Working out a marketing plan for new and evolving web sites is a bit more complicated than it used to be. There are a few new things to be considered before embarking on a search marketing campaign than in previous years. Search marketing has become more important and is thus becoming more professional. With growing acceptance of online communication tools, and a number of alterations to the faces of search engines themselves, the marketing arena has been upgraded from a three-ring circus venue to a Super Bowl sized stadium.

The new applications and tools offered and/or honoured by the search engines have changed how search engine marketing is practiced. Both blogs and social networking tools have been around for a few years. After the early halcyon days of spam-exploitation, most search marketers have settled down to use these tools wisely to offer long-term benefits for their clients. In this way, search marketing requires a longer-term commitment between client and practitioner especially in light of the changes in the search engine environment brought by new communications technologies.

The search engine environment has fundamentally changed over the past six months. There are four major general search engines and dozens of smaller ones. That part hasn’t changed. For the most part, general search has not changed that much either though a number of algorithm shifts have kept search engine optimizers on their toes lately.

What has changed is the stuff behind the veil at every major search engine though; the more things change the more they seem to be the same. Each search engine has similar features and applications such as local-search, paid-search advertising and desktop tools. The smaller search firms also have similar features and applications, some having more innovative core-functions than anything the Big4 currently offer. There are also a growing number of sector or interest specific search tools called vertical search engines.

Part of the search engine environment is fragmenting into a more specific list of tools from highly specialized search tools to local search engines designed to find shops or products just down the street from you. While played on an enormous field, SEO services marketing is often seen as a game of inches. Knowing how to get sites placed in local and vertical venues is important for your clients.

The number of methods used to express and recall information across the Internet are increasing and becoming simpler to use. Webmasters and advertisers now incorporate audio/video files, blogs, and Flash animations into their websites and the major search engines are indexing them. Search engine marketers are finding the environment in which they practice evolving faster than the techniques used in their practices. There are literally dozens of different tools to use when building a web presence and each approach will have an effect on search marketing efforts. Fortunately, much of what is new is based on the foundation of how spider-driven search engines have always worked. New technologies provide better ways to communicate ideas, services and products and savvy search marketers are learning to use them. As long as spiders act like spiders and search engines continue to spider sites, finding the way to the future by following the paths of the past continues to be the best marketing plan.