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Search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies will flourish in 2009 as the recession forces companies to look for the most cost-effective online marketing strategies, it has been suggested.
According to William Flaiz of Razorfish, SEO is not a free tactic, yet it can offer a significantly higher return on investment than pay-per-click advertising.
He said in a Search Engine Watch column: "Organic search marketing just might become the breadwinner as cash-strapped clients become wary of increased media costs in traditional space and an upturn in bid competition in paid search."
Mr Flaiz also highlighted the growing importance of local search in SEO strategies - particularly as take-up of mobile search continues to soar.
A recent comScore report indicated that mobile search usage in the UK rose by 36 per cent in the 12 months to July 2008, compared with growth of eight per cent for searches carried out via the desktop-based web.
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Google may change its focus from search keywords to questions, according to Marissa Mayer.
The vice-president of search products and user experience at the company told .net magazine that this could be one way in which Google looks to expand its search operations in the future.
Furthermore, the search engine is looking at bringing in more information from a wider variety of sources to search results pages, as well as easing access to online data from mobile phones, she added.
Another area Ms Mayer indicated will become more important to Google is that of personalised search.
"We aren't sure which personal signals will be most valuable, but we're investing in research and experimentation on personalised search now because we think this will be very important later," she remarked.
Google is already experimenting with tailored search through the SearchWiki service, which was launched last year and allows users to edit, remove and comment on search results.
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Choosing the right content management system (CMS) can be a boon for search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts, according to one expert.
Eric Enge of Stone Temple Consulting wrote on Search Engine Land that many CMS systems were developed before SEO became as prominent as it is today, meaning that these applications can have a negative effect on rankings.
He gave the example of such systems promoting duplicate content, making it more difficult for sites to rank well in search engine results, while others do not allow marketers to come up with unique meta data for web pages.
Some CMS systems use dynamic URLs that change from time to time, making it harder for search engine users to land on a working page, Mr Enge added.
"I should also state that there are CMS systems that are truly SEO-friendly too. The trick is to evaluate this up front and not simply be satisfied with claims by the software publisher that they are SEO-friendly," he commented.
According to CMS Watch, 2009 will see portal, web and enterprise content management vendors and customers place greater importance on search.
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Search engine optimisation (SEO) executives should remember to choose keywords for all parts of the buying cycle, Gary Reid of .net magazine has advised.
The expert said that while analytics data may suggest one keyword is responsible for most website traffic, these consumers may have used different keywords at the very start of the purchase cycle some weeks ago.
It is essential to carry out research into the best keywords for each stage of the e-commerce process and ensure the business has a search presence throughout, Mr Reid remarked.
"Just because users who buy from you do a navigational search right before they purchase doesn't mean you should undervalue the influence other keywords have in the journey," he asserted.
Spending on SEO rose by 30 per cent last year, according to the 2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide from MarketingSherpa.
Search was responsible for about half of all online marketing spending in 2008, the report indicated.
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