| 2009 year may have seen the rise of social | | | | Videos continue to be popular among Internet users |
| bookmarking and social media marketing but optimized | | | | because of their ability to convey messages faster |
| websites continue to dominate search engine rankings | | | | than text-based content. Adding and viewing videos |
| albeit with a few twists. | | | | has also become easy with sites like YouTube and |
| Internet marketing experts with a keen eye for | | | | other advanced applications. Increase search rankings |
| significant changes in Internet behaviour list the | | | | by adding relevant videos to your site. |
| following trends that business consultants, including | | | | Email marketing |
| search engine marketing consulting professionals, must | | | | While not strictly speaking a search engine marketing |
| be aware of: | | | | tool, email marketing remains significant because: |
| Personalized content | | | | * email communication is inexpensive |
| Unique, original and fresh content still rules search | | | | * consumers still consider email as their primary form |
| engine marketing. But with the volume of web content | | | | of communication |
| growing, Internet users are now looking for more | | | | * Email providers beefed up their systems with |
| relevant and personalized search results such as | | | | features like bigger storage space, autoresponders, |
| geo-location, date of publication and social media | | | | email filters and integrated social media options |
| content. | | | | Add opt-in boxes and subscription options to websites |
| In order to master this, constant testing of content, | | | | to build an email database. |
| keywords and links that are focused on a niche | | | | Other trends to take advantage of are: |
| market should form part of your SEO strategy. Use | | | | * content nesting or displaying similar content on a |
| the latest keyword research tools and update web | | | | single webpage, |
| content regularly to test keywords. | | | | * mobile marketing |
| Landing page | | | | * social network marketing in sites like Facebook, |
| While blogs remain a tool for improving search engine | | | | Twitter and LinkedIn and |
| rankings or introducing new products, it is the landing | | | | * price promos such as discounts, coupons and cost |
| page that continues to convert visitors into buyers and | | | | savings |
| clients for this year. | | | | Internet trends change constantly but should not be a |
| A landing page is a single page website or a mini site | | | | reason for search engine marketing consulting |
| that contains a call to action for a site visitor to buy, | | | | professionals to jump on any bandwagon without first |
| sign up or perform any other desired activity. A good | | | | conducting tests. Review your strategy and retain |
| conversion strategy is to develop killer landing page | | | | what works while making modifications in areas that |
| content, test it and keep it if it yields positive results. | | | | are adversely affected by emerging trends. |
| Video promotions | | | | |