of third-party cookies and concomitant rise in privacy regulation. First-party data, when managed properly, serves as a powerful tool to unlock customer insights and grow business. The surge in intent that Bombora is measuring around third-party data could indicate brands’ scramble to find untapped audiences by leveraging new data sources. 

Interest in "blogging" is surging at both agencies and brands. A brand’s blog is owned content, giving writers full control over the narratives they wish to push. Blogging is great for a website’s SEO and can be executed with relatively little effort and cost (as compared to, say, extensively researched or heavily designed pieces). Brands today are fighting for attention from a consumer base that’s inundated with consequential news items. In earlier analyses, we saw intent surges around brand safety, indicating that brands were grappling with messaging to highly distracted and anxious audiences. Advertising and press content carry inherent risks of being either drowned out by or overly associated with the news of the day. In a moment when businesses are looking to reclaim control over their marketing strategies, anything “owned” promises peace of mind. 

Which brings us to SEO. Intent around the term for both groups has vacillated in the past few months, indicating that marketers aren’t quite sure how to prioritize this vital part of marketing. Great SEO bolsters customer experience. If brands and advertisers are looking to grow and retain audiences, even in uncertain times, harnessing owned channels to drive engagement is a smart way to exercise some control over the customer experience.