The Future Of Search Marketing In 2009

The countdown is on. Only a handful of sleeps until 2009 and of course the predictions are flowing thick and fast. The experts are gazing into their crystal balls and sharing their visions for 2009 in terms of search, social, online, mobile and marketing in general.

I've pulled together a list of the best predictions I've uncovered so far and detailed them below. (if I've missed any - share them via our comments, and I'll add them in).

Of course we had to get involved in the future gazing fun, and have thrown our predictions in the mix. So first up, here's where Warren Duff, ineedhits CEO, thinks 2009 will take us:

1. Google will cull non-revenue generating services in an effort to exceed analyst expectations. The share price will not recover to its $600USD high.
2. Google will also face a massive legal challenge in 2009 from a non US country regarding its business practices.
3. The Web 2.0 bubble will burst with many companies entering the "dead pool". The only companies which will survive will be those who have a sustainable business model.
4. Twitter will be bought by a major internet player and whilst will remain free to use for basic version, a premium service offering will emerge. Will continue to be plagued by reliability issues whilst seriously challenging mainstream media and blogs in breaking news.
5. Yahoo! value will drop considerably, forcing even further reduction in forces worldwide. Their search market share will continue to decline at the benefit of Google and Microsoft. Microsoft will over take Yahoo! in terms of search share within the US, forcing Yahoo! to reconsider its search options.
6. Search spending growth will slow considerably in the first half of the year but still grow (single digits). Growth will accelerate to double digits by end of 2009.
7. 2009 will be known as the year that SaaS becomes mainstream, with fortune 500 companies adopting it to reduce costs. Amazon will loose its place as the number one provider of cloud services to start ups, with major IT vendors all offering competiting products but with a far superior development interface i.e. merging of cloud services into traditional desktop development tools.

And now for the prediction lists. There's quite a few, so grab yourself a glass of eggnog (or something stronger), sit back and enjoy.



What Will 2009 Bring Us?
8. Find Resolution: Search Trends To Watch In 2009
9. Search Marketing Now: Social Media Predictions - 2009
   
   • ReadWriteWeb: Social Media Predictions 2009
   • FastCompany: 42+ Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2009
   • Shawn Farner: Social Media Predictions For 2009
   
   Online Marketing Predictions for 2009
   • eMarketer: 2009 Web Predictions
   • Clickz: 2009 Internet and Technology Predictions
   • Feed Growth: Mobile Marketing Predictions - 2009
     
     • Gomo news: Predictions for Mobile in 2009
     
     117 Magazine and Media Predictions for 2009
     • Market Evolution: 2009 Predictions: Your Survival Guide
     • Marcom Professional: My Five (Early) Predictions for 2009
     
     

     Now where do

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