Internet Marketing has always been dynamic in nature. Experienced internet marketers know better than to do the usual thing year in and year out. Each year, new forecasts of upcoming trends are ushered in as old trends are abandoned to give way to the new ones. In the pursuit of online marketing success, no one wants to be left behind. Internet marketing is an on-going battle of the smartest, strongest and the fastest; and in order to rise among the ranks, one must be always updated.

And just like all the years that have passed, the year 2016 is no different as it adapts new marketing tactics that can help you boost traffic which can be easily translated into profit. Here’s the top 10 internet marketing trends of 2016 as published by SEO firm National Positions.

Top 10 Internet Marketing Trends of 2016

Detailed in this list are important updates in the internet marketing scene that one should apply in ensuring site rankings. You can use these updates to strategize your online marketing campaign to boost site rankings and maintain or increase traffic to your site.
Rich Snippets: There is a new update that Google will be giving out more information about your site to search engine results without having to click on your site. If not handled properly, this new update can seriously lessen your site ranking and traffic as it can reduce page views if searchers do not prioritize your site or identify your site as the solution to their needs. Internet marketers should look into solutions regarding this update to ensure that the snippet provided in their search results offer a positive outlook for potential customers and website clients.A Rise in Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing is growing at alarming rates that you can use to your best advantage. With the continuous rise of iPhone and Android users, as well as other mobile platforms, it is a good move to add mobile marketing as one of your major marketing strategies. With the use of the mobile phone which potential customers carry with ease and comfort, they are able to browse the internet, shop, pay bills and a lot more on the go. As the figures show, 71% of mobile phone users search after viewing a mobile ad, 53% make a purchase from a mobile search and 90% result into action out of mobile searches done. Because of this rise, your website should be mobile-optimized to ensure your success. You may also design an app that you can distribute to the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows 7, Symbian platforms as well as other mobile platforms.The Merge of Search Results and Social Media: When Google+ was launched by Google, a lot of search engine marketing specialists have speculated about its impact on page rankings in Google searches. Indeed, news has now been disseminated regarding this and as a result, you may want to add Google+ to your website’s SEO strategy if you want to see great success in 2016.Value-Centered Marketing: This year, the emphasis will not just be on traffic and site rankings; companies will now demand more from internet marketers in the form of solid leads, increased sales and quantitative results that show a company’s return of investment (ROI) out of its marketing campaign. To reach these results, Key Performance Indicators are to be used to track the statistics of various marketing campaigns.Hidden Data: Another thing to look out for is Google’s move on hiding more information regarding your site in Google Analytics. This move will surely make it more difficult to look through related data to find necessary Key Performance Indicators.The Increased Emphasis on Video Content: If stepping up your internet marketing strategy is what you’re aiming for, you should definitely add more video content to your site. Right now, video is gaining a lot of importance as mobile web usage is increasing and mobile users are gravitating to more interactive content. Supporting this trend is Google, which has been learning to index a lot more video content which now attributes to an increased presence of video results in its searches. In fact, in January 2016, it was estimated that 50% of all online traffic was geared on videos. Are you not yet convinced to ride this trend yet? Analysis of recent data has revealed that 437% of customers exposed to videos are more likely to engage in business with you and your website.The Emphasis on Local Search Marketing: This year, Google Local and local search will play a bigger role in internet marketing. In line with this, Google will forge on to emphasize local results as a major component to its search algorithm. Watch out for “MoLo” which is a new marketing strategy that intertwines Mobile and Local search results geared for the increasing mobile users that are trying to look for local products and services. Based on the facts, out of the 4 billion local searches made on Google every month, 61% of all the searches made result in a sale and 55% of searchers are using their mobile phones to purchase local products and services. This is a huge benefit for businesses which have pointed its main targets on people in certain areas and localities. Because of this, buyers are able to pinpoint specific services geared exactly to them which make it easier for interested customers and qualified leads to be drawn into your site.Take Good Care of New Leads: The market online has become increasingly competitive as time passes and quality leads have become harder to come by. The year 2016 is about creating a relationship with your leads. Email marketing is still a good move to nurture these leads as statistics show that 50% of qualified leads do not make a purchase the first time they encounter valuable offers. Meanwhile, email marketing has increased the response to these offers by as much as 10%.An Evolved Linking Strategy: Linking continues to be an important factor for search engine optimization; however, the diversity of these links is now more emphasized than ever before. Varied anchor text links must replace simple anchor text links to make links appear more natural to search engine crawlers. In the year 2016 reciprocal linking takes on a different light; previously shunned by search engines, it is now considered a beneficial move if done with the right link partners.Watch Out for Your Reputation: Consumers now have an upper hand in choosing websites/businesses to transact with as businesses similar to your company profile are increasing in great numbers. Reputation is the name of the game and you should always look out for your company’s online credibility. Now is the time to aim for higher customer satisfaction ratings for your site’s business shine among the others. Show your customers that you care about their opinions and suggestions. Avoid instances that can harbor resentment among your clients because angry customers are known to post their grievances online which can harm your ratings and your image to potential customers tremendously. Studies suggest that 90% of all consumers trust reviews written online and 78% of potential buyers search a company’s customer satisfaction ratings before making a purchase.

Indeed, now is the time to be excited as you take on a new approach to your internet marketing campaign. A lot of things await you in the year 2016and it is up to you to take advantage of this wealth of information that is just right at your fingertips.