Top Online Marketing Trends for 2011

Online, December 30, 2010 (Newswire.com) - There's often a mix of nostalgia and excitement as the year hurls towards the end of December. Nostalgia as we look back at the year and wrap up the year that was. Excitement as we embrace what the New Year will bring.

With the rapid changes in 2010 driven by mobile, social media and search marketing, 2011 is shaping up to be an exciting year for businesses and marketers alike. Chloe Lim, aoom consultancy, predicts 5 key online marketing trends to watch out for in 2011.

Online Marketing Trend 1: Local Search Marketing

Two of the most talked about events of the year are both related to local marketing - the impressive rise of local search results on Google and the "near acquisition" of Groupon by Google. The former has significant impact on both Pay Per Click (Paid Search) and Search Engine Optimisation. While the latter confirms, the "next big thing" in marketing. Businesses and online marketers need to think about how best to rank on local results, capitalise on long tail keywords as well as how to maximise local opportunities in order to grow.

Online Marketing Trend 2: The Next Big Online Thing

Social media marketing was talk of the town in 2010 and in particular, social media network Facebook was everywhere ( well, it even spawned a movie!). Before predictions on social media, l the next big online trend to watch for is collective purchasing.

2011 will see collective purchasing grow. Whatever way it is tagged, consumers are harnessing the power of group discounts for purchases and in the process driving a renaissance in the use of coupons and vouchers. Marketers are using this opportunity to find new ways to distribute their products and services as well as acquire new customers.

Online Marketing Trend 3: Social Advertising Gets Properly Inducted Into The Online Marketing Mix

For a long time, skeptics were discussing the lack of revenue streams from social media networks. As social media starts to mature, so does social advertising. Advertising on social media is now becoming a legitimate way of advertising for new customers and to stay in touch with existing users.

Most social media networks currently offer a cost per click ( CPC) style advertising model and are fast improving analytics and tracking to support advertisers. Add to that the ability to personalise advertisements and segment customers in a more detailed fashion, social advertising will continue to grow and be a part of the online marketing mix.

Online Marketing Trend 4: What Goes Up Continues to Go Up

aoom consultancy predicted a growth in CPC rates last year and unfortunately, online marketing cost will continue to grow in 2011. This is largely due to the continued shift of marketing budget from traditional/offline media to online marketing streams. The good news is there will be more focus on efficiency, analytics and presence of more automated tools to help businesses and online marketers.

Online Marketing Trend 5: More on Mobile ECommerce And Apps

ABI research indicated that global mobile ecommerce will reach $163B by 2015. More and more searches are also being conducted on mobile phones. With the growth of the mobile platform, marketers and advertisers need to think about how to deliver content, advertisements across even more platforms, formats and context. There is an increased complexity with multi channel customer acquisition and retention. Online conversion is not just about website conversion, it has broaden to include mobile interfaces and mobile applications.

So with these 5 key predictions, how would 2011 shape up vs 2010? Well, people and in essence, technology, never stop. We will see marketing platforms mature, encounter new business models and ways of distribution as well as further innovation across all mediums and industry. In short, we are in for another interesting year

For more information, visit http://www.aoom.com.au