With 2010 approaching quickly, there are several predictions being made about search engine optimization (SEO). Remember to take them with a grain of salt because who knows what the future holds.
Feeding Information Results Less Traffic
· Both Google & Bing are now providing more information in their queries, thus lessening the need to leave the search engine and possibly generating less traffic for websites. Some great examples include Google providing information about a particular sports game and the weather.
A registered Google user would actually be able to add widgets onto their main Google page and obtain all the information they need right there, without even leaving a search engine results page. In Bing, you are able to search for specifics about a particular flight such as departure date, gate, terminal and time. Another cool feature from Bing Bing provides the customer service number and a ‘track your package’ function for shipping companies such as FedEx or UPS.
SEO Spending Will Increase
· Forrester provided a full analysis about US Interactive Marketing Spend. Below are two figures for a visual feel about the marketing trends.
As you can see from the first graph, much of traditional marketing tactics are going to stay the same or decrease. The rise of social media marketing (SMM) has created a demand for more interactive marketing by means of created social media, online video, search engine optimization (SEO), mobile marketing, and so forth.
Although search engine optimization (SEO) continues to stay above pay-per-click (PPC), the figures will soon balance each other out and the gap will close between the two.
Site Explorer/Linkdomain are Gone
· Rumors are spreading that Yahoo! may no longer invest in web indexing. Yahoo! Site Explorer may disappear and no longer provide web index and site maps. However, since the service itself had many queries, it’s quite possible that sites may rise up and offer similar services to take its place.
80/20: Two Main Search Engines
· As reported by Los Angeles Times, Google continues to be the dominant search engine. Bing on the other hand, has gradually acquired some of that search engine pie from Yahoo. Although the Yahoo and Bing alliance has a combined market share at 28%, that figure has been floating around that while Google has about 65%. It’s quite possible that Google may soon obtain the majority of the market, thus making it an 80/20 figure with only two main search engines.
Written by Chris C.