3 Internet Marketing Trends Everyone Should Watch In 2008
2007 was an interesting year for Internet Marketing or shall I say Google Internet Marketing. It was a year where we saw a rise in the release of many PPC Competitive Analysis tools geared towards spying on AdWords advertisers. Confidently Google also put the smack down on the PPC exploits of affiliate marketers by raising their minimum bids to the War in Iraq type spending. And if that wasn’t enough talk about Google, they also made news this year by decimating the Page ranks of PR Based text link selling networks! Depending on how any of these things impacted your business your outlook on 2007 is very different to say the least.
But aside from these major Google developments I think another significant impact was the continuous rise of Social Networking websites. I’m not just talking about MySpace and Youtube. But it was interesting to see the emergence of websites like LinkedIn and Yuwie which were some novel approaches to social networking. In 2008 this trend will definitely continue and Web 2.0 or whatever the heck it will be called in the future, will be alive and kicking hard this year.
So what are the new Internet Marketing trends to look for in 2008?
Here are some that I think are worth noting.
Proliferation of Online Videos
As previously mentioned, Web 2.0 was big in 07 and folks that ain’t going to change in 08. In fact, I believe that user submitted Video will play a bigger role in 2008 and beyond. Make Money Internet Marketers have already been big on this but I expect to see other industries make greater use of Video. Should everyone step into this arena? Hell Nah! If you’re in the waste removal business, I’m not sure how a YouTube video of the trash pick up process will add much value to your bottom line. But who knows? Hey, If you’re as camera shy as Paris Hilton then creating and uploading videos may be perfect for you and your business if your content is engaging or entertaining. But for folks like me that wonder "Is that what I really look and sound like?", then profiting on others videos is probably more of a viable option. With the growth of YouTube and Google’s introduction of "Video AdSense Ads" ( ), chances are you will see more websites hosting videos on their pages if not creating their own. So you as an Internet Marketer in 08 you should try to produce more quality videos as you do with traditional text content. Or you should try to profit from other people’s Videos by hosting them on your site. Another angle might be providing services related to online video production. In either case I think this trend is ripe for the picking and should be explored this year.
Emergence of PPP Ads?
In the later half of 07, there was a bit of a buzz about PPP Audio Ads. The concept is similar to PPC (Pay Per Click). The advertisers pay website publishers to play a short audio message on their page as it loads. Honestly I’m not sure how effective this will be in 08. In my experience website visitors hate when
videos or audio starts playing when they visit a website. I know it’s always been a turn off for me. It tends to make the user view the website in a negative light. I would even argue it’s hated as much as pop up windows. But with that being said, some of the most annoying online ad mechanisms have been the most effective for marketers. So I’m keeping an open mind about PPP’s future.
Not sure if I’m willing to place it on my whole catalogue of websites though. But I may test it on one or two. I’ll say this, if you see major affiliate networks adding this feature to their advertising options then you know it’s working and has been well received. So be sure to monitor that with any of the affiliate networks you’re part of. Like with everything this doesn’t mean it’s right for every industry!
Video Search Engine Optimization?
Seems to me as more and more videos are uploaded online, website owners are going to be faced with the challenge of optimizing videos for search engine rankings. Google already list videos in their regular search engine results. But who’s to say this won’t be the case for Yahoo, MSN, Ask and other search engines. Could this be an easy an opportunity to capitalize? I guess time will tell but it’s something I think should be on the mind of any serious marketer. There doesn’t seem to be an across the board set standard like there is with traditional content, where there is meta data and back links to rank text content. It wouldn’t surprise me to see ebooks or videos teaching people how to optimize video for search engine rankings. Could this be a new form of SEO or the next target for exploitation by unscrupulous Internet marketers?
Final Thoughts
Although I mentioned 3 trends above for 2008, I think it’s also important to touch upon a trend or rather a way of doing business for this year and on. Diversification is often associated with stocks but it’s a sound theory that should be applied to your business whether in terms of your sources of income or traffic. Simply, put "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket". It’s such a simple concept but people often forget it, including yours truly. In the latter half of 07 I decided to make a focused effort to diversify my website monetization strategies and traffic sources. The results were truly amazing and speak for themselves. I’m not one to brag about earnings but let’s put it this way, I was able quit my full time corporate career of 7 years to focus on blogging and my other virtual real estate. Enough said! Although It’s always good to keep abreast of the latest trends, it’s more important to have sound business practices based on time tested methods. Because ultimately this can be applied to any new trend you may run into in the near future.
Now that you’ve heard my point of view, what’s yours?
