Search Trends - Search Engine Marketing

I think I mentioned Google SMS on thisblog when it first came out. I have been using it more and more frequently and I find it amazing how quickly I can get a definition, the weather, movie times or nearby restarants. I think search engine optimization will enter a whole new era once this type of SMS searching really starts to take off. Searching via SMS is a whole different ballgame than normal web search. People are typically crunched for time, they don't want to wade through a lot of junk, they just need info and they need it fast. SMS searches don't typically return a lot of results, so the only ones that are going to get any kind of exposure are the ones on the top of the search results.

A huge majority of searches via SMS will be for local businesses, movie times, local weather, etc. This type of search is what will cause local search to really take off. Smart phones and other PDA-type searches will account for a lot of mobile/local searches, but it's the simple text messages that will connect with an entire generation of kids who can send text messages in their sleep. Yahoo already has their own version of SMS search, and they also offer IM for mobile phones.

Mark my words, this mobile search thing will be huge!