Well, the new year is upon us and today, pretty much everyone is going back to work. The main topic of conversation at all the holiday gatherings these last 2 weeks has been the US economy. Everyone, it seems, is bracing for 2009 and just looking to get through this year. There are so many factors out of our control that it's difficult for anyone of us to make any certain plans for this year.
But, don't let me doom and gloom you! We will get through this year and here are some of my thoughts and predictions on what you can expect in 2009 as it relates to your Internet marketing campaign.
1) PPC (Pay Per Click) will still be a viable marketing tool but because of the expense, it will be used less in 2009. SEO techniques take longer to take an effect but the cost is much less and the ROI is much higher. So, for anyone using just PPC - look into SEO services and you may just save some significant dollars. And for SEO firms, get ready to see an increase in calls and quote requests from customers outside of your usual target audience.
2) Everyone is looking for the best deals - the most bang for their bucks. So, that means, when it comes to Internet marketing, if your SEO / PPC firm is not providing you with a ROI (Return On Investment) report - they just may lose out. As many companies begin to buckle down on what they spend, they will demand information on what they're getting for their money. ROI reports are the best measure of success not only for the Internet marketing firm, but for the client as well.
3) As I've been saying for over a year now, mobile will begin getting bigger and bigger, and 2009 will be the beginning of that trend, here in the US. If you haven't already begun the process of creating a mobile version of your website, don't wait any longer. Contact your web designer, your Internet marketing firm, whomever you're using to manage your website and get your mobile version going NOW!
4) It doesn't matter if you're selling name tags or if you're a South Florida law firm, whatever you're selling, if you provide a service or product to your local community, then you need to get into the local search engines. That means getting on Google Maps, Google Earth, Yahoo Maps, Google Local, Yahoo Local and the hundreds of other local search engines out there.
5) Look for the search engines to begin experimenting with new revenue streams. As the dollars for PPC campaigns decrease, the search engines will experiement with other methods of creating income for themselves. It will be very interesting to see what they come up with.
6) YouTube.com is now the 2nd most used search engine in the world. It surpassed Yahoo! back in October 2008. Is your audience going to YouTube? I don't know - but - what is the cost of putting a video or slide show commercial on YouTube for your business? Compare that cost with the sales you might get. If the cost equals 1 sale, or a very small number of sales, then isn't it worth it to get yourself on YouTube and Google Video and any other video source? Of course it is.
7) Social Media is not only changing the landscape of the Internet, it's changing the way we all do business. There isn't a day that goes by (it seems) that someone hasn't created a new Twitter application to use the massive database that is now Twitter. Companies are using Facebook to help them "get to know" prospective employees as they review their resumes. Companies of all sizes are using blogs and micro blogging tools to keep in touch with their customer base. There's no doubt about it, love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. Incorporate it into your Internet marketing campaign, it's worth it.
So, there you have it. I should bookmark this and take a look at it in January 2010 to see how right or wrong I was but this is what I think will happen in 2009 - as far as Internet marketing goes.
