By Debbie Everson
2009 saw a lot of exciting changes and additions to the world of online marketing and search engine optimization. Some important events that took place were the launch of Bing, announcement of Google Caffeine and the merger of Yahoo and Microsoft search. 2010 will see real time Web emerging which will become more popular than the traditional methods of optimization.
Following is the list of pointers to get your Web site on top, reach out to potential customers and ensure brand visibility in 2010.
- Decrease Web page Load Time. Google’s Matt Cutts recently hinted that the load time of a Web site may affect its ranking in the search engines. That is, the faster a Web site loads, the better its chances to rank well for its niche keywords. Web site load time is touted as the next big step towards improved rankings. The prerequisites to a good Web page load time are: reputable Web host and fast Internet connection.
- Get Listed in Google Local Search. Getting listed in Google Local Search ensures brand visibility in front of visitors from the nearby places. It has been proven that the number of visitors to a Web site increase exponentially when listed in local search results. The reason being, a customer will always prefer to purchase a quality product which is easily available in his or her vicinity rather than order it from another unfamiliar city or state.
- Get Involved in Social Media. Social Media is the flavor of the season and in 2010 organizations are going to actively engage in conversation and social networking and reach out to their potential customers. Social media marketing is a must for every organization as it helps create brand awareness and build relationships with consumers in the highly competitive market. Micro targeting and personalization will be the keywords in 2010.
- Optimize Your Web site for Mobile Users. With an ever increasing number of people tweeting and using Facebook from their mobile devices, a lot of organizations are now finally paying attention to how their Web sites appear on mobile phones. You can have your Web site appear on the mobile under the same URL or have a special domain for the same. The most common way is to have the domain name as mobile.websitename.com.
- Apply Web Analytics to its Full Potential. There are hundreds of Web analytics tools in the market which provide a mountain of data pertaining to the visitor’s usage. Some of the most well known Web analytics tools are Omniture, Google Analytics and Yahoo! Web Analytics. Web Analytics tools can answer the “how” but not the “why.” That is, you can find out how many visitors checked the product catalogue Web page, but not the answer to, why the visitors didn’t place an order for the product. Organizations need to dissect the data from Web analytics tools and successfully apply the learnings to enhance their visitors experience and in turn increase sales revenues.
In 2010 companies must go beyond organic search engine optimization by integrating social media marketing and optimizing their Web sites for mobile users.
About the Author
Debbie A. Everson is the CEO of SearchMar.com, experienced SEO Consultants and search engine optimization agency to over 2,000 small businesses. Read my SEO Blog for hints and tips. Follow me on Twitter @searchmar. Call 866-885-6263 to speak to one of our SEO Consultants and receive your free consultation.