In early November, a few big acquisitions set the strategic tone for the coming year. Current Trends for the web are more mobile (which is small, but growing) and more social (big and growing bigger). What this means for SEO and SEM is the topic we take up here.

Signs of the Times - Facebook App and Mobile Ad Acquisitions

• Playfish, the Facebook game company was acquired for $400m USD
• AdMob, the mobile advertising company was acquired for $750m USD

More Mobile

Embedded in the article on AdMob is some analyst kool-aid.

Kelsey Group projects the U.S. mobile ad market will reach $3.1 billion in 2013, up from $160 million in 2008.

Of course it's crazy talk. Nonetheless there is more mobile in the future of SEO and SEM. Mobile means small interfaces which Google deems relevant for different devices. Mobile also means a platform for Internet advertising. In Google AdWords, mobile search is an opt-in/opt-out option for the search network. At some point "mobile-only" should be an option, for an interesting set of delicious complications. Do keywords perform differently in Mobile, does advertising text? You betcha.

More Social

True, some could say that Facebook games are more anti-social, but some games are played with other people (at least to some degree).

Whatever. The point is that the social web, social networks, social media are all places where search (and therefore Search Optimization) and Marketing (and therefore Search Engine Marketing) are important.

SEO and SEM for Mobile and Social

What does this mean for SEO and SEM? Clearly two things

• SEO for Mobile is small but becoming more important
• SEO for the Social Web is big and becoming even more important

Search Engine Marketing should be the focus for the Social Web, as there is less search and more on-page, in-game application marketing to be had.

Passive search, as in optimized Facebook Pages are of course important and a part of the SEO toolkit

• 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page
• 5 Tips for Optimizing your Brand's Facebook Presence
• 8 Best Practices for Retailers on Facebook Pages
• How to Optimize Your Facebook Page for Your Business

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