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| A correct reading will be given (Photo credit: ian.crowther) |
Google is Coming!
I predict Google will continue to dominate search while Yahoo and Bing struggle to figure out how to make headway against the 800-lb Gorilla. Google will spend 2014 continuing to consolidate and unify
its services. This includes all the features in Google+, Gmail, YouTube, Search and its dozens of other internet properties and services. Until other search engines realize that they will have to provide more value for the money spent, they will continue to lag far behind Google.
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| English: Google Logo officially released on May 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Google will continue to tweak its search engine algorithms as it did in 2013. Google launched Hummingbird which was a major search algorithm update. It knocked many internet advertisers off page one and got them lost in cyberspace. We will see this trend continue until internet marketers accept the fact that trying to game the system is futile or until a different search provider comes to the forefront. Google has made content king for search, (i.e. relevant, timely and useful content) leaving most businesses having to accept pay per click as their only real alternative to search marketing.
Where Will You Get Your News?
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| Español: Logo Vectorial de YouTube (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
US Internet news readership will exceed TV news viewership for the first time in 2014. Will this be joined by TV show viewership the following year? I bet it will. However, if your counting Youtu
be’s 4 billion daily views, than total online views already exceed annual TV viewership by a lot.
Social media will continue to evolve and grow more specialized as new players try to carve out a niche for themselves. Its influence on search engine results, product adoption, and consumer acceptance will only grow, as consumers start to rely on social ratings and social testimonials as decision making tools when making most purchases.
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| This is icon for social networking website. This is part of Open Icon Library's webpage icon package. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Blogging and video will also affect how search is utilized as more people receive greater bandwidth. Consumers will continue their move to access information from the internet instead of conventional news services like TV, Newspaper, radio and magazines. Video will continue to garner more clicks than any other type of search listing so make sure you're creating videos in 2014. I also predict that Google will debut video ads in Search and in their display network.
Online Retail Comes of Age
Online sales will continue to grow as its momentum continues to speed up. 2013 was the first year that Black Friday online sales exceeded Black Friday brick and mortar sales. The only thing that can slow this growth is if the government decides to enforce interstate sales taxation. However even if this law is passed it will not stop internet sales growth because of the advantages it has over conventional marketing. Since internet marketing is on demand, more ubiquitous, infinitely more measurable and more cost effective than conventional advertising, it will continue to grow and dominate marketing.
The King is Dead; Long Live Content as King
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| Search Engines Love Content by Go Local (Photo credit: Go Local Search) |
Content marketing will finally get recognized by the advertising industry as the defacto gold standard for the internet and conventional marketing. Carl and I have been touting multi-media content marketing as the best way to achieve organic position since 2010. It is also the best way to generate traffic and to make sure Google search algorithm changes don’t knock you off age one.
Internet marketing will become more automated. 2013 saw many large PR and other marketing firms that sell services to advertising agencies release new PR, Search and Social Media marketing tools. The release of these 2.0 SAAS products will mean that 2014 will usher in the beginning of an adoption phase of these products by large and midsize advertising agencies. This will be followed by a 3.0 phase in 2015-2016 where these systems will begin their widespread adoption at marketing firms and advertising agencies in general.
Move Over Desk Top, Here Comes More Mobile
Mobile marketing will continue to grow as the billions of Smartphone users learn how to use their new devices and become addicted to their convenience. Also, businesses are ramping up their internet
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| Mobile-phone-advertising (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
marketing efforts to accommodate these consumers. Mobile websites and landing pages are being built in large numbers. Blogger along with other platforms are providing mobile versions of their products automatically!
Text messages will continue to grow. This will be driven primarily by the fact that our younger populations are addicted to texting and the fact that Text messages are less likely to be ignored by Smartphone users. This service will continue to grow and flourish, despite the banning of texting while driving in many states.
Text messages will continue to grow. This will be driven primarily by the fact that our younger populations are addicted to texting and the fact that Text messages are less likely to be ignored by Smartphone users. This service will continue to grow and flourish, despite the banning of texting while driving in many states.
Drone marketing & delivery will grow. 2013 saw drones being used in war and now in sales. Amazon made a big splash when their PR department launched stories about the potential to deliver products via aerial drones. 2013 saw many such publicity stunts. Expect to see many more in
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| Parrot AR.Drone (Photo credit: myprofe) |
2014 with drones pulling advertising banners, dropping flyers and delivering free gifts to create some buzz (if you’ll pardon the pun).
Book marketing via teasers will grow - eBooks are restarting to outsell paperback and hardback books at a fast pace. The widespread adoption of tablets and eReaders has ushered in the digital reading age. The widespread creation of Blogs, desktop publishing and the fact that it's easy to publish eBooks on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, is creating an avalanche of new eBooks published by people who 5 years ago would have never thought of becoming authors. Expect to see more businesses using these tools to promote and build their brand in 2014 and beyond.
What’s Your Reputation?
Name and Reputation Management will continue to grow. Many businesses discovered in 2012 the harsh reality that they were vulnerable to negative press on social and product rating sites. As long as people can anonymously post opinions on products and service, businesses will have to engage in reputation management to mitigated negative press and to improve their positive press. Companies who initiate a social network program to garner testimonials and positive press will really reap their benefits. Those who ignore this necessary segment of their marketing will suffer loss of brand credibility and customers. Once the damage is done, businesses will find it much harder to fix their reputation than if they were proactively working to maintain their positive image.
In this article I discussed my internet marketing predictions for 2014 and beyond. Understanding where Google is heading, what changes are coming in social media, what is trending and what is changing in marketing are all worth knowing. Staying abreast of the shift from conventional marketing to digital content marketing is critical for all businesses. Seeing the paradigm shift from analog to digital will continue to profoundly and fundamentally change the way we market our products and services into the future. If you found this article to be useful, share it with your friends, family and co-works. If you feel you have something to add or just want to leave a comment do so below. It has been my pleasure writing down my thoughts and sharing my 2014 predictions with you this year. I look forward to seeing my predictions come true during the coming year and sharing more of my findings with you in the year to come. I Thanks again for reading and sharing.
That's my opinion; I look forward to reading yours.
On behalf of Working the Web to Win, we wish you and yours Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
That's my opinion; I look forward to reading yours.
On behalf of Working the Web to Win, we wish you and yours Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
If you like this article, you can find more by typing “Predictions” in the search box at the top left of this blog. If you found this article useful, share it with your friends, families and co-works. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it in the comment sections below. If you would like a free copy of our book, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century", fill out the form below.
That's my opinion, I look forward to hearing yours.
That's my opinion, I look forward to hearing yours.
Hector Cisneros is COO and director of Social Media Marketing at Working the Web to Win, an award-winning Internet marketing company based in Jacksonville, Florida. He is also co-host of the weekly Internet radio show, "Working the Web To Win" on BlogTalkRadio.com, which airs every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Hector is a syndicated writer and published author of “60 Seconds to Success.”
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Thanks for your insights. Our world is sure changing fast with the Internet
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