Search is in Season

Time for some mental nourishment on the best pick of the season: search. OK, so it was also last season's fresh-pick leader, but another bumper crop year in the field of search in upon us.

Search is a cash crop. A couple new search hybrids have emerged that you'll want to consider in your search engine marketing strategies. In case you're not catching the excitement, consider that Piper Jaffray predicts search to generate $2.1 billion this year and balloon to $7 billion in 2007.

Local Search

Why is it an up-and-comer? For starters, local search advertising is a $90 billion advertising market.

In April, CitySearch launched a paid performance product and tested the model on its Atlanta and Boston sites - the new feature boosted sales productivity three-fold.

Realizing the trend, evolving local sites are taking a Yellow Pages-like approach, striving to foster loyalty with fresh editorial content, newsworthy businesses and paid listings.

Major search companies are delving into local search advertising products as we write. We predict local search will flourish as more local sites realize the thriving revenues paid search can provide.

Sites aren't the only ones to see reward: local businesses can position themselves at the exact point where a passive browser becomes a self-qualified prospect - when they move from mouse to keyboard, poised to express their heart's desires. Also, community visitors will have the opportunity to research your business online, then actually visit your establishment in person. This clicks-to-bricks interaction will lead to better branding and loyalty for businesses and heart-warming satisfaction for visitors.

Vertical Search

Users are shifting Internet browsing toward vertical sites that best fulfill their hobbies, interests and needs. The more connected we become, the more we expect from our online resources. Specializing a search engine to your market delivers high value for visitors and businesses. Visitors get really relevant results, and sites gain an added opportunity to market their enterprise and partners, and, with customized vertical search technology, even sell paid placement, if desired.

Site Search

Search is your site's most vital marketing tool. Yet, search still isn't working in general. More than 38% of the time, users deem that searches return irrelevant results.

Search deserves attention. You can't just plug and play with search - well, you can, but your customers will likely get frustrated and leave. Good search needs human interaction for optimal performance.

When ranking site webpages, don't just use trade names for your products and services. Instead, think user-perspective - what are common terms for what you sell? The answer lies in statistical reports which help you intelligently rank result pages to delight your customers. Relevant site search is a win-win proposition for your and your visitors.

Search is just beginning to grow. Stay tuned for the latest opportunities in profiting from the trends.