MOST Popular Wikipedia Pages in 2024, Reclaiming Your Attention… & Online Marketing

It's December, and we're starting to see the first end of year wrap ups and 2025 prediction articles. From Spotify Wrapped year in review, to the most viewed?articles on Wikipedia this year, and?2025 SEO Trends: Top Predictions from 23 Industry Experts.

There is an?extremely thought-provoking research article out from Sparktoro?and Rand Fishkin, that after analyzing 300M+ search queries on Google search here are some top takeaways:

• The average person in the study does 200 Google searches per month
• Fat head search - 150 terms make up 15% of all search demand - Navigational search like "Gmail" "Amazon" ChatGPT, etc.
• More of the web’s traffic is going to fewer and fewer sites over time.
• The Long Tail is ...long. You are unique :)?Every searcher in the panel performed, on average, 5 searches that no other person performed even once?

In their research on the search funnel:

• Just over half of all Google searches are informational in nature—they’re people seeking information about a topic of interest or need.
• A third of Google searches are navigational—these folks already know where they want to go and are simply using Google to get them there more accurately, efficiently, or safely than typing in a web address manually.? IE, "Just take me to Gmail already".
• A further 14.5% of searches are of a commercial nature, though they may not necessarily be looking to immediately transact. Most product comparison or product information searches (B2B and B2C) fall into this category.
• And finally, transactional keywords that indicate likely intent to purchase something, sign up for something, or engage an entity for services comprise just 0.69% of all searches (though these are likely among the most desirable and valuable query terms among search marketers).? Your "Buy Now" buttons weep quietly.??

Big themes and some notes/thoughts:?

1. Google has become every brand’s home page:?Fully one-third of Google’s usage is purely navigational, and your brand’s search results in Google are likely to be the first and biggest-impact impression people have about who you are and what you do.?
2. Google’s zero-click answers, including AI overviews have already taken over many of the largest categories of search demand.?Making sure you're optimized for them is hugely important (see P.S. for our webinar next week)
3. A few thousand query terms make up a quarter of all Google searches, and that looks to be rising over time.
4. It is far better to be the brand your target customers search for than it is to do search marketing for the millions of query permutations in a space:?Google is definitely looking for opportunities to serve up answers themselves?and ways to take up more "shelf space".
5. Google has become a place people go after they discover a need rather than a demand-creation or even demand-nudging platform.

Job postings:??

We're now hiring for an?Account Manager, Digital Reputation (100% Remote) - Remote.?We received 640 applications in 24 hours so Indeed shut down the listing, but if you have someone great, have them reach out to me, and I'll get them put into the process.?

• VP Brand Marketing, North America - Foot Locker
• Senior Vice President of Public Relations - The Daily Wire
• VP - Brand & Media - The Wendy's Company?
• Director of Public Relations -?Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
• EVP, Global Publicity -?Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Vice President, Growth Marketing -?MyFitnessPal

Stay safe,

Josh

P.S. Along these lines, next week, I'm doing a webinar with Daniel Lemkin on how the search world is changing for 2025. Whether you're experienced or new to search, I'd highly recommend attending as you plan for 2025. Even if you can't make it live, you'll get the recording on "The 2025 Search Playbook: AI, SEO and Beyond".

This Week's Featured Content

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Hiring the Right Wikipedia Agency: Key Factors to Consider

Need help navigating Wikipedia? Read on for a breakdown of how to do the work yourself, and a look at the pros and cons of hiring a team to help you.?

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Google: Just Because You Call Yourself It, It Doesn't Mean You Will Rank For It

Oh, to be in Northern Italy

With my love again

Oh, it would just be you and me

In Northern Italy

In Northern Italy again

Oh, how the time moves slow

When you're deciding where to go

Facing a fork in the road

There's no wrong answer keep me close

Oh under shady tree

Nothing but a warm soft breeze

Kiss me longer won't you please

There's no place I'd rather be

A ‘Radical’ Approach to Reclaiming Your Attention

She's the only one around

And she's turning off the lights

And she's inside every crack

She's the only thing in sight

She's the only one I see

And she's flying through the air

She's the dust upon the sill

She's everywhere

And she's breaking up the line

And she's sitting in the rain

She's the trailer for a film

She's the curtain at the end

Rand Fishkin on the SEO Opportunity Pie Shrinking and More Insights

What can I say

I'm nothing to myself

And tired of starting up my day

But in the morning I could meet you

And I'm not what I thought I would be without you

I'm not really sure why I slept in my shoes

I'm nothing at all

I'm nothing at all

Lucky for you

I'm nothing without

The thought of starting all my days

With the mornings when I see you

Are Grownups Just Giant Kids?

This is the first day of my life

Swear I was born right in the doorway

I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed

They're spreading blankets on the beach

Yours was the first face that I saw

I think I was blind before I met you

And I don't know where I am, I don't know where I've been

But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know

Yeah, these things take forever, I especially am slow

But I realized that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home

The Most Popular Wikipedia Pages of 2024

I wasn't built for this

My head can't make any damn sense of this so it sings

Can't remember the smell and I

Can't recall the taste but I try everyday

If I wasn't so afraid

I'd shine a light up to space

Then my soul could be

Strong enough to see your face

One more day

One more day

I found notes that you hid

Sharing secrets and fears that were meant to stay hid

Moving stuff out your room

Leaves me emptier than the room where you stayed