Top Ten Predictions for Hot Internet Marketing Trends for the Rest of 2005

Internet marketing is constantly changing. What worked well a couple months ago may become a money loser in a couple more months. Something that worked well last year - like pop-up ads - may be a marketing disaster today. The best way to stay on the positive side of internet ROI is to be constantly testing new strategies and tactics. Here are my top ten predictions for internet marketing activities that will be hot for the remainder of 2005.

1. You have to figure out SEARCH. Google is on everyone’s lips and consumers are making over 1 billion unique searches each day. You must ensure that you have optimized your website for the search engines. If you don’t come up on the first three pages for the top keywords in your category, pay-per-click ads (the sponsored links on the right hand side of a search result) can yield positive returns.

2. Free Trials - The landscape continues to change in favor of the consumer and move more and more towards free trials. The FREE profile is becoming a thing of the past and a FREE TRIAL is becoming the de facto entry point online. How can you spice up your online marketing program with a free trial?

3. Co-Registration/Leads Programs - Leads programs are becoming more and more prevalent on the eMarketing landscape. As banners become cost prohibitive for many categories, targeted opt-in leads programs are in vogue with many marketers.

4. Web Optimized PR - Press Releases optimized for the search engines (written with top keyword phrases and optimized meta tags) are popping up on the first page of Google and the other Search Engines. We have been using this tactic to generate a ton of traffic to Moniker’s website! Check out www.prweb.com for more information on this great new tactic.

5. Blogging hits the mainstream - Blogs have moved from journalistic hobbies to the boardroom as more and more CEO blogs and Corporate blogs are targeting web traffic, additionally blogs are having a significant influence on the mainstream news and entertainment media. RSS feeds and podcasting (audio blogs and recordings) will also become more common marketing terminology as we move into 2006.

6. MSN Search – MSN has just launched their new search engine product and have used a major multi-media advertising campaign to announce their entry in the space. I predict MSN will become a major player in search by the end of 2005. Natural and paid search programs will need to take the third major search force into account in their plans for '05.

7. Social Networks. Millions of consumers and businesspeople are networking, dating and chatting in similar interest networks online. Networks like LinkedIn, Ryze, Friendster and EzBoard are linking people up like never before. These networks offer opportunities for employee recruiting, lead generation and they can carry powerful viral messages for, and against your business.

8. Laserlike focus on conversion - A home page is NOT a landing page. A site’s home page has a distinct function; it is a directory of all information available on a site. A landing page is focused on one job, to sell, or to sign up or to engage a customer in a free trial. There should be no other links, just a strong product demonstration and an obvious way for the customer to take action.

9. Local Search - The local search products from Google and Yahoo are now very robust and functional. Local advertisers can target a very specific geography, this will be a year that local companies start to discover search as an economical marketing vehicle. Feel like pizza? Try the Google Local link on their home page.

10. Email is Back! Have you noticed that you open more of your email these days? We all seem to trust email again as SPAM is down thanks to new SPAM laws and rigorous patrols by the Internet Service Providers, plus we trust email more as we believe or virus catchers will keep us safe.

Jay Berkowitz is the CMO of Moniker.com and the webmaster for internet strategy portal www.tengoldenrules.com . Mr. Berkowitz is a popular presenter at conferences and events such as The Association of Internet Marketing and Sales, The Direct Marketing Association, The Global Benchmarking Council and the American Marketing Association.