As we quickly head into 2016, here’s a look at the top online marketing trends and practices that your business should consider implementing to stay one step ahead of your competition.

1. Mobile, Mobile, Mobile

The last couple of years have been named the “Year of Mobile”, and now we’re very serious. Mobile will dominate in 2016. There were more Google searches that took place in 2015 on mobile phones and tablets than on desktop computers. Remember that in April Google released the Mobilegeddon algorithm update that gave higher priority to mobile-friendly websites. Mobile traffic will grow in 2016, making it a huge opportunity for your business to reach potential customers through these devices. As traffic from mobile devices continues to grow, businesses will need to ensure they have a mobile marketing strategy to reach their audience and stay ahead of the curve.

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2. Invest in Social Advertising in 2016

If you’ve been testing social ads in 2015, then 2016 is the year to set a budget for a complete social advertising strategy. It’s being reported that ad spend on social networks will reach $36 billion by 2017. As more companies invest in social advertising, the competition will increase. 2016 will be the year to seize the social opportunity to reach your target customers. The options with social advertising is immense mainly because of the vast amount of data they have on their users. You can precisely reach your customers based on their location, age, gender, job title, industry, interests, and online behaviors.

3. Advertising Will Get Even More Personal

In September, Google launched Customer Match, this tool allows businesses to upload an existing list of contacts to target through searches. Targeting options like this are also available for Facebook and Twitter advertising. You can now target existing customers or prospects with your own lists using Google Adwords and social ads. This will enable you to deliver specific messages to your customers depending on where they are in their decision making.

4. Buy Buttons Will Become Normal On Social Media Platforms

Facebook and Pinterest gained attention in 2015 by introducing the “Buy Now” features to their users. Without leaving their apps users of Facebook and Pinterest who see a product they like in a sponsored post can now use one click to purchase it. Instagram is also very close to implementing their own version too. By the end of 2016, most major social media platforms will feature some version of a buy button as an element of their advertisers campaigns.

5. Time To Optimize For Digital Assistants

Siri, Google Now, and Cortana have begun to emerge and redefine the search process. As they become more widely adopted, they may soon replace traditional search engines altogether. Digital assistants function as mediators, with search engines operating in the background. As digital assisted searches grow, it will become necessary to optimize your websites business information so it can be easily found when these assistants perform a search.