Web Trends 2009

Web Trends 2009 A special report from Reside Reside, LLC 2815 Wayzata Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55405 p: 612.767.2000 f: 612.435.4815 www.reside.biz © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 1 Introduction 2008 was a newsperson’s utopia. With a historical election and one of the most widespread economic crises in memory - the year was full of major headlines. While the Web didn’t claim leading news coverage in 2008, it quietly but steadily progressed on its own front, with familiar technologies such as video and search growing and gaining acceptance; while newer trends such as community portals and social networking apps like Twitter became part of the common vernacular. So, while major new circuits may have shrugged off the Web in 2008 in lieu of other breaking news, we certainly did not. Reside’s experts have been carefully watching emerging trends, tactics and technologies that are taking consumers and businesses to new levels of interactivity, connectivity and transparency. And this year shows no signs of slow-down. In this brief, we highlight some of the top Web trends for 2009. Through our research and exploration, we’ve identified 14 key trends that will make headlines (at least in the Web world!) in the coming year. As it goes with trends, some will meet and exceed our expectations while others will disappear or gain traction downstream. Our goal is to give you a quick overview of each trend and also provide some key links to learn more. Following the review of trends, we’ve also summarized additional ideas and best practices to consider in 2009. So enjoy your “tour of trends”, compliments of Reside. And keep in mind – every trend may not have a direct application to your business. So feel free to contact Reside as you consider which trends have value, in what ways, for your business in 2009. The New Agency The Web Design industry is undergoing a period of rapid change – and over the next 12 to 18 months a new kind of agency will emerge from today’s fragmented array of Web design providers. These firms will draw on the user-centered design and technology prowess of today’s interactive agencies, the strategic advising capabilities of traditional ad agencies, and the change management expertise of management consultants – all while honing their ability to deliver a Web site that effectively integrate with other channels. Web site owners looking to hire an agency now need to consider how candidate firms will evolve over the next few years by probing into these five areas. Tomorrow’s Web Design Industry: What Web Site Owners Need to Know Now, Forrester’s, Jan 2008 Our promise is to help your business grow, using the Web. We’d enjoy the chance to show you how some of these trends could drive new opportunities and revenue for your business. Reach us at 612.767.2000, or visit us at www.reside.biz for more information. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 2 Forecasted Top Web Trends for 2009 The following list outlines the fourteen trends discussed in more detail within this document. Keep reading for descriptions and applications of each. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Marketers Tailoring Digital Tactics in a Recessionary Economy Multi-Channel Marketing and Measurement via Web as the Hub Email Marketing Search Marketing (Pay-Per-Click and Local Search / Localized Services) Content Focus and Targeted Marketing Mobile Social Software / Social Networking / Communities Online Video / Internet TV Test, Test, Test Digital Body Language of the Prosumer eCommerce APIs and Mashups Cloud Computing Virtual Worlds © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 3 #1: Marketers Tailoring Digital Tactics in a Recessionary Economy Description Every marketing tactic gets more scrutiny when budgets face the sting of a struggling economy. The following graph illustrates how marketers are adapting their investments to digital tactics during a downturn in the economy. Application Everyone is feeling the pinch. As budget dollars tighten up it becomes more and more important to demonstrate clear returns on marketing investments. Many marketers are turning their investments to channels that are easier to measure in terms of clear outcomes and metrics. However three channels stand out as social networking, email, and search continue to grow or maintain their current levels. These tactics are not only found to be cost effective but are found to be greater in return on investment and measurability. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 4 #2: Multi-Channel Marketing and Measurement via Web as the Hub Description CFO's have entered the marketing decision making process. They are demanding proven results for the marketing spend. Advertising dollars are moving away from traditional media with print and TV to more measurable online media. We are also seeing an increase in integrated offline and online marketing where print and TV ads drive traffic to the Web so it can be better measured. Application Analyzing the Website along with both offline and online marketing efforts can improve the overall performance. This information will help to focus ads, strengthen marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting marketing efforts overall. Integrating efforts and increasing measurability will help generate more results from the same marketing activities and produce business intelligence to guide decision making and budgeting activities. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 5 #3: Email Marketing Description Important trends in email marketing: Customer/subscriber control continues to grow. Top-performing email marketers put more control into their subscribers’ hands. Subscribers are more likely to embrace messages from an email program they help to create. Demographics and emerging channels are creating shifts. Marketers have a broad spectrum of communication channels in which to deliver messages. Email is shifting from one-to-many message broadcasts to a personalized, event-triggered system of targeted messages, allowing recipients to opt to receive messages in several channels. Subscribers are reading emails in many different environments. Consumers view emails on different devices at different times (Web browser, mobile phone, etc.). Email design must render well across multiple environments. Most prospects are long-term: the “unconverted majority.” In the B-to-B world, 70% of leads are long-term opportunities. Email lead-nurturing programs can help turn many cold and warm leads into sales. To encourage readers to share messages, group all links for viral activities together within the email body - mainly link-sharing and forward to a friend - and tell them how these features work. Track metrics to learn who are the avid sharers and if they contribute a greater share of views or sales; tailor your content to encourage reposting. If messages have value, subscribers will also share them with their social networks. Application 54% of small businesses surveyed rated email as the top online promotion to drive site visitors and customers to their Web sites and storefronts. Email marketing is an extremely cost-effective marketing tool and when used properly, can catapult sales to new levels. Email marketing gives the client brand an edge in a tough market. Daily, weekly, or even monthly emails will keep the brand in the target consumer’s mind. As more and more of the population begin to use email, email marketing will become a standard in the marketing industry. Email can be used as an automated marketing staff member and can be used to turn those with little/no expressed interest in the product into prospects, then prospects into customers, then customers to repeat customers. Email marketing is comparatively inexpensive, effective, targeted, measurable, easy, and immediate. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 6 #4: Search Marketing (Pay-Per-Click and Local Search/ Localized Services) Description Pay-per-click will continue to be one of the most popular and most effective marketing tools for 2009 due to its immediacy, measurability and ability to customize messages to such a granular level for customers/users. Search engines, browsers and hardware manufacturers will also continue to put their weight behind the localisation of search for three main reasons: 1.) Results are more relevant, 2.) advertising can be more accurately targeted, and 3.) it gives search networks a massive additional inventory to sell at a local, rather than regional or national level. 2009 is the year for local search to take off, partly because Gears project (an open source project that enables more powerful Web applications, by adding new features to your Web browser) offers a geo-location API, as does Mozilla Geode and Yahoo! Fire Eagle. There will also be high-speed packet access (HSDPA)-ready laptops and netbooks, on top of the existing GPS smartphones and palms, all of which will allow search engines to retrieve a more meaningful geo-location than is currently available via Internet provider (IP) lookup. Application Businesses need to ensure they are using Pay-per-click marketing effectively and in tandem with search optimization efforts – in conjunction with other marketing efforts and messages. Also important to be aware of the range of localized search possibilities becoming available and gear their offering to meet consumer demand. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 7 #5: Content Focus and Targeted Marketing Description The main reason for having good content remains as strong as ever, that it will resonate with the user and persuades them to behave/take action in a way that the business desires. Editorial content can build your credibility, drive more traffic and attract new customers. Recently, Google launched a new way for content to get exposure – its free beta product, Knol. In Knol, anyone can write an article, called a knol, or a “unit of knowledge.” Users can comment on articles, review them, rate them, make suggestions and even edit them – if the author allows it. Knol is not for blogging. Google seeks in-depth fact-based articles on specific topics – not typical blog posts. Knol can show off expertise as a thought leader, and build credibility and awareness. They can also rank well for target keywords in search engines. Application Today it is even more crucial to target content on Websites and emails to the specific audience’s interests and needs. Good content does more than just keep users interested and engaged, it also helps to promote the Website. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 8 #6: Mobile Description Mobile Web is already big in parts of Asia and Europe, and it received a kick in the US market in 2008 with the release of Apple's iPhone. Soon there will be many more location-aware services available via mobile devices; such as getting personalized shopping offers as the consumer walks through their local shopping mall or getting map directions while driving the car. Companies like Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Palm, Blackberry and Microsoft have been active in the Mobile Web for years now, but one of the main issues with Mobile Web has always been usability. The iPhone has a revolutionary User Interface that makes it easier for users to browse the Web, using zooming, pinching and other methods. 3G smartphones with large-ish screens, such as the iPhone, BlackBerry Storm and G1 all allow mobile users a close-to-normal Web-browsing experience. As mobile usability improves, so will mobile Internet use. Application Companies that get into this channel early on will benefit most from its massive growth potential. The growing number of users accessing the Web from the mobile devices means that users are expecting Web sites to be mobile ready and are not simply “impressed” if one is. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 9 #7: Social Software / Social Networking / Communities Description According to research by Universal McCann, 73% of users read blogs and 36% think more positively about brands that have them. In addition, 83% of users have viewed video clips (proven to offer significant uplift in sales), 49% have downloaded podcasts and 38% have subscribed to an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, while 57% have joined a social network. Social media has well and truly arrived and if we don’t use it to our advantage, then we’re missing a massive opportunity. Users can be leveraged to become brand advocates and engender brand loyalty through engagement and an open, customer-facing approach and by utilizing UGC (user generated content) and blending data in useful mashups the client Website can be a must-see/must-use place to go. Social software includes a broad range of technologies, such as social networking, communities, social collaboration, social media and social validation. Application Many sites and most Weblogs now provide a feed of their content in RSS format. More are likely to join them as the audience grows. As clients want to reach out to more customers and potential customers this would be an excellent space to work in. Organizations should consider adding a social dimension to a conventional Web site or application and should adopt a social platform sooner, rather than later, because the greatest risk lies in failure to engage and thereby, being left mute in a dialogue where your voice must be heard. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 10 #8: Online Video / Internet TV Description This is a trend that has already exploded on the Web but there's much more yet to come. In October 2006 Google acquired YouTube. Later on that same month, news came out that the founders of Kazaa and Skype were building an Internet TV service, nicknamed The Venice Project (later named Joost). In 2008, YouTube continued to dominate. Meanwhile Internet TV services are slowly getting off the ground. Internet TV over the next few years will be totally different than it is today. Higher quality pictures, more powerful streaming, personalization, sharing, and much more - it's all coming over the next decade. Application The average user on the Web has the attention span of a goldfish. If there is more than one paragraph or two, it looks like “work” to read. Video on the other hand is quick and easy to watch and is seen as entertainment – a great advertising tool. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 11 #9: Test, Test, Test Description Qualitative analytics will have greater emphasis; quantitative results and testing continue to be crucial tactics to constantly be improving performance. Knowing what the Website users did is nice, but knowing WHY they it did will become crucial. There will be huge growth in the use of qualitative data in analytics and decision making in 2009. User surveys, email questionnaires, internal search analysis, user complaints, customer service forms, A/B and multivariate testing, eye tracking and click-density analysis are all going to become essential tools in the quest for qualitative data that will help you improve and optimize ROI. It’s all about getting the right message from analytics – and reporting it clearly – so that informed decisions can be made. Qualitative measures of Website performance will enable optimization with greater certainty. In quantitative click-stream analytics, look out for Yahoo’s answer to Google Analytics – a free version of Index Tools. Application Web analytics is the best way of improving your return on investment (ROI). Analyzing the Website along with marketing efforts can improve the overall performance. This information will help your business to focus ads, strengthen marketing initiatives, and create higher-converting Websites, therefore improving SEM strategies, keyword selection, site architecture, and design. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 12 #10: Digital Body Language of the Prosumer Description Many consumer activities start on the Web with product and service research, from buying a car to looking for daycare providers, people are using the power of the Web to educate themselves about a product or service. This has created a self-service customer that is moving themselves through the sales cycle. We are seeing this trend convert into the B-B and B-B-C space with the emergence of the Prosumer. Companies are responding to the emergence of the Prosumer by developing techniques to better track their digital body language. This ability to influence the sales cycle by tracking individuals Web activities is critical to maximizing sales, marketing resources and shortening the sales cycles. If a prosumer has been on the Website for months learning about product and services when they raise their hand by calling or filling out a contact form the sales process should be customized to their unique self-service position in the sales process. Application To succeed in this new business climate, smart businesses are adapting and realizing that the next frontier is to read and respond to the “Digital Body Language” of their prospects. This is a better indicator of real buying interest. Tracking this behavior can help companies quickly identify the buyers that are “raising their hands” to show interest in their solution. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 13 #11: eCommerce Description Over the next five years, eCommerce sales will increase at a higher compounded average growth rate (CAGR) than in-store sales — recession or no recession. Application This item is applicable for B2B as well as B2C, and is also relevant to non-ecommerce sites. The Internet affects more than just Web sales. One consumer out of two mixes online and offline channels to research their purchases. To make the most of the Internet and offline retail worlds, marketing leaders need to encourage their teams to provide cross-channel researchers and shoppers with a continuous purchasing journey across the marketing funnel. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 14 #12: APIs and Mashups Description Application program interfaces (APIs) allow desktop and mobile applications to access Web data and services directly, giving rise to services such as iTunes, RSS readers, desktop weather widgets, Xbox Live and Play Station Network, to name but a few. Building on this, mashups bring together, manipulate and present complex interrelationships of data as information resources that were previously inconceivable. Growing fast in number, the beauty of good mashups is that they have real synergy, making them greater than their component parts and thereby providing richer user experiences and deeper information resources. Through 2010, the enterprise mashup product environment will experience significant flux and consolidation, and application architects and IT leaders should investigate this growing space for the significant and transformational potential it may offer their enterprises. Application This space contains significant opportunity for businesses to help further customize the users’ Web experience therefore increasing user loyalty. APIs and mashup functionality is widely used with other well known applications such as salesforce.com (one of the largest CRM applications currently). As more and more systems and applications work with each other more clients will be able to take advantage of this type of system communication. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 15 #13: Cloud Computing Description One of the biggest trends in technology is the emergence of Cloud Computing. Companies like Amazon have become leaders in the Cloud Computing space with their EC2 and S3 service offerings. Cloud computing is a style of computing that characterizes a model in which providers deliver a variety of IT-enabled capabilities to consumers. They key characteristics of cloud computing are 1) delivery of capabilities “as a service,” 2) delivery of services in a highly scalable and elastic fashion, 3) using Internet technologies and techniques to develop and deliver the services, and 4) designing for delivery to external customers. Although cost is a potential benefit for small companies, the biggest benefits are the built-in elasticity and scalability, which not only reduce barriers to entry, but also enable these companies to grow quickly. As certain IT functions are industrializing and becoming less customized, there are more possibilities for larger organizations to benefit from cloud computing. Application Cloud computing delivers a single application through the browser to thousands of clients using a multi-tenant architecture. On the client side, it means no upfront investment in servers or software licensing; on the provider side, with just one application to maintain, costs are low compared to conventional hosting. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 16 #14: Virtual Worlds Description Second Life gets a lot of mainstream media attention as a future Web system. But at a recent Supernova panel the discussion touched on many other virtual world opportunities. As the 'young generation' grows up and infrastructure is built out; virtual worlds will become a vibrant market across the world over the next few years. It's not just about digital life, but also making our real life more digital. On one hand there is the rapid rise of Second Life and other virtual worlds. On the other we are beginning to annotate our planet with digital information, via technologies like Google Earth. Application In a recent Marketing Sherpa Article (H&R Block Gets Big Buzz through Social Media for Digital Products: How to Test and Pick Channels) H&R Block created the H&R Block Island in Second Life containing Real tax professionals in avatar form from March 13 to April 17, 2007 to answer tax-related questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The H&R Block Island included: • An auditorium where visitors could watch a video describing the new tax-preparation product called Tango • An exclusive Tango code that provided free access to the $70 product • Virtual dancing shoes that allowed visitors to do a tango-style dance when worn The results? The tax events averaged about 50 to 100 avatar visitors per night during the 16-week period. The brand received national attention because the campaign. With the right business application and audience, virtual worlds pose great opportunities for exposure, especially while they are still relatively novel, and not “par for the course”. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 17 Additional Food for Thought Netbooks Impacts Web Design Netbooks, the smaller, low cost laptops built for Web browsing are the fastest-growing category within laptop sales. They are expected to account for 10% of laptop sales and 8% of all sales (by volume) in 2009. The new crop of netbooks will have HSDPA (3G) built-in, making them ideal for business users on the move. The main implication for Web development and design is in regards to the netbooks' screen resolution. Most developers set the fold depth based on a 768 pixel screen. However, netbooks are generally set at 600 pixels, meaning 22% less screen real estate. The Next Generation Internet The next generation internet will merge telephony and video into a vibrant, interactive, sensory experience that will shape industries such as entertainment, retail, health care and education. Imagine the future where the Net becomes intuitive, sensory, interactive, aware, adaptive, and develops a digital personality that can communicate with billions of people simultaneously in over 200 languages anywhere on the planet or off world? Welcome to the Megaverse, the future of the Internet where culture and business needs are met by a global electronic intelligence. Web-Oriented Architectures The Internet is arguably the best example of an agile, interoperable and scalable service-oriented environment in existence. This level of flexibility is achieved because of key design principles inherent in the Internet/Web approach, as well as the emergence of Web-centric technologies and standards that promote these principles. The use of Web-centric models to build global-class solutions cannot address the full breadth of enterprise computing needs. However, Gartner expects that continued evolution of the Web-centric approach will enable its use in an ever-broadening set of enterprise solutions during the next five years. Making use of this type of technology enables clients to communicate in an efficient and effective way either internally (such as the use of Google Docs) or externally with either partners or their own customers. Keyword Inflation (Cost per Click) Continues The need for advertisers to improve the effectiveness and measurability of their advertising spend will become more acute. As more budget moves to digital, the marketplace will become increasingly crowded, with the extra demand pushing up paid search costs. Keyword inflation, also called cost-per-click (CPC) inflation, is running at 20% for 2008 across all markets (according to Jupiter Research), and the figure for 2009 will remain high despite the downturn. Great Creative Still Required Digital marketing will continue to rely heavily on creative to achieve its objectives and make the campaigns and strategies work. Good creative is what makes display advertising disruptive, landing pages user-friendly and Websites trustworthy. It communicates the message and builds affinity with the client brand. Even though in times of economic downturns, emotional matters can seem less important to the bottom line, creative is THE key element affecting all online marketing channels and, therefore, ROI. Creative is the ‘X factor’ that will steer the client through the difficult times ahead because the right design, the right copy and the right message are what activate users. Data Privacy and Security Data security and privacy issues are likely to continue to hit the headlines throughout 2009. Data protection is going to be more than just a security issue; it will have huge PR and brand implications. The privacy browsing capabilities of Chrome and IE8 will have an impact for online advertising if there is widespread usage as mentioned above. Businesses will need to audit their data handling and security practices and get the right processes in place. Expect to see some major class actions by consumers against businesses that have had their data breached, stolen or lost. © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 18 Summary We hope you have enjoyed your tour of Web trends for 2009. Our trends and summary information are a result of research by various Reside employees (see referenced sources listed), as well as learning gleaned through the interactions we have daily with our Rockin’ clients – who challenge us to constantly raise the bar in how we use the Web to help grow their businesses. We are passionate about results, and therefore, passionate about constant improvement and innovation via the Web. We look forward to watching these trends – and others – take shape over 2009 and beyond. Want more insight and commentary from Reside? Subscribe to our quarterly e-newsletter and stay in the know: http://reside.biz/register.html Or call us anytime to discuss how these trends could benefit your business: 612.767.2000 © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 19 Sources Source Ashko.blogspot. com Lorre White Article Name 2008-2009 Web Trends WEB 3.0 16 Online Marketing Trends in 2009 by a company called Strange. Date June 19, 2008 URL http://ashko.blogspot.com/2008/06/2008-2009-Web-trends-Web-3 0.html http://luxguru.typepad.com/lorre_white_the_luxury_gu/2008/11/20 09-on-line-Web-trends-forcasted.html November 09, 2008 Marketing Sherpa H&R Block Gets Big Buzz through Social Media for Digital Products: How to Test and Pick Channels Google Knol Primer: Strategies for Writing Content, Getting Started, Designing Layout October 30, 2008 https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30901## Marketing Sherpa October 28, 2008 http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30893 Marketing Sherpa Google Knol Primer Part II: Strategies for Managing Content, Interacting with Community to Get Seen Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2009 Making the Most of the Internet and Offline Retail Worlds The Importance Of Content The Importance of Content for SEO Reading Your Buyer's Digital Body Language (TM) The Benefits of Email Marketing November 04, 2008 http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30905 Gartner October 14, 2008 http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=777212 Forrester November 18, 2008 http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,470 53,00.html David Gowans N/A http://www.freeWebmasterhelp.com/articles/content SEO Factor N/A http://www.Web-designers-directory.org/111/the-importance-of-con tent-for-seo.html http://www.eloqua.com/resources/whitepapers/ Eloqua N/A The Opt-in Email Marketing Resource Center Constant Contact, Michelle Keegan Wikipedia Loren McDonald 2008 http://www.opt-in-email-marketing.org/benefits-of-email-marketing. html Why Email Marketing? Five Great Reasons Web analytics Six Key Email Marketing Trends You Cannot Ignore What cloud computing really means N/A http://www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/hints-tips/volume2 -issue4.jsp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_analytics http://www.mediapost.com/blogs/email_insider/?p=737 N/A November 06, 2008 Galen Gruman, Eric Knorr April 07, 2008 http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/07/15FE-cloud-computing-r eality_1.html © Reside, LLC, 2009. All rights reserved. 20