Online classifieds continue to quickly grow

According to the New York Times, online classified ad growth continues to spike month after month as more and more are using the Internet, rather than newspapers, to search classified ads. "Web sites featuring classified ads drew 47 percent more unique visitors this July than last, according to comScore Media Metrix, an online traffic measurement service."

(Source: New York Times)

All signs say go mobile

Mobile marketing is primed for explosive growth. Now that Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular have signed onto the idea of mobile advertising, it is only a matter of time before the mobile world, much like the Internet, changes forever.

For years, these wireless giants said no to mobile advertising, but new research has changed everything. "Nearly half of consumers ages 18 to 35 indicated they would be interested in mobile ads if they subsidized their "increasing appetite for mobile data/content," said Yankee Group, which estimated U.S. carriers generated $10.7 billion, or about 9% of revenue, from non-voice bills." (more)

And mobile content is growing. "Driven largely by news, weather and sports channels, the market for mobile video content reached 3.7 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2006, a 45 percent jump over Q1 numbers." (more)

If you're a marketer, then you better also start thinking mobile because this space will grow far faster than the Internet, which will provide the foundation for the mobile market. The experience gained in Internet advertising will help marketers much more quickly conquer the mobile market.

The three keys to search engine optimization

This weekend I was talking to the founder of a software company which fights e-mail spam. Eventually, he started asking me how I optimize pages for the search engines.

I said, I first start with keyword analysis. How are Internet users finding your product, or even more important, products like yours? What keywords do they use in their phrases?

Once I have a good understanding of this, I start building web pages or even entire websites around these keywords, so that every link, every piece of content is coordinated and aligned with these keywords. I'm not trying to trick end-users, I tell the founder, I'm trying to answer their questions and resolve their needs as quickly and as efficiently as possibly.

Once the site is complete, I continued, I try to build quality links, but just I started explaining my process for link building, he interupted me.

"You wanna know an easier way," he asked me.

"Of course," I replied.

"Just create a blog about your particular market and add keyword links to your site," he answered. "That's how we dominate search."

"For how many keywords," I asked?

"Well you have to pick keywords," he responded. "You can only pick so many, such as your name."

"So you dominate keywords related to your name?" I further asked.

"Exactly."

"And all that other traffic is left to your competitors?"

"Well, our product is better."

At this point I just shook me head, but I was thinking to myself, 'no wonder your company isn't more successful' (I'll start prospecting him later this week).

Then today, I check my ClickZ news and I read the article, The Most Important SEO Strategy, which is almost exactly what I told the software vendor.

If you want to commit to a search engine optimization program, it isn't black magic. SEO programs take research - lots of research - and just as much hard effort.

Of course, you can always hire a black-hatter and get expelled from search engines completely - then you won't even have to worry about search engines any longer.

Cellphone ads set to explode

Mobile media is poised for explosive growth according to a London research firm. "Advertisers will spend over $11.35 billion worldwide to place ads on consumers’ mobile devices in the next five years." (more)

While not all of this ad spending will be related to the mobile Internet, it does show that growth potential of the mobile Internet is going to be huge.

Local search spending expected to increase significantly

"Paid local search is expected to remain the fastest-growing ad category, nearly doubling to $1.8 billion and accounting for almost a quarter of local online ad spending. Local e-mail will climb by 54 percent to $233 million, while local banners and listings will increase 18.4 percent to $5.6 billion." (more)

By 2010, the Borrell Associates Inc. report is set to comprise half of the local online ad market, with the most significant amount of ads being place by real estate and automotive professionals.

Not sure about search altogether? You're not alone. The first place to focus on if you haven't been involved in search, is local search.

What does that mean? Give us an e-mail and we'll let you know.

info@1x1power.com

What is social search?

So, you've heard of social networks, but just what is social search? Social search is similar but not limited to directories, for example. Social search is search that isn't dominated by mathematical formulas, but is - in some way - 'socially' driven. For more on social search, check out Who’s Who in Social Search.

Customer centric versus web centric analytics

I love this topic covered in the article, Customer-Centric Web Analytics. Recently, I essentially covered a similar point in the post, Wanna optimize your conversion rate? Good luck. Web centric data can tell you a lot about how your website is working, but these types of analytics cannot paint a complete picture of your customers. Surveys, for example, help provide a more 'customer centric' view of your customers. Combining web centric analytics with customer centric analytics is definitely a more wholistic way of understanding your Internet presence. For more read the complete article.

Is Pay Per Call the next big thing in search?

I haven't been a big fan of pay-per-call. In my opinion, the Internet isn't only about instant lead generation. Just as in offline media, such as magazines and newspapers, the Internet is also about branding. Still, now that Google is taking click-to-call and pay-per-click more seriously, particularly in light of its new partnership with E-bay, I'm starting to buy into pay-per-call.

Still, there are some warnings for advertisers. First of all, a call is a very solid lead. Consequently, a call is worth more than a click. Thus, advertisers should expect, ultimately, to pay far more for a call than a click, especially with high ticket goods.

Moreover, I believe that the mobile Internet is the next big thing, and that the mobile Internet is a much better platform for pay-for-call than pay-for-click. The mobile Internet is going to change the entire advertising world as much, or maybe even more than the Internet did.

In reality, the power of the Internet is still just emerging.

For more on this, check out the article, With Google's Formal Entry, Pay-Per-Call Set to Grow

Google PPC versus Local PPC & Search

Have you used Google's Adwords program as part of your marketing campaign? While this program can be extremely effective for many businesses, it can also be a difficult endeavor, particularly for small businesses. So, are there any alternatives?

Local search can be a great alternative opportunity. I'm not just talking about some online yellow pages, but niche sites that are related to your business and that focus on your local market.

Still, not sure what I mean? Check out the article, Firms home in on local search sites.

Should video be part of your Internet marketing mix?

According to a new report, the Internet is not the same as TV, at least not yet. More important, web surfers are not interested in watching or downloading full length videos on the Internet. Instead, surfers prefer to watch clips. Nonetheless, the Internet as a medium for full length movies, etc. is only just being explored, and many experts believe it is just a matter of time before the Internet will become more TV-like. Still, as part of your marketing mix, full length video is probably not a good choice, yet. While clips can be helpful, they are probably not yet essential for most Internet marketing campaigns.

(Source: AP via Yahoo)

The basics of local search

O.K., so you are not ready to head full steam into a search engine optimization campaign for your website, but you would like to make sure that your business at least comes up in local searches? There are many things even the less web savvy person can do to increase their local search presence. For a great article on the matter, check out the article Four Steps Every Business Can Take to Improve Local Search Results.

Real estate pros using Internet more, newspapers less

A new report suggests that real estate professionals are relying less and less on newspapers and more and more on the Internet. In the future, that trend is expected to continue. While the marketing side of real estate is increasingly moving more towards the Internet, the report finds, there is still a lot of confusion as to how best use the Internet. Search, for example, remains a huge area of confusion. Consequently, there is a huge market for innovative Internet portals that can attract real estate buyers. Maybe Zillow is onto something?

Read the Full ClickZ article.