The rest of 2010 promises to be a big one in the history of South Africa and the world! Not only have we successfully hosted the 2010 Soccer World Cup, but with advances in online business in South Africa, this year could and should be a year of enormous growth for our economy and for each and every individual.

Let’s take a look how you can drive your online business to new heights in 2010.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The importance of good SEO has become apparent throughout the last decade and will continue to have an enormous influence on your online success in 2010 and beyond. The good news is that good SEO will continue to be cost-effective to small business but are sure to become more expensive as the market gets more competitive. It is therefore essential that you make room for SEO in your online advertising budget in 2010.

2. Twitter Marketing

Twitter has taken off big time in 2009 and will continue to be a huge entity in 2010. The importance of Twitter Marketing lies in the fact that average business can capitalise on Twitter for top exposure as it is a viable marketing channel. There is also some speculation that Twitter will implement some form of paid advertising model, much like Facebook is offering at the moment.

3. Facebook Marketing

Facebook has become part of 29% of Internet users’ daily web activity. As a business owner advertising on the net, it is imperative for you to realize the benefit of Facebook marketing. This year will see more and more people joining this phenomenon and Facebook’s paid advertising offering will continue to give businesses the opportunity to advertise to a targeting market.

4. Mobile Marketing

Using mobile phones as a medium for advertising has endless possibilities in South Africa. The challenge in 2010 is not only to make your site visible to those accessing the Internet via their cell phones but also to use SMS message to communicate you services of products.

5. Bing

Although some believe that Bing, Microsoft answer to Google, will not reach its full potential in 2010 it is definitely worth implementing into your SEO campaign.

6. Video Marketing

With the promise of faster and cheaper Internet coming to South Africa, more and more local business owner will look to video marketing to advertise their product and service and to increase their conversion rate.

7. Pay-Per-Click Ads

As discuss before, sites like Facebook and possibly Twitter, will offer a good alternative to Google Ads but 2010 will continue to be a popular advertising strategy. Bing is also likely to start offering PPC ads which will offer just another way to increase your Internet exposure.

8. Online Business Networking

Connecting with other business owners and industry leaders on the Web became an effective way to build business contacts and leads in 2009. Prepare to take this to the next level as more and more social media sites are looking to cater for online business networking. Some believe that 2010 will see face-to-face networking opportunities within online business networks , and face-to-face networks will begin to integrate online networking more effectively into their programs.

9. Top Content

You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out that content will continue to be king in 2010. You can guarantee that the marketing of you good content will be just as significant as the quality of your content.

10. Innovative Design

Staying ahead of the curve in 2010 is extremely important for any successful online business. No matter how good your content is or how high you are ranking in the search engines, the appeal of your site as well as its functionality will contribute a great deal to your conversion rate.