Get More from Search - Trends in Search & Social Media

Search marketing now accounts for over 41% of online advertising spending, or $5.1 billion in 2005, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. A new report by JupiterResearch, “US Online Advertising Forecast, 2006 to 2011,” confirms that search overtook display ads late last year and that search will represent the leading segment of online for the next five years at least.

While many brands are indeed allocating larger budget percentages to online advertising, the growth is also fueled by more advertisers taking the leap from offline to online. Both factors will continue to drive search’s appeal upwards, with estimates of 20 to 33% growth anticipated this year.

Growth of this caliber can only be sustained by true value. In just a couple short years, the ubiquity of search as a research, shopping and navigation tool has become reality. When search ad placements are casually referred to as “search results” and are recommended by non-tech individuals, the true value of search reveals itself plain as day.

Some of the top bloggers at the top blog sites like DIGG, del.icio.us, Reddit and NewsVine write upwards of 250-400 articles a month, for free.  Notice I said free.  Why?  Well, they enjoy sharing their knowledge of the web and appreciate being a “leader” or “expert” in their online communities.  WOW – that’s dedication.

It is not easy to become a top blogger. You can’t just be a great writer, you need to have clout.  You need to have a network of “followers” who consistently keep your articles pushed to the top of the posts.  This takes votes, or “diggs”, and lots of votes means you need lots of people to get you there.

That network is a commodity in and of itself.  And a valuable commodity.  If an upstart company wants promotion and thousands of clicks to its site, the holy grail of viral promotion online is to “please” one of these bloggers and get them to post about your site.

Until now, there was no monetary reward for “being the best” blogger.  I really can’t think of any sport or a business that does not pay to “be the best.”  Amazing how the web can work that way. But is it abuse?

The blog sites make their money because of these expert writers.  It is an awesome business model for the blog companies.  Free writers, huge followings – little cost to run the site.  Isn’t it time something was done about all the free labor?

And so enters the innovation that comes from competition.  Jason Calacanis, the CEO of Weblogs, Inc., also one of the web’s largest blog network sites, has put out a call for top bloggers.  And he is willing to pay.

$12,000 a year in fact.  $1,000/month for a minimum of 150 posts.  Now if I was a top blogger, with a network and a following (which I’m not), I wouldn’t even think twice about this offer.  I’m doing the work anyway – because I love it – might as well get paid too.

Cool thing is, this is just the beginning.  Many other companies will follow suit.

As technology continues to change the face of the planet, a whole new world is opening up for people who do what they love.  Dig deeper online.  Find out what motivates you.  You might just get paid for what you love to do too.

I know I will.

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