This really is not an insider tip, the numbers have been available for awhile; however, those numbers confirm a trend started by these numbers: Groupon’s 2010 revenues were $760 million. 2011 numbers should be about $1.2 billion this year, with the entire group deal segment raking in close to $3 billion.

The numbers show that people are buying in vast quantities from these deal sites. They also demonstrate that this is a great emerging market for your business. A savvy marketing director should be steering a strategy that includes one of these group deals sites. If not, it is an opportunity missed and probably regretted by years end.

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The key to successful SEO marketing is thinking ahead. Every SEO marketing campaign will take some time before it truly takes hold, so you need to plan every step you want to take at least three months beforehand in order to get the best results. Let’s say you want to take advantage of the increase in the number of hits for the phrase ‘best surfing beaches’, which should peak around the summer months. To really get the most out of this trend, your campaign should be in place and ready to go by the end of February at the latest.

The next step is to figure out exactly when during the year specific SEO campaigns are at their most effective. The year-end holiday season, for example, is when searches for all sorts of items and phrases reach their peak as people rush to purchase gifts for their friends and loved ones. Your website must reflect the hottest trends at any given time, a feat that is not that hard to do with the availability of tools such as Google Trends. It provides a free listing of the most popular keywords, which is updated constantly. Effective use of such powerful tools at your disposal is one of the keys to a successful SEO campaign.

Getting the keywords right is one thing. You need to fulfill the other half of the bargain by making sure that the products that you market are appropriate to the season as well. It should be fairly obvious which products sell well during the winter months of the year, such as ski equipment, and which products are more inclined towards the warmer months, such as surfboards. Updating your site to take advantage of these predictable trends a month or two in advance will ensure that your sales stay at a high and steady rate.

The last thing you need to do is know your customer, because search trends don’t always necessarily translate to high sales. For example, if you’re selling summer holiday packages, then sales should spike in the months prior to the season, as these trips are usually booked a long time in advance. By studying and adapting to similar behavior, you’ll be able to stay ahead of the trends and consistently come up with effective SEO campaigns for all seasons.

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A headache from a misleading ad?

A company has to pay $250,000 for misleading their customers through fake reviews of their product.

Legacy Learning Systems Inc., owned by Lester Gabriel Smith is the distributor of the Learn and Master Guitar, a home learning guide to play guitar in the form of DVDs and written manuals. The company was charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), based on illegal advertisements of their product by hiring “Review Ad” online affiliates. These internet affiliates promote the product on their blog posts, articles and other online advertisements by acting as end consumers. The endorsements made by these affiliates are closely hyperlinked to the company’s website. In return, the affiliates get compensation (cash or free products) on every sale of the product, as the result of their endorsements and referrals. FTC reports that the company benefited around $5 million from these false reviews.

Misleading online reviews are rampant these days, and the government considers this advertisement tactic similar to false and deceptive advertising. Issued in 2009, the revised FTC’s guides mandate every company to keep their endorsements and testimonials in line with FTC regulation. Under the revised Guides, a customer’s endorsements and testimonials of a product or a service, should be based on his or her own experience, in case the experience is not typical, typical end results should be disclosed. In addition, the revised guides also explain that any connection between the reviewer and the seller, in money or free products- transaction that is not typical- should be disclosed.

Learning Legacy is just one of the several companies that violated the FTC Act. A few years ago, Lifestyle Lift through their product, Turkey Necks, was caught with the same violation and was charged to pay $300, 000.

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