2010 Internet marketing predictions and trends roundup

Well, it's near the end of January, so time for a predictions roundup. This time I'm separating the tactics from the strategy and I will post soon on my predictions and recommendations for approaches to digital marketing strategy. I've grouped the trends / predictions in these 4 tactics areas:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2. Web Analytics / Website design

3. Email marketing

4. Social media marketing

I know that many specialist agency and client-side digital marketers focus on the individual tactics that matter most to success for most companies in online marketing. These key tactics are SEO, Social, Email marketing and Analytics, so here's a round-up of the most popular posts in each of these categories.

In my commentary, I've also picked out what I think really matters most or is a significant new trend in 2010 limiting myself to two posts from the best known commentators in each area.

2010 Search Engine Optimization predictions

1. SEOMoz SEO predictions

A great summary from Rand Fishkin which may have been missed by non-search specialists. They're spot on about the hype with suggestions that Real-time search will fade because of the way it's polluting the index and the increase in importance of personalised search with Google's changes in December.

I think they should have mentioned the increased importance of blogging to success in SEO - an opportunity that many larger businesses are missing out on. Also working on Universal search - see below.  If you haven't see the Top Rank Online Marketing survey on blogging, SEO comes out as a very effective tactic, although the sample may be biased by responses from pro-bloggers rather "real businesses".

Survey ratings of blogging as an SEO tactic. Source: Toprank Blog

Of most value to general marketers are #6 which are these ratings of most popular tactics and #7 which gives Forrester US predictions.

This chart is a great way of summarising priorities for digital marketing investment and I would generally agree with it although Conversion Rate Optimization involves a lot more than landing page optimization and most would agree that the effort for PPC is not low - not if you're doing it right, that is.

2. SEOptimise predictions

My other recommendation in this category is the SEOptimise top 10 which is really a manifesto of what SEOs and content owners should focus on - and like Rand's post is much broader than SEO. My pick:

1. I will build less links and get more links organically instead

7. I will invest more in branding to get more branded searches and less via fickle generic keywords

20. I will use more different media formats like images, videos, micro blogging, ebooks and infographics to succeed in universal search

2. 2010 Web analytics and web site improvement predictions

1. Avinash Kaushik - Occam's Razor

As always, Avinash is good value and entertaining - in particular I like:

#1 "Don't Suck"

#3 Use more Voice of the Customer Tools.

For me, #1 means "€˜Get back to Basics' like home page usability and messaging or site load time (he works for Google as evangelist so he knows that their placing more emphasis on this as a trust/ranking factor for SEO/Adwords).

On #2, I completely agree. I have my compilation of website feedback software and services to help.

2. Future Now

Over on Future Now, Brendan Regan's predictions focus on site conversion optimization and he sees a move from isolated landing page optimisation within the context of the whole customer journey - looking more carefully at the brand influences and the scent - for me, that's testing analysis of different customer engagement tools.

He's also right that there will be "intense scrutiny on investment in social media" and we can predict that a lashback against social media will occur.

3. 2010 Email marketing predictions

Email Marketing has surprisingly few predictions - I think the principles of good practice in email marketing are better established, but there are still big challenges around engaging subscribers and delivery which need big attention.

1. Media Post

Chad White of US Email agency Smith Harmon has these email marketing predictions:

1. Inactivation campaigns will become more important
2. More preference centers will be launched
3. Opt-out processes will become friendlier
4. Landing pages will do a better job of aiding in conversions.

Nothing really new to get excited about here, that could have read the same for the few years. I would place integration with social media at the top of the list and making better use of dynamic content insertion for targeting in automated campaigns and enewsletters would be up there.

2. Return Path email predictions

Matt Blumberg has a good set of predictions, stressing the importance of monitoring your email complaints (he would say that...). I also agree that

will be at least 39 more articles in the mainstream announcing the "death of email".

4. Social media predictions

Last, but not certainly not least, we have social media predictions. I've been amazed by the number of posts on this showing the incredible level of probably misplaced interest in social media - it's only one tactic and in my view it works best for the personal branding experts who have become successful through it, NOT most businesses where the other tactics above are and will remain far more important. It's main strength and success is integrating and supporting the other tactics above.

Anyway, minor rant over, this is what to watch for:

1. ReadWriteWeb - 10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010

This is a really good overview of future trends, but not with so many practical takeaways. No surprise that top of the list is: ROI Will Be Measured -- and It Will Matter.

This is the most important point, and common to most other social media predictions posts. The author says:

"Surveys show only 18% of companies say they saw meaningful return on investment from their social media activities while the other 72% report modest, no return or inability to measure the return on their investment in social media. While the definition of ROI is evolving to better fit the world of relationships and networks, the ability to demonstrate ROI in hard numbers -- not in followers or fans -- will become a baseline business requirement in 2010".

I also like the point that Social Media Will Become a Single, Cohesive Experience Embedded In Our Activities and Technologies - stressing the need for integration.

2. Harvard Business School - Six Social Media Trends.

David Armano says in his post says that "Social Media Will become Less Social" by this I think he means that we will become more selective, more exclusive.

Twitter lists are one example of this and I think the growth in niche networks on Linked In such as UK Web Managers and Digital Marketing Managers groups I belong to are the way forward. Larger networks such as the Emarketing Association are just so full of noise and Spam to be less valuable although good for getting opinions from a wider, worldwide base.

For companies, I think growing their own communities of advocates and customer panels to get feedback on product innovation will become more common. Like the well established Dell Ideastorm, but more typically by invite only.

See my feedback tools post for crowdsourcing options.

So that's my round-up of digital marketing trends for 2010 - I've been selective - just looking at blogs I follow anyway, so do let us know if there are other helpful predictions lists to help shape our decisions.