Many of us wake up every morning and sit down in front of our computers and not really realize what is going on behind the scenes of the industry and how much this mammoth communication tool has actually grown since its birth not too long ago. The internet has really only just begun and I can see these numbers in this video really increasing frantically as time moves forward.

This is a great video, not related to search engine optimization, but a really cool one to check out:

The generations behind us are increasingly computer savvy when it comes to the online space and we will see more and more young developers and entrepreneurs climbing the search rankings as pioneers in the search space. This video allows us to see what the internet really is in a whole new light. You know that it is a very active space but you never realize how big it truly is until you see the numbers first hand, amazing video that really allows you to see things from a different angle.

Are you are still applying the same exact SEO tactics that you did a few years back? Have you evolved into what is happening now in the search marketing space? If you haven’t you could be shooting yourself in the foot with your online marketing approach. This is a very fast moving industry that requires a great deal of constant education. I won’t compare it to the education level needed to consistently be a good doctor but there is a fair amount of information that needs to be digested at almost all times to stay on top of the internet trends. Savvy start-ups are springing to action with great force almost every single day. Some of these new technology start-ups are changing the way that people communicate online and if you don’t keep up with it you could fall behind your competition.

The pace of change is much like a runaway locomotive train and consumers along with businesses are trying to simply grab a hold and stay on. The reason why old SEO tactics do not work like they used to is because consumers are starting to act and purchase on trust rather than emotion. They need to see your business in many different areas before they decided to contact you for any reason.

Let’s take a look at some location and mobile search marketing areas that I think we will see strong growth online in the very near future:

1. Location Based Search Marketing: Foursqaure and Gowalla have taken what Twitter does and twisted and tweaked it to remove the spammy business side that tends to infiltrate the website now. Your phone understands where you are and shows you a list of places surrounding your immediate location. You can then check in to those places to let others know you are there and how you feel about it. In this process you receive badges for frequency of check-ins. Recently Facebook and Twitter both have already started implementing their own location based features. This is obviously a direction where things are starting to head. Location based marketing is really just getting started but it will eventually be an integral part of any online marketing campaign.

2. Mobile Phone Applications: Search engines are not just on desktop computers and laptops anymore. They now follow people around in their pockets on their mobile phones. The mobile app industry is absolutely exploding and more and more users are shifting away from looking up a business on their mobile website and moving to just downloading a mobile app version for that specific business. It makes things much easier for the user and more efficient as well. As devices get stronger and more powerful people are going to rely on their hand held devices even more making it very important that all business get involved with the online mobile space sooner than later.

3. Trust Trumps All: Technology is growing at such a rapid pace that many of us don’t really have the time to keep up with everything going on around us. We are all in an era that is under a heavy content overload. Everywhere you turn online you see more news, more information and more ads. Consumers are trying to really bob and weave to avoid the junk that is being thrown at them everyday. Trust is going to drive purchases in the future. Online trust is going to have a very heavy decision factor for many companies and individuals looking to make a purchase online. With so many new websites and businesses making their way into search results the ability to really brand yourself and stand out from the crowd is going to be vital in the very near future. No more spammy SEO techniques for just ranking. You seriously have to brand your business online the right way to grow and prosper.

The search engine marketing space is changing every day. New unfathomable technologies creep up and infiltrate our communities on a regular basis creating brand new platforms for everyone to jump on and be part of. This is not going to slow down and applying SEO techniques from years past is not going to prepare you for the future. The future of search is happening right now. We can see the industry going through the changes already which means that businesses have to go through the changes as well.

Gideon Shalwick goes over the importance of introducing some sort of online video marketing into the picture for any business looking to brand themselves in the online space. Years ago creating an online video was extremely difficult and expensive and scared many businesses away. The internet has come a long way since those days and has really opened up the marketing landscape to allow people and businesses to brand themselves with online video marketing. Gideon made a good point stating that it does not have to be expensive to be done right. A little flip camera some inexpensive flood lights and basic video editing software and you all of a sudden can create a very professional looking video for your online business.

Check out the helpful video by Gideon Shalwick:

Making a video doesn’t have to break the bank and can be done relatively inexpensive. Many businesses in today’s marketplace can achieve a great deal of online marketing by trying to execute some of the activities, software editing and production themselves. Regular online marketing can significantly help strengthen a businesses online search engine optimization efforts and attempts over time.

The online space grows more competitive each and every day and the importance of finding niches and certain areas to be visible in is becoming even more evident and important. If you are targeting a space that clearly has a great deal of competition it will be very important to go after the long tail keywords as well as the broad to be able to achieve some sort of rankings fairly quickly. Being a new website in a competitive environment requires a great deal of time, patience and experience. Don’t expect to rank quickly going after the broader search terms. Long tail keyword phrases will be your friend so you have to use them.

The most important advise that I can provide for a new website or new business owner is to spend the time doing your keyword research! Keyword research should be based on the existing content of each page of your website, so conduct the keyword research after you write your content. This is a big mistake that I see many people make that are new to the search world. They sometimes write content to rank well in the search engines, your content should always be written with your audience(s) and visitors in mind.

Continuing on and about the long tail track here…The mindset of many websites is to try and rank for the broad keyword phrases to pull in the largest amount of search volume. When first getting involved in search with a new website you have to be realistic. Don’t be in denial when you first launch your website because you could potentially short change your business. Try to go after some of the low hanging fruit in your industry to get some new business and sales. This will allow you to pull in some new clients and build some quick credibility in the industry for yourself by wowing some new clients. As you build your reputation in the industry your website will slowly grow in power naturally and start to climb for the much broader keywords in your industry. Don’t assume that you belong in the search results for the broad keywords right away. You have to earn those spots and that takes time.

Like any industry you have to slowly pay your dues to achieve visibility and respect to achieve the high rankings in search results. Once you have that than you will see your rankings climb for the top industry keywords.