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If you would go back in time 40 years and started a conversation about privacy, you’ll probably hear a lot about how giant companies keep more and more of their ‘personal data’. On your turn, you can tell that this is still a problem 40 years later, in the year 2020. However, you will both be speaking about totally different things. I don’t think people in the 80’s will believe you if you told them that we’re mostly okay with the fact that virtually all companies involved in e-marketing know precisely what you’re intending to buy and that the commercials we see are tailor-made video’s that match with our behaviour, That we know our activity on internet is being traced and that all the data is gathered somewhere in a giant database, ready to be used to maximise profits of multiple companies.

The concept of privacy has changed a lot since the introduction of internet and countless other technological developments. In the past decade, the topic of data privacy has gained interest and has become a feared downside of the current technology. An important consequence of these discussions is the increased awareness of the lack of privacy that is accepted by internet users. The question is, will there be any privacy left, when technology is developing at the rate it is today?

Interestingly, I think we’ve reached the summit of (sensitive) data transparency. Due to this increased awareness of the information companies possess, more measures are taken to avoid the exchange of even more personal data across the world. For example, the usage of a VPN is becoming more common. Of course, we are only in the beginning of the process, only 14% are choosing to encrypt online information. But the fact that the privacy has become an issue, resulted in sufficient possibilities to counter the data that is being gathered. Maybe in another forty years, we can go back to frowning upon the information a company has about the purchases someone made last week.

References:

www.mckinsey.com. (n.d.). Consumer data protection and privacy | McKinsey. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/risk-and-resilience/our-insights/the-consumer-data-opportunity-and-the-privacy-imperative.

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What is one of the most important incentives when deciding where to eat in a city you’ve never been to? Maybe you heard recommendations from friends or you just make a good guess which restaurant could be good? 93% of internet users say that online reviews have helped guide them in the right direction. It is common nowadays to write a review about experiences you’ve had, nearly half of all the internet users post online reviews every month. An enormous amount of information is available online to help you decide (in this example where to eat). Some examples to strengthen this claimed importance of online reviews: Tripadvisor recently passed a total of 1 billion reviews on their website. Most consumers even admit not being interested in buying products with an average review rating of less than 3.3 out of 5.

With about 77 percent of internet users using Google to search something they want to buy, or looking for a restaurant to visit, having satisfied customers is becoming a crucial part of your success as a business. To ensure appearing on the online search engines, a high review rating is very important. Being ranked high increases your chances of gaining website visits. Also, top positions on google rankings makes your page more prestigious and professional.

Main takeaway is: nowadays, online marketing is an extremely important form to gain popularity and expand your business to new customers. To improve your position on the results of search engines, a principle called Search Engine Optimisation is becoming more popular. SEO is the cornerstone of online marketing nowadays. When performing SEO correctly, your online popularity will increase, resulting in more website visitors and more reviews on the service you’re providing. As mentioned earlier, receiving a high ranking attracts more customers and increases your chances of becoming a recognised and successful organisation is much closer than it was before.

Sources:

Src=’https://Secure.gravatar.com/Avatar/?s=32, img A., #038;d=mm, Srcset=’https://Secure.gravatar.com/Avatar/?s=64, 038;r=g’, #038;d=mm and says, 038;r=g 2x’ class=’avatar avatar-32 photo avatar-default’ height=’32’ width=’32’> J.H. (2021). Why Is It Important to Rank High in Google? – Delante Blog. [online] Delante. Available at: https://delante.co/why-is-it-important-to-rank-high-in-google/.

Exploding Topics. (2022). 81 Online Review Statistics (New 2022 Data). [online] Available at: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/online-review-stats [Accessed 15 Oct. 2022].