Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Senior Marketing Coordinator
2009 brought a lot of changes and innovations in the wide world of the Web and its search engines. We witnessed the explosion of Twitter and Facebook and the introduction and advancement of Bing and smartphones. These innovations are forcing search engines to alter what is included in their search results, as well as how these results are displayed. The greatest changes to search that will alter search engine marketing (SEM) programs in 2010 include a new emphasis on personalized search, the inclusion of real-time results, and new methods of local and mobile advertising.
Personalized Search: Google’s personalized search is actually not a new development, but the changes to it at the end of 2009 are. Google uses personalized search to present different search results to users based on their search history and demographics. This alteration of search results used to only occur when users were signed into their Google accounts, but now it has been introduced to signed-out users worldwide. The reason this is important to take into account when optimizing is that your company’s listing may be a first page listing for one user while not even rank for another.
Real-Time Search Results: Searchers’ need for instant gratification will not be ignored in 2010. Search engines are introducing real-time search which draws in to-the-minute Twitter and news updates. What does this mean for results? It is no longer enough to focus on optimizing your site for listings; companies also have to be actively participating in these other sources of news to get prime search placement. Posting on Twitter, writing blogs and issuing online press releases using main company and industry key terms will be imperative to keep visibility this year.
Local: As with personalized search, search engines are further trying to customize results through the use of local results. The top half of many search pages will now be local listings in your area. PPC ads will also have more geographic focus. With this, it is important to make sure your company is listed in all search local listings as well as the most common local directories.
Mobile Advertising: The last big change to search is the use of smartphone technology. Search traffic from smartphones is increasing greatly every day and so are your options for how to display your message to these searchers. It is now possible to create paid search campaigns focused to just mobile searches, tailoring the message to people on the go. One new paid search advancement is the option of click-to-call pricing. Every time a searcher clicks the phone number listed in your ad to call your business you are charged, similar to how cost-per-click currently charges. Making finalizing purchases and contacting your business as streamlined as possible will help increase sales from mobile searches.
Overall, marketers are seeing a shift from the top priority being search engine visibility and optimization for an organization’s main website, to leveraging new and ever-multiplying channels for online visibility.
