Surge in online social networking

A predicted surge in online social networking is likely to play an increasingly important part in how your business gets noticed on the internet.

Within the next three years some 70% of content on the internet will be created by individuals rather than publishers and brands according to Madeleine Wood, business development manager of Spannerworks. She was talking at the recent Travel Technology Initiative’s autumn conference on the Future of Travel Distribution.

Wood explained that search engines such as Google have evolved into reputation management systems because of online social networks.

She therefore advised companies to optimise their websites and include information that is easy to share across the internet. You should also comment on travel news issues through blogs as a way of getting picked up by search engines.

According to Wood, figures already show companies are getting 98% more clicks through to their websites with people spending 37% more time on sites by combining paid for and natural search.

Wood said: 'Search evolution is moving towards social networks so you have to be talked about on these networks. You can’t stop conversations going on so you might as well join in.'

As a start, you might contribute to an online discussion forum or blog on topics that catch your attention which may well help your business catch the attention of online search engines such as Google .

Find out more about Travel Technology Initiative at www.tti.org. Spannerworks is a search engine marketing specialist www.spannerworks.com.