208230 Resource 168909 190240 170142 1214861792897 1214923596084 Controlled Widgets: The New Online Marketing Tool

The evolution of widgets into powerful online marketing tools.

<p>Stefanie Berliant<br /><em>Media Coordinator</em></p><p>A recent study by eMarketer predicts that US companies will more than double their spend on widget creation, promotion and distribution from 2007 to 2008.&nbsp; Marketers are expected to spend about $40 million on web widgets in 2008, up from $15 million in 2007.&nbsp; A widget is a miniature, portable software application that can be placed on a section of a website, a desktop, or on a mobile device. &nbsp;Widgets have transformed from&nbsp;meaningless applications&nbsp;on social networks&nbsp;into a legitimate marketing tool. Its viral nature allows companies to increase brand awareness by extending their web presence, acquiring new customers at a minimal cost, driving qualified traffic to targeted websites and leveraging a website&rsquo;s existing content.</p><p>We have not yet seen the full potential of widgets as an online marketing tool until they are able to improve a website&rsquo;s natural search rankings (Search Engine Optimization).&nbsp; If widget developers are able to place text links within the code of a widget, the website that the widget promotes should benefit from an increased link count and move up in natural search rankings. When widget creators are able to close this marketing loop, the widget will truly be a powerful online marketing tool.</p><p /><p><img hspace="0" border="0" align="bottom" src="http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/091001-092000/091582.gif" alt="Web Widget and Application Advertising Spending 2007 and 2008" /></p> 9 application/xml false marketing natural search online marketing online marketing tool Search Engine Optimization SEO viral marketing web widget widget Article in Marketing VOX http://www.marketingvox.com/how-to-a-beginners-guide-to-building-web-widgets-039470/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink Article in eMarketer http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000368.aspx?src=report_head_info_sitesearch Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 kvera 70.21.126.116 false true false false true 177522 false false true false false false true 168909 blog blogsite/EyeTraffic/web