10 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2007

7. Newspapers: This past year, many of the Web sites of major newspapers have become the No. 1 portals in their geographic markets and are drawing a larger, younger and more affluent readership. The audience that reads a newspaper's Web site but not its print version accounts for 2% to 15% of the Integrated Newspaper Audience, according to Scarborough Research, and that represents hundreds of thousands of readers for many newspapers in larger markets.

They're successfully attracting 18-to-34-year-olds to their sites, and the online readers are more upscale, which can make them a more desirable audience. If you're an advertiser in the "print" newspaper, you can negotiate for a combo rate to run online as well to reach these additional readers. And if advertising in the print newspaper is too expensive for your business, you may find more affordable rates online by drilling down past the main pages to place ads on content-rich, but less frequently visited Web pages.

Hot Online Trends

8. Web Conferencing: As business travel becomes increasingly challenging due to increased security, advance check-in times and transportation delays, online workshops and meetings that require no travel are coming to the forefront. It's more desirable than ever to demo your new product to a group or make a sales presentation without anyone ever leaving home. Participants can watch your presentation on their computer monitors and hear you live on their computer speakers or by phone. In fact, I'm now transitioning to this technology to deliver Webinars, and you can, too.

9. Online Research: Whether you sell exclusively online or primarily through a brick-and-mortar site, online search will have a profound impact on your sales in 2007. When asked how often they researched products online before buying them in person or in a store, 87% of nearly 7,500 respondents to a BIGresearch Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey said they did so occasionally to regularly. And a comScore research study showed that 63% of searchers completed a purchase in offline retail stores following their search activity. So no matter whether you sell online, off-line or both, you need a great Web site with deep, persuasive content that keeps your prospects and customers shopping on your site or sends them to your store.

10. Local Search: Want to know where to invest your online marketing dollars in 2007? Aim for higher rankings in the top search engines. The 62% of searchers click on a link within the first page of results, according to a report from iProspect and Jupiter Research. To win higher rankings in natural search results, you can optimize your site by sprinkling the keyword phrases throughout all the pages of your site, in your page descriptions and in metatags that your best prospects will be searching for. You should also secure links to your site from other high-ranking Web sites. But to guarantee you'll turn up in the top search results, invest in a paid search campaign. Local search campaigns are often the most affordable and will bring traffic from your immediate market area in the New Year.