Internet marketing changes at a pace faster than most people can keep up with from new tools and tricks, terminology and procedures, something is always changing in this ever changing business.
2009 was a definite game changer in Internet Marketing. Some of the best and the brightest developed new ideas, tweaked some old techniques and made news by taking things to a new level. Not all of these changes were necessarily good or bad they just made news because of their popularity, their uniqueness or their success/failure rate. So just what made news in Internet Marketing in 2009?
The FTC stepped into the game and set down some rules. As the Internet Marketing game continued to explode, it figures the US government would step in and attempt to regulate things. Whether folks like it or not, it is now necessary to let people know whenever you might be profiting through your marketing efforts. If someone gives you a free product so you can review it on your blog, you need to disclose that to your readers. If you are sending people to an affiliate product and are going to make a commission on that sale, you need to tell people. While people complied with the FTC regulation, many marketers did so with an obvious show of tongue in cheek sarcasm at the need to disclose that they are making money from their businesses.
Social Media exploded in 2009! Without a doubt, social media exploded this past year. Twitter and Facebook were the two big leaders in the social media game, followed closely by Linkedin for business contacts. Everyone from marketers to house wives to celebrities and even the President of the United States (POTUS) getting in on the action. Social media is definitely here to stay and people are maximizing the potential to reach new prospects through building relationships with them.
PPC Pay Per Click or PPA – Pay Per Action marketing took off in a big way this year, with people flocking to this search marketing technique. Using keywords and ads on search engine results pages, marketers made the most of this advertising that charges only when people click your links.
Video – If you aren t using video to market your products, you are definitely falling behind the crowd. While content may be king, in this techno world, people aren t satisfied to simply read your information any longer. Using short videos to promote your business is hot, hot, hot and it is becoming easier than ever to add video to your sites, sales pages and blogs. You can even integrate video into social media sites with the
click of a mouse.
Relationship building is the most definitive change of 2009. Business on the Internet has definitely evolved and consumers are demanding to know who they are doing business with before they open their wallets. Again, social media has changed the game and now businesses are expected to have a face, give consumers a voice and spend time (and money) building a true relationship with the people they are marketing to online.
Author Resource:
Debbie Dragon is a freelance writer providing articles for http://www.tracemedia-search-marketing.com - a New York SEO Company specializing in getting websites up, and making sure they perform to their full potential.