"They say an Internet year is … equivalent to seven normal years," says Kevin Gibbon in a post at SEOptimise—meaning that we can witness seven real-world-years' worth of change in one year online.

To help search marketers keep up, Gibbon offers seven ways to stay on top of the competition in the ever-changing, dog-eat-dog world of online search:

1. Don't rest on your laurels. With search engines quickly evolving and tweaking their algorithms, the successful tactics you're using today may not bring you the same levels of success in the future. Stay on your toes. 
2. Be aware of competitors. You may wake up one morning to find a new, very powerful competitor, he notes. Learn how to act quickly to keep your name high up in search results lists.
3. Make, then learn from, your mistakes. A lot of trial-and-error goes into optimizing a website, Gibbon admits. But with that experience, your judgment improves, he says, as does the likelihood of making the right decision under a similar circumstance in the future.
4. Try to prevent kneejerk reactions. If you give your ideas time and attention, they're more likely to pay off.
5. Review performance over a sensible period of time. Don't over-analyze short-term successes or failures, he advises. Examine results over a longer period of time to focus on performance in the bigger picture.
6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. A common mistake is to throw extra budget dollars at a well-performing PPC campaign, he notes, but most campaigns work best when they are integrated. Mix things up.
7. Look at what's in store for the future. Scan for updates you need to be aware of (think Bing, Yahoo algorithms) and actionable ideas you can implement, he advises.

The Po!nt: Don't let the search top-dogs pass you by! Consider tips like these to help keep your search marketing efforts—and your results—well ahead of the pack in 2010.

Source: SEOptimise. Read the full post.

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