The Internet Future Is Bright, Put On Your Shades

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

From Marketing Pilgrim:

1) The cart-driven shopping experience as we know it is on its way out. It is been useful but it is time for it to die. If you asked me to be more specific, I would have to admit I am not sure exactly what is going to happen other than that the online shopping process will get simpler.

Finally. I’ve been wishing for something better than the shopping cart for a long time. I’m not sure what would make the online purchasing process simpler and less time consuming (some shopping carts march you through a 12-step process – thanks Amazon!), but I’m quite sure we could do away with the shopping cart. It’s served us well these past few years, but all good things must eventually be replaced by something better.

2) CPC costs will drop. As companies spend money on analytics, they are going to finally start to figure out how bad they have been overpaying for advertising. This will be bad for Google and Yahoo but great for the online retailers.

I’m not so sure about this one. The only way cost-per-click prices will drop is if companies stop bidding. As long as companies jump in and bid on the clicks then they should go higher. I guess it’s possible than innovations in the technology and software providing the CPC could make the costs lower, but that would mean something akin to a stock split, which would mean more revenues for Google and Yahoo even as CPC costs get lower.

Rarely do costs for anything get lower while the producers make less money. When that happens, you can look for layoffs and downsizing. I don’t see the search engines doing that any time soon. The Internet’s in a growth stage.

3) Interactive tools are the future. As I have discussed many times at Marketing Pilgrim, more and more large companies are leading the industry in the direction of helping customers find what they need by offering slick interfaces and technology.

Now this is something to get excited about. Interactive tools like video and podcasts for the common man. I see it happening. It’s already happening. I could see video marketing integrating with VOIP for improved customer service and product delivery. Couldn’t you?

The online world is very exciting. It’s growing. Competition is skyrocketing. And more and more businesses will need SEO and content services. In order to compete in the new World Wide Web, companies will have to prove their edge, not just have one.