SEMPO poll finds search engine optimization and paid search advertising to be the #1 and #2 digital marketing tactics used by both agency professionals and marketers worldwide in 2016.

Breakdown:

Top 3 tactics used by agency professionals:

1. Search engine optimization 95%
2. Paid search advertising 89%
3. Social media advertising 76%

Top 3 tactics used by non-agency marketers:

1. Search engine optimization 92%
2. Paid search advertising 84%
3. Social media advertising 69%

However: adoption of social media advertising increased significantly more from 2015 to 2016 (65% to 76% for agencies, 57% to 69% for marketers) than did adoption of search. Both agencies and suppliers may be finding that synergies exist between the two disciplines.