Will Newspapers Compete with SEOs and SEMs?
The Kelsey Group analysts get Search. Today their analyst team published 2008 Local Search trends and developments. Breaking news you can use in your search engine strategies all year long. Highlights:
Rise of Vertical Sellers : vertical sales will saturate big ad spend categories.
What does that mean for SEOs and SEMs?
Newspaper groups will offer SEO/SEM solutions.
That’s right. Imagine competing with The New York Times for search marketing clients. Internet and vertical resellers will target auto and real estate via SEO/SEM. Lots of new start-ups will announce plans to enter these categories.
In the real estate vertical: MLS listings will start creeping into non-Realtor.com sites.
Expect rapid dev in real estate and auto verticals online, expansion of local search inventory. The move toward search on specialized devices grows. UGC (user-generated content) will make an evolutionary leap in consumer decision-making
Matt Booth, Kelsey’s SVP of Interactive Local Media, had a stellar track record for 2007 predictions — perhaps an even better batting average than Battelle. And that’s saying alot.
Booth and his Interactive Local Media analyst team (including SEW Expert Mike Boland) also predict:
1. print Yellow Pages advertising products will feature call-tracking numbers
2. call tracking numbers will enable variable pricing
3. merchants and call tracking online and offline to increase call volume
That’s news CEOs will love: proven ROI online and offline.