Okay, so you MUST have heard about Twitter by now. But, just in case you haven’t, Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that seems to have taken over the Internet. It’s one of, if not THE fastest growing social media type of program currently available.

Basically, the idea is you sign up for an account, you begin "micro blogging" which means that your "post" can’t be any longer than 140 characters. So basically, you’re just shouting out a note. You add to your account certain people that you want to follow on Twitter. And in turn, people follow you. Why should you follow anyone? Maybe the CEO of your competition is on Twitter. Don’t you want to know what he’s saying? Why should anyone want to follow you? Well, if you have important news, insights, advice, information on your "expertise" within your industry, they’ll follow you. Believe me.

One note to remember. If there are 100 people following you on Twitter, those 100 people have people following THEM. Those additional people can look to see who the people they are following, are following (follow me?) and that’s how your brand and exposure can continue to grow – at least within Twitter.

Maybe you have heard of Twitter and you know what it is and you actually have an account there, maybe you’re wondering, "What do I do with this thing?" – well, there are many companies out there who are trying to figure out the very same thing. You’re not alone. So, let me share with you some ideas and what others are doing to utilize this very interesting little tool.

First you must realize that in order for Twitter to work (and really, in order for ANY social media tool to work) you must participate. You can’t just sign up for an account on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn and expect that just because you have a profile out there that people are going to just jump and contact you. Well, maybe if your photo was of you in the nude and you looked absolutely amazing nude – maybe then you would get alot of contacts just for posting a profile. Otherwise, you’re going to have to use that program and the way you use it is to converse with other members, provide information, share insights, etc. Think of your social media program as your "watercooler". Everyone takes a few minutes each day to take a break – go to the watercooler or the coffee pot and just hang out for 5-10 minutes. Chat with others, get some news, gossip, etc. Your social media account is the very same thing. Only you don’t have to get up and walk anywhere!

Okay, so with that being said, let’s see what others are doing with this Twitter thing…

Quick Notices of Upcoming Sales, Events, Etc.

Companies like woot, southwestair, jetblue, best buy, american apparel, rubbermaid, whole foods, zappos, starbucks, dunkin donuts, dell, kodak, hoovers and so many more are using Twitter to increase / improve brand recognition AND to advise their "followers" of specials, sales, events, etc.

These companies have anywhere from 2000 to 75,000 followers. Imagine planning a sale for Valentines Day – you can use a program like TweetLater to create posts which then run at the designated time you instruct. You create 5 posts about the item(s) you are selling for Valentines Day and you post them onto your TweetLater account so for 5 days straight, all your Tweet followers will receive notice about what you’re putting on sale for this upcoming holiday. Imagine if you had 75,000 followers (like Woot).

Keep Up Communications With Your Customers

The RedCross uses Twitter to "provide information to the public during disasters". But they also receive alot of "thank yous" from individuals that they’ve helped. It allows them to keep in touch with those individuals, whom they may otherwise have never heard from.

Dunkin Donuts is getting a great response from their Twitter account. As they say, “We have been pleasantly pleased with the response volume we’ve received — there’s clearly enthusiasm for the brand on Twitter. It’s been exciting to see the conversation with our customers take off.”

WholeFoods has gained some insight into their own operations from their clients. Imagine, no need for sample polls and focus groups. What they’ve learned through Twitter is, …“…A lot about the importance of localized information. Whole Foods is a very decentralized…Because of this we will be working to get more local information out to people via accounts tailored to individual stores or cities, such as @WholeFoodsLA.”

HRBlock reports…"“Most rewarding: interacting with consumers 1:1. Love that connection – it’s great to help. Challenge: respond quickly in a 24/7 environment.”

Customer Service

Imagine if every time someone mentioned your company name, you would get a notification not only that a mention was made but what the mention was. I know, we can’t monitor EVERYTHING that’s said, but if your company name is mentioned in Twitter, you will see what was said and who said it. If the mention is unfavorable or they spoke of a problem, you can contact that Tweeter and try to resolve the issue. What great customer service! The dis-satisfied customer didn’t even have to get in touch with you!

Some Interesting Other Uses

Kevin.Lexblog.com wrote in September 2008 – Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a pretty good plaintiffs’ firm here in Seattle, apparently has its PR person, Laura Young of Firmani + Associates Inc., out twittering to find putative class members for a possible class action law suit versus Verizon Wireless.

And from David Armano himself: – If you are interested about marketing, conversations and the ways which we communicate with each other (and how this is changing and evolving), you should at least investigate what the hoopla is all about. My recent experiences with Twitter tell me that the service is morphing due to how users want to use it. What was once initially designed to answer the question “what are you doing?”, has turned into a free-form communications service where people are having burts of shorthand conversations, sharing links and information in rapid-fire fashion…Personally, I think Twitter is a pretty powerful tool for anything involving promotions, events and communities.

Botanicalls – do you forget to water your plants? Set up the Botanicalls kit in your plant and it will Tweet you when it’s thirsty.

Commuter Feed – do your own traffic reporting for others in your area. No sense in EVERYONE getting stuck in that traffic jam!

There are some folks who just love to listen to emergency broadcasts with radio scanners and ham radios. For those folks, they can check out the LAFD twitter. The Los Angeles Fire Department tweets real time alerts in its jurisdiction.

So, have I convinced you yet? If you’re not on Twitter – I have no idea what you’re waiting for. And if you are on Twitter, are there any interesting ideas that you have on how to use this great program? Let me know.

Tags: tweets, twitter, twitter for business

There are many tools out there that can help you with keyword research and Google Insights for Search is just one of those tools. But I find that not many people really know how to use it. So, I thought I’d give you some examples of how our Internet Marketing firm uses this great little tool.

Step One: Go to Google Insights For Search, and simply type in a keyword. We’ve found that it’s better to start off with just one word and then expand from there.

Step Two: Choose your filters. Since the majority of our clients are in the USA, we choose the country vs. the Worldwide search. And normally, we like to see the trend for the last 12 months. It’s the most pertinent information. We keep the last filter at All Categories. Of course, if you’re searching for a very specific region, you can certainly change the filter to accomodate your needs. But if the results are too low, know that this tool will not present you with any information.

Step Three: After you’ve made all your choices, simply click on the Search button.

Step Four: The results are broken down into three rows. Row 1 shows you a graph of the trend for that word or phrase within the time frame that you chose. Row 2 shows you the regional interest for that word or phrase. Row 3 shows you the related terms AND the rising searches.

So, how do you use this information?

Row 1 – the graph here shows you clearly what the "trend" is for this word or phrase. You can see the highs and lows, if there’s a seasonal demand for this word or phrase, etc.

Row 2 – the geographical map here shows you what parts of the world or the country has the most concentrated searches for the word or phrase. This is good to know because if you sell an item or service that is nationwide, you can see where the "need" or "desire" is most. If your company is in California but you see that Maine has a high demand for your item, then you’ll want to beef up your marketing in the Maine area.

Row 3 – the phrases on the left give you "other" terms that you may want to search on – just because YOU believe that everyone is typing in "family dentist" doesn’t mean that they really are. You may find out that "family dental" is a more popular term. The idea is to provide a variety of keyword phrases on your website or blog so that ALL searches can lead to your site. The right hand side of Row 3 shows you (if there are any) Rising Searches. This is very interesting because it gives you an idea of what keyword phrases have increased in the time frame that you chose. This insight gives you new keyword phrases that you can target in your Internet marketing campaign. AND it’s a wonderful "insight" into what your audience is searching for.

So, if the audience is searching for it, it’s up to you to give it to them!

BUT – there’s a catch (isn’t there always). Just because a keyword phrase is listed under the "rising searches" column, doesn’t mean that it will be easy to get listed on the first page of Google for that keyword phrase. The competition number is still a very important factor. So, make sure to check with your SEO firm – give them the phrase(s) to check on and they’ll let you know if that specific phrase is good OR if there are similar phrases that you can use. After all, if you’re not on the first page of Google, or Yahoo or any other search engine, it will be very difficult to get traffic for that phrase.

Following are some examples that we’ve chosen from our Google Insights research some of our clients can use:

1) bankruptcy information
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "bankruptcy information" has increased 110%
This phrase is extremely competitive – so for our client – the better phrase would be…
"Massachusetts Bankruptcy Information"

2) byetta for diabetes
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "byetta for diabetes" has increased 200%.
This phrase is not competitive and can easily by used by our client selling Diabetic Medical Supplies.
In fact – it could lead to an interesting new "series" of pages on their blog. They could invite an endocrinologist to write articles about diabetes, diabetic medicine, diabetic products, etc. If searchers are looking for "byetta for diabetes" then they may also be searching for information about other medicines and products for diabetes.

3) water heater timer
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "water heater timer" has increased 50%
This phrase is not competitive but extremely timely – after all – everyone is looking for ways to save money these days and water heater timers can do just that. Our Atlanta Plumbing Services company can easily add this information to their website or blog to attract more visitors.

4) acute stress disorder
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "acute stress disorder" has increased 40%
Well, with the global economy in it’s current state – this was no surprise!! This phrase though, is competitive, a better phrase would be "symptoms of acute stress disorder". For our client providing Stress Management Programs, this is an excellent phrase to build on and attract more visitors.

5) postpartum depression
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "postpartum depression" has increased 110%
This phrase is fairly competitive, a better phrase would be "postpartum depression symptoms". Our clients providing South Florida Counseling Services and Counseling Services in Atlanta could benefit greatly by adding this information to their blogs and/or websites.

6) get legal advice
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "get legal advice" has increased 70%

This phrase is fairly competitive, a better phrase would be "get legal advice online". Our South Florida Family Law Attorney can benefit from this phrase,
our South Florida Injury Attorney can also benefit from adding a page or 2 focusing on this phrase, our Fort Lauderdale Probate Lawyer can benefit from adding this information to his website or blog. Even our Ft Lauderdale Mens Rights Attorney can benefit from adding this phrase to his website. The idea is that if the audience is looking for this information, there is no reason why they shouldn’t find this information on YOUR website (or blog).

7) my gums hurt
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "my gums hurt" has increased 50%

This is an excellent phrase, low competition and high popularity. All our dental websites, Broward County Dentist, Miami Cosmetic Dentist and the Pembroke Pines Denist can all benefit by adding this information to their website and/or blog.

child support payments
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "child support payments" has increased 50%

This is a highly competitive phrase so, for our clients that provide Fathers Rights in Child Support and South Florida Family Law Attorney services, the better phrase would be "child support payments in florida". By specifying the geography in the keyword phrase, it lowers the competition but at the same time provides the opportunity (as incoming links increase) for the website page and/or blog to increase in rankings for the more generic phrase.

9) copyright law
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "copyright law" has increased 50%

This is a very competitive keyword phrase so a better phrase would be "copyright law and fair use". Still very popular but less competitive. Our Florida Trademark and Patent Attorneys can use this information on their website and/or blog and any website offering Copyright Law Information can add this specific phrase as well.

10) cost savings
In the last 12 months, the search on Google for the phrase "cost savings" has increased 60%
Well, without a doubt any phrase having to do with savings or reducing costs will be very big in the last 12 months and I’m guessing for the next 12 months as well (at least!). But, this is a very competitive phrase so I would recommend to couple this phrase with the service being provided. For example, our client providing Freight Audit Company Services can benefit from the phrase by changing it to "cost savings on freight". What business isn’t looking for ways to reduce their expenses this year?

So, I hope you get the idea that I’m trying to give you here. Basically, find out what your audience is looking for and then give it to them. Feed The Fetish!

Tags: internet marketing, keyword research, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo

I hope everyone enjoyed their Obama Day!

I woke up this morning to some interesting news. If you haven’t yet heard, the official website for the White House (www.whitehouse.gov) has been changed! And I’m not talking about just the photos!!

President Obama used the Internet to his advantage during his campaign. He continues to surround himself with the young and talented minds he needs to continue this venture. Hence, the overhaul of Whitehouse.gov. Now, mind you, these "abilities" aren’t necessarily new, I mean the public has always been able to email the White House ever since there was a website but what’s new is the ease of how these features can be found and used.

1) Ther’s a blog called The Briefing Room that you can subscribe to – so check it out for your RSS reader.

2) Macon Philips, the director of the new media for the White House wrote, "The President’s executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government."

3) He also wrote, "We will publish all non-emergency legislation to the Web site for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it." – Can you imagine? YOU and I have the opportunity to actually provide our insight and advice. It’s about time!

As Mr. Philips writes, the idea is to increase Communication, make the administration Open and Transparent and encourage the public to Participate in the governing of this country. Just another sign that 2009 is the year the Internet finally makes it big with businesses big and small!

Tags: 2009, barack obama, obama da, whitehouse.gov, year of the Internet

I know, I know, everyone is talking about social media, twitter this and facebook that! What’s it all about? Why is everyone so interested in the minutiae of our lives? Well, I don’t know the answer to that but I DO know that participating in social media is very much like participating in business and social networking groups. At first, you meet a lot of people, you shake hands, you engage in small talk and you get to know a little about each other. But after several meetings you become more engaged and more familiar and more trusting of each other. After several months, hopefully, you’ve gained that person’s trust enough to earn business referrals from them. Or maybe even business from themselves.

These online social media programs are the same thing – at least for businesses they are. The problem is that sometimes the business folks are mixed in with the social folks. So, the "conversation" that you see on the screen ranges from "Deciding on tuna or chicken sandwich for lunch." to "Found some great ideas on small business marketing – click here." So, yes, at this point we do have to weed out what we need from what we don’t need (or care about). But the reality is that the benefits are there.

Nothing tells the truth better than numbers, so here are some stats from 4 websites that we’re marketing. All four websites are participating in social media programs. All four have blogs that they keep up and all four contribute regularly (at least 2 articles per month) to their blog and social media campaigns.

Website 1 – contributes an average of 20 articles per month

28.33 % came from direct traffic
28.79% came from referring sites
42.88% came from search engines

The referring sites are…
stumbleupon.com
promotionworld.com
ladieswholaunch.com
twitter.com

Website 2 – contributes an average of 5 articles per month

10.54% from direct traffic
31.05% from referring sites
58.40% from search engines

The referring sites are…
knolstuff.com
blog
linkedin.com

Website 3 – contributes an average of 2 articles per month

7.51% from direct traffic
4.93% from referring sites
87.56% from search engines

The referring sites are…
knolstuff.com
blog
ezinearticles.com
goodsearch.com
geckoe.com

Website 4 – contributes an average of 2 articles per month

28.74% from direct traffic
2.01% from referring sites
69.25% from search engines

The referring sites are…
blog
knolstuff.com
goodsearch.com

What’s interesting to note is the direct traffic stats. 2 f the 4 websites above DO NOT participate in any other marketing besides Internet marketing, not even pay per click campaigns. So, the "direct traffic" visitors are probably coming from referrals from clients and/or referrals from visitors to the social media campaigns. It’s hard to tell but it’s interesting to note that factor.

So, you see, there’s no doubt that there is traffic being brought in to websites via social media. So, is it worth it for you to take 30 minutes each day to write a short article about what you already know? And then submit that article to multiple sites? If you really don’t have the time, consider using a social media marketing program like we have at Eckweb Designs. It does the work for you.

Tags: eckweb, internet marketing, small business marketing, social media, social media marketing

There are alot of talented folks out there, and I’m guessing that they’re hungry too. There are so many applications coming out for iPhones and mobile units that it’s very difficult to keep up with them all. But, here’s a list of some of the latest and greatest tools that turn your mobile units into indispensable tools.

Dial2Do.com
This is a great FREE application that you can use to help your productivity. Basically, you put the number on your speeddial. If you want to email someone – you just call that number and say EMAIL – you will then be taken to your email account where you can SAY what you want to say in your email and to whom. You can do the same thing with texting and adding tweets to your twitter. Pretty fricking cool!

Firetask.com
For $4.99 you can add this application to your iPhone. Basically, it’s a task manager that allows you to assign tasks, take notes, assign importance, etc. Great for all those folks who are always on the go.

SnapDat.com
Another program that offers sharing of contact information. Actually, there are several programs now coming out with this purpose. Eventually, one of them will be the leader. But with SnapDat – you can replace your business cards with the information that is on your cell phone – create your own "web page" from 40 different templates. You simply SEND the card to someone in your address book and that’s that. They’ve got you in full living color.

SeeInside.mobi
If there are any realtors left out there, this is the tool for you. Virtual real estate is brought right to your cell phone. Let the clients see the "inside" of the piece of realty before you schlep them over there. I could have used this when we moved 2 years ago!

iphone-analytics
If you’re addicted to your Google Analytics and can’t be away from seeing those ever changing stats – try iphone-analytics. It allows you to check your Google Analytics stats right from your iphone.

Tags: iphone applications, mobile applications

So many colleagues, friends and family are out of work these days, it seems everyone is looking for some tools to help them get an edge on getting that next job. The author of Me 2.0: Build a Power Brand to Achieve Career Success, Dan Schawbel, wrote a great article just on this very subject. Here are the highlights…

1) Start with a website
Whether it’s a full blown website or a blog, either way, start with a presence on the Internet that is completely your own. This website is your resume. It can say volumes about you in an entertaining way, much more than just a sheet of paper. You’ll need to either get a web designer to create your website for you, or you can create your blog at Wordpress.com.

2) Your URL is key
Dan writes, "The objective of the URL is to have something you can freely promote and that people can remember." – So, an URL that’s your name or describes what you do would be perfect. I personally like GoDaddy.com for domain name registrations but there are many others out there. Just make sure to purchase your domain name for a very minimum of 2 years.

3) Decide on the format and design
Make sure that your website and/or blog are unique – try (try very hard) not to use templates. Create your own individual space on the Internet. Remember, it is this space that others will be "meeting you" for the first time. Or it is this space that others will be "getting to know you". Use it wisely. If you’re not good with colors and design, get someone who is.

4) Enhance your resume with multimedia
Did you know that in 2008 there were about 1 billion more searches conducted on YouTube than on Google? What does that tell you? Video is in and if you can add a video or slide show to your website, you’re adding another dimension. Try animoto.com to create some great slide shows.

5) Integrate your social network profiles
Okay, if you haven’t yet created some social networking profiles for yourself, I have no idea what you’re waiting for. These days, HR departments are regularly using these profiles to "check" the candidates who are seeking jobs. Create your profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. If there are any specific social media networks that are geared towards your industry, sign up with those as well. And yes, it’s not just signing up, you actually have to participate in them. If you’re looking for work, you’re probably going to networking groups, meeting other professionals, getting your name and resume out there. These social media networks are the same thing, only you’re doing it all online and you get to drink your own coffee.

6) Make your resume shareable
In other words, make sure to make it as easy as possible for viewers to your website or your blog or your social media profiles to be able to send your resume to someone else. If an HR person reviews your facebook and thinks that you would be a good fit for another HR person in another company, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to just click on a button and send out that information. Add this feature to your website, your blog, wherever you are on the Internet.

In the article, Dan Schawbel gives a link to his own online resume – check it out!

Read the complete article on Mashable.com

Tags: resume, small business

If you’re a small business and you’re trying to market your website, you may find it difficult to compete with the larger companies. You know, the companies that have triple the number of employees that you have, the companies that have 10 more websites than you have, the companies with deeper pockets than you have.

So, how can you, as a small business, compete on the Internet? Easy – Long Tail Marketing!

Long Tail Marketing is the concept of targeting keyword phrases that are less competitive. True, these keyword phrases are also less popular. But the chances of your website getting on the first page of the search engines with the long tail keyword phrase is much greater. And let’s face it, if you’re not on the first page, you’re not going to get visitors from that keyword phrase.

I’ve been struggling for months to get a client of ours on the first page of Google for the phrase name tags. I can get him there at least once a day but I can’t seem to keep him there! It’s frustrating to say the least! So, I know the potential for the visitors to his site for that keyword phrase is high but at the same time, while I’m working on that highly competitive phrase I still need to get visitors to his website. And long tail marketing is an excellent SEO strategy.

Let me give you some stats based on the last 30 days…

The numbers don’t lie. All these websites are getting MORE visitors from their long tail keyword phrases. It makes sense, their positions in the search engines for these long tail phrases are higher so the chances of getting visitors are higher.

You may be asking yourself, so why doesn’t every small business website follow the long tail marketing method? Well, there’s a catch. In order to get the larger number of visitors to your website, you need more pages. If a highly competitive keyword phrase on page 1 of Google can bring in 1000 visitors to your website, and a less competitive keyword phrase on page 1 of Google can bring in 50 visitors, then you need 20 pages, each one marketing one of these "less competitive (aka long tail) keyword phrases" in order to bring in the same number as the highly competitive keyword phrase.

And let’s face it, not many small business owners have the time to write so many pages. And not many small business owners have the money to pay copywriters for the service. But, as an SEO webmaster working specifically with small business owners I’m here to tell you that long tail marketing is your best, most effective strategy for website marketing. As your SEO firm to provide you with long tail keyword phrases, each month they should give you a few. And write – add new pages to your website. Write articles and post them on your blog, on Facebook. Let everyone on your Twitter account know about that article. It WILL bring in business and the side benefit is that the conversion rates are usually higher on the long tail keyword phrases. So, not only do they bring in visitors, but targeted visitors who are ready to buy.

Tags: internet marketing, long tail marketing, search engine optimization, seo, small business marketing

Because I read SO MANY articles, blogs and news reports online I collect lists of new programs and tools almost daily. I try to find the most interesting ones and/or the ones that I think would be beneficial for my business or any business. So, here’s a list of some new tools that I’ve found this week.

1) TwitterButtons – if you want some cute, clever ways to let your audience know that they can follow you on Twitter, check this out! You know, one of my clients is a company that sells name tags, I keep telling them they should start incorporating Twitter and Facebook names on nametags. Don’t you think?

2) If you’re interested in creating a desktop that is more "work friendly" you might want to look at Qus. It’s pretty cool!

3) Need a comprehensive check on someone you’re interviewing or considering doing business with? Or maybe even dating? Whatever the reason, check out Pipl - it bills itself as "the most comprehensive people search on the web".

4) If you want to "badge" your blog or website with your social network program, consider using badged.net

5) Tired of trying to remember your logins for all your online web applications? Check out MyOneLogin! It’s about time.

6) Looking for streaming music on your pc or mobile unit? Extremely easy to install and use – based on Adobe’s Air – great tool! FlyCast.fm

Well, these are some of the new programs that I found this week. If you found any clever programs or software that you think would be of great help – let me know! I’m always looking for new "gadgets".

Tags: gadgets, internet software, new internet programs

Well, the new year is upon us and today, pretty much everyone is going back to work. The main topic of conversation at all the holiday gatherings these last 2 weeks has been the US economy. Everyone, it seems, is bracing for 2009 and just looking to get through this year. There are so many factors out of our control that it’s difficult for anyone of us to make any certain plans for this year.

But, don’t let me doom and gloom you! We will get through this year and here are some of my thoughts and predictions on what you can expect in 2009 as it relates to your Internet marketing campaign.

1) PPC (Pay Per Click) will still be a viable marketing tool but because of the expense, it will be used less in 2009. SEO techniques take longer to take an effect but the cost is much less and the ROI is much higher. So, for anyone using just PPC – look into SEO services and you may just save some significant dollars. And for SEO firms, get ready to see an increase in calls and quote requests from customers outside of your usual target audience.

2) Everyone is looking for the best deals – the most bang for their bucks. So, that means, when it comes to Internet marketing, if your SEO / PPC firm is not providing you with a ROI (Return On Investment) report – they just may lose out. As many companies begin to buckle down on what they spend, they will demand information on what they’re getting for their money. ROI reports are the best measure of success not only for the Internet marketing firm, but for the client as well.

3) As I’ve been saying for over a year now, mobile will begin getting bigger and bigger, and 2009 will be the beginning of that trend, here in the US. If you haven’t already begun the process of creating a mobile version of your website, don’t wait any longer. Contact your web designer, your Internet marketing firm, whomever you’re using to manage your website and get your mobile version going NOW!

4) It doesn’t matter if you’re selling name tags or if you’re a South Florida law firm, whatever you’re selling, if you provide a service or product to your local community, then you need to get into the local search engines. That means getting on Google Maps, Google Earth, Yahoo Maps, Google Local, Yahoo Local and the hundreds of other local search engines out there.

5) Look for the search engines to begin experimenting with new revenue streams. As the dollars for PPC campaigns decrease, the search engines will experiement with other methods of creating income for themselves. It will be very interesting to see what they come up with.

6) YouTube.com is now the 2nd most used search engine in the world. It surpassed Yahoo! back in October 2008. Is your audience going to YouTube? I don’t know – but – what is the cost of putting a video or slide show commercial on YouTube for your business? Compare that cost with the sales you might get. If the cost equals 1 sale, or a very small number of sales, then isn’t it worth it to get yourself on YouTube and Google Video and any other video source? Of course it is.

7) Social Media is not only changing the landscape of the Internet, it’s changing the way we all do business. There isn’t a day that goes by (it seems) that someone hasn’t created a new Twitter application to use the massive database that is now Twitter. Companies are using Facebook to help them "get to know" prospective employees as they review their resumes. Companies of all sizes are using blogs and micro blogging tools to keep in touch with their customer base. There’s no doubt about it, love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. Incorporate it into your Internet marketing campaign, it’s worth it.

So, there you have it. I should bookmark this and take a look at it in January 2010 to see how right or wrong I was but this is what I think will happen in 2009 – as far as Internet marketing goes.

Tags: 2009 preductions, internet marketing, search engine optimization