Recent progress in the way we communicate through the net have been less about habitual broadcast media and more about interactive, two way communication. As this type of communication progresses it will undoubtedly affect the way search engines operate and by association the process of Online Marketing.
Conventional media “broadcasts” a message to the anticipated audience, whether it is in the form of a paper or an advert (physical or digital) which exposes the reader, listener or watcher to a idea. The communication is one way and the intended audience is told something, effectively “talked at”.
Usual methods of Online Marketing carried out by the marketing fraternity and of late the relatively new concept of Search Engine Optimisation companies (SEO Company) are targeted at the way that Google (largely) accesses web pages. This is a variety of broadcast media not too dissimilar to a newspaper albeit with digital trickery to make the occurance more attractive.
Is this all about to change? Are the accepted Search Engine Placement services about to become less important? Assuming the internet continues to develop along the same lines as it has for the last 10 years, we can expect to see the use of the internet becoming more entrenched in our day to day real time lives. It will develop into more of a delivery platform as opposed to an information source, a concierge as opposed to a librarian. If we are using the net in real time that connection will become two way and transactional, broadcast techniques will offer a shallow experience and become a thing of the past.
Once a buyer can connect with the seller of the product or service through two way communication simply reading a website will be less than gratifying. At this point customary Search Engine Placement services become obsolete and Online Marketing becomes about making connections not appreciating content.
The astute Search Engine Optimization Company will be looking at how that interaction can take place in an environment that is so crowded with information. Ideally, a buyer is exposed to a seller (or a number of sellers) in an atmosphere where he can actively interrogate and compare their product, ask for detail and maybe even tailor the product or service to his requirement before he makes the decision to buy.
Instead of offering website optimisation for a static broadcast, online marketing may be about promoting links and may take place on Twitter, chatrooms, forums even within games where product placement is already starting to take place.