Every time you think you’ve caught up, internet marketing changes all over again. At first we rushed out to put up web sites, thinking customers would be rushing to find us. We soon learned that merely having a web site was not enough. We needed to do more than set it up, we also needed to optimize. Then we discovered that we needed to do research to identify the right key words to use on our site based on our business and our customer’s point of view.
Even then we learned as time went on that we had to do more. Backlinks were required to prove that our site was worthy enough to climb the rankings so we could be found by our customers. In the process, we have come to notice that video has become an important element. And today, all of that remains the case.
The dirty secret is that while we may do all of the above, so too does our competitors. To get ahead or keep ahead, we must be planning for the next big change that inevitably is heading out way. I am here today to let you know that a big one is already here. And we know by now that this new change will undoubtedly spark further changes down the line.
For most businesses, just keeping up with the day to day business of running a business is time consuming enough. Mastering the ever changing challenges of the internet is a major burden for most. Some of us are still dealing with a change or two ago’s demands. And it is next to impossible to predict and take advantage of the emerging trends. No wonder there has been such a rapid growth in the number of consultants in the internet marketing arena.
The mega companies like AOL, MicroSoft and Google have led the way and even they have faltered a bit, as the change is hard on everyone. A lot of new faces have and will continue to appear. A dominant new trend revolves around the smart phone. What, phones? Weren’t we talking computers?
The growth of cell phones as internet access devices has been evolving for a number of years already, but is about to blossom into a major new factor in the coming 18 months to 3 years.
Today over half of all log ins to Facebook are done from cell phones. And this trend will continue. In a couple of years, people who today leave home making sure they have their car keys, wallets and cell phones will be leaving home only worried about their phones.
Cell phones will become both their keys and their wallets. The desk top computer will be playing a smaller and smaller role. Instead of it, your customers will be using their phones to find barbers, restaurants and hardware stores.
What will that mean to how our web sites look to people viewing them through a phone? The smaller viewing screen will make a difference. What once filled a wide screen monitor will now need to be squeezed into a diminuative phone screen.
This means that our existing web pages will need to be redesigned so our customers do not need to scroll over to see our full pages. We will need mobile ready web pages and content that looks good on a phone screen.
This significant transformation will need to be rolled out within a year or two, if not sooner. Those who are early adaptors will gain a significant temporary advantage. The question to you as a business person, is do you want that advantage or will you allow your competitors to take customers away from you?