As time flies we are constantly reminded of the ever evolving market that we are in. Online marketing and internet marketing in general is an ever-changing beast and it requires a rigorous morale just to stay ahead of the curve. With that said, looking back 10–15 years, I don’t think very many people would have expected internet marketing to be where it is today.  We will take a look at the growing internet marketing trends for 2014 and where we think things are headed moving forward.

Predictions for the coming year (2014)
While we can never be for sure as to where the industry will head specifically, you can gleam some insights from the latest acquisitions by media companies, as well as consumer trends to give you a better picture. Another useful tool is Google Trends which will allow you to compare search terms for a wide variety of things in order to see if they are on an upward or downward curve.

Mobile Apps Will Continue To Grow

We all know mobile marketing is a booming industry, but now more than ever we are seeing an array of business ventures move more towards the mobile application side of things. Publishing overall has been turned on its back as anyone can now download almost any book and read it comfortably on their kindles, ipads, tablets, or whatever other portable media they wish to use. This makes it a viable opportunity for businesses to develop their own “portable content” that will engage users even when they are on-the-go.

SEO will grow stale, SMO is here to stay

SEO is obviously an important piece of the online marketing puzzle, but what is growing even more so now-a-days is SMO or Social Media Optimization. Simply put, the search engines are putting more weight on social media and brands are going to have to look to implement strategies across social platforms in order to engage with consumers and potential consumer alike. If you are not engaging with your customers you aren’t filling gaps that may be left in your business. More and more people are flocking to social media everyday as the platforms evolve to be more efficient across mobile devices.

Responsive design is here now, and here to stay

This definitely ties into the last two points discussing mobile devices. Having a web property that is able to effectively display your brand goals and objectives across all platforms is vital to the success of ANY business. A mobile responsive website that encompasses an easy call to action and enables tap-to-call technologies is a must these days to remain competitive in the ever growing online marketing industry, and in our opinion is here to stay!

Have other predictions for what the internet marketing industry holds for us in 2014? Feel free to leave a comment below to start the discussion!