As the marketing world gears up to hear the latest innovations in the mobile arena from Google at this year's Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A) event in London, Orange has unveiled details of a service that lets brands engage and interact directly with targeted segments of its customer base.

Representatives for the network say Orange Shots will enable businesses to create "rich, creative, engaging and fun" advertising campaigns targeted at customers' interests and preferences.

Working across SMS and MMS mobile platforms, the service is aimed at encouraging customers to message back and give their views and opinions, promising high response rates, strong returns on investment and viral potential.

Marc Overton from Orange UK reveals that the service has already been trialled by brands including 4Music and Snickers, who claim it's provided higher conversion rates than other media. As a result, he believes mobile advertising "as we know it" is ripe for transformation.

At TFM&A in Earls Court this month, Google's Sarah Speak is lined up to host a session entitled "The future is mobile", covering the Mountain View giant's developments in search, display and local and learn strategies, as well as best practice for developing mobile sites and campaigns.

A two-day internet marketing event for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs), which featured speakers from Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, has resulted in a "groundbreaking" realisation of the potential social media have for the sector.

Held in London, the Social Media in Financial Services event sought to outline how and why the internet is "rapidly changing" financial services distribution.

Organiser Philip Calvert explained that the financial services industry currently engages with its customers the least online, when it actually "has most to gain" from using social media.

"The event proved once and for all that there's a misconception that social media is all about marketing, but it goes a lot deeper than that," he added. "IFAs can use the technology to listen to consumers and industry experts [and] learn and share best practice."

He also singled out the channel's search engine optimisation benefits, its potential for attracting website visitors, building brand loyalty and "creating buzz", networking and building relationships and facilitating promotion and sales.

"We saw once and for all that all consumers of all ages are now actively using social media, and IFAs who assume otherwise are in for a nasty shock," he concluded.

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Search is becoming one of the most important ingredients in the marketing mix according to the latest IPA/BDO Bellwether survey, which was released this week. It shows that search marketing accounted for nearly half of all advertising spend in the last three months of 2009.

Although the survey highlights that overall advertising spend dipped by seven per cent during last year's final quarter, spending on online advertising grew by 11.5 per cent. Display ads had a market share of just over a fifth, while classified ads accounted for ten per cent of online advertising spend.

Marketing budgets for this year have been set higher, on average, compared to 2009 spend, with the survey prompting analysts to single out direct and digital marketing activities as leaders in the recovery of the sector.

"Unsurprisingly, companies are continuing to seek cost-effective and flexible options where the return on investment can be measured," remarked Andy Viner, head of media at accountancy group BDO.

Matt Simpson, digital media group chairman at advertsing body the IPA, added: "The continued fast pace of development in targeting and measurement capabilities across online channels has definitely helped advertisers reduce the risk of their marketing spends."

Details have been unveiled of this year's Search Marketing Expo (SMX) West event in California, which covers search engine marketing topics from search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid search advertising to website analytics and social media marketing. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer will be the keynote presenter at a conference featuring 50 sessions across the spectrum of search and social media marketing topics.

Taking place in the Santa Clara Convention Centre during the first week of March, some of the latest workshops added to the SMX West agenda for 2010 include an SEO training session with search marketing veteran Bruce Clay. He will cover how search-engine-friendly websites impact traffic, conversions and online revenue, as well as outlining white-hat-only optimisation tactics that improve website performance.

Meanwhile a Google Analytics training session, led by Brian Clifton – former head of web analytics for Google EMEA – and Google Analytics authorised consultant Feras Alhlou, will provide guidance on optimising website traffic and driving conversions by planning an analytics strategy, understanding reports and defining what comprises success for a given business.

Google's real-time search will also be explored during the event, as will personalised search and the new paid search advertising opportunities presented by AdWords formats and Facebook ads, for example.

On 17 and 18 May this year, SMX Advanced London will be held in the capital's Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, marking the first time the search marketing conference takes place in the city.

As Microsoft's Bing search engine gains ground on Google, it is becoming more important than ever for businesses to pay close attention to their online marketing strategies. That's the conclusion of one search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist, who says the rise of Bing extends the need for high-quality optimisation of website content.

New York-based web development expert Peter Crisafi points out that, after Microsoft unveiled its new Bing application for the Apple iPhone, web users can now use the Google rival to search for businesses through their handset in the same way they do on their home computers.

"This means that now, more than ever, it is imperative for website owners to take a closer look at the way they market themselves online," he confirms. "The focus of this exciting new application is to provide localised search engine results and map data."

While there are currently several iPhone apps powered by Google, including Google Maps and YouTube, Microsoft's application requires browsers to surf directly into the site to utilise it. Consequently, Crisafi predicts a growing need for "mobile SEO" as businesses enter 2010, recommending that enterprises "stay ahead of the curve" by looking to optimise their websites for mobile searches.

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Google's real-time search will bridge the gap between social networking and search marketing, providing the opportunity to boost traffic for those who take advantage of social media marketing. The Mountain View giant's latest innovation offers real-time search results from Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social networking sites.

According to one search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist, real-time search "is about as direct as it gets" when it comes to social networking and search marketing.

"Google has been working toward the roll-out of real-time search for years," observes internet marketing expert Peter Crisafi. "Following a poor search engine performance from its own service, Google Finance, experts set out to create what it called a QDF algorithm, which determines which queries will be augmented with the most recent content available, in addition to the content with the highest page rank."

Businesses which take advantage of social networking portals therefore have the opportunity to "really drive traffic", he concludes. Many such organisations avail of the benefits of unique online news content to harness the power of social networks, with recent research identifying that the majority of Twitter traffic goes to news sites. Movies, technology and gadgets and medical sites come next.

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Details have been unveiled of the next International Search Summit, a search marketing conference covering the issues that affect online marketers when managing search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns in multiple languages and within different locations. Next year's event, on 13th May, will take place in London's Barbican Centre and feature leading authorities in international search marketing.

Previously covered topics at the conference include international keyword research, search in China and Latin America and Russian paid search campaigns, while speakers have ranged from Peter Maxmin – director of search at Microsoft's Bing – to Nicole Vanderbilt from social networking site Bebo.

"Now in its third year, the International Search Summit is established as a significant and authoritative event on global search marketing and we will continue to cover the most up-to-date topics and trends to help delegates tackle the challenges of international SEO, PPC and social media," remarked host Andy Atkins-Kruger.

The event is targeted at marketing directors looking to roll out their website internationally, marketing managers who have their English search marketing under control but don't know how to tackle other language sites, and SEO specialists keen to increase their knowledge and have their questions answered.

The majority of travel companies plan to increase their spending on search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media marketing, according to the latest research. Meanwhile, most intend to maintain or decrease pay-per-click spending over the next 12 months.

Nearly half of the firms polled for the bigmouthmedia 2010 Travel Report acknowledged that engaging with social media is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry as it moves towards next year.

They say the biggest online marketing opportunities awaiting them in the year ahead are the savings and benefits to be reaped from "driving synergies" between the full range of online marketing channels.

Paid search retained the highest portion of online budgets in 2009, with an average of 37 per cent, followed by SEO at 18 per cent and display at 17 per cent. Looking ahead to 2010, that pattern is predicted to change.

Senior travel strategist Anneli Ritari commented that "there can be little doubt" the industry now fully appreciates the power and reach of digital marketing.

"Digital marketing's transparency and measurable return on investment makes it an extremely attractive option to companies that need to ensure every penny of their spend is both justifiable and worthwhile," she concluded.

A large proportion of small firms plan to increase their use of email marketing and social media next year, with just under a quarter claiming that search engine marketing is the tool most needed to aid their success in 2010.

The television and radio advertising sector will experience a drop in demand in the coming months, according to research by online marketing experts at VerticalResponse.

Out of the 831 businesses questioned by pollsters, two thirds revealed plans to boost their use of social media and email marketing next year. Just 3.8 per cent suggested they might not turn to the marketing channel at all.

The research team's Janine Popick said marketers should avail of the opportunity to bring home to more small firms the benefits of integrating search engine marketing like Google, Yahoo! and Bing into their campaigns.

"We're encouraged that small businesses continue to allocate portions of their budget to marketing channels such as email and social media, despite the downturn in the economic climate," she added.

Of the businesses investigated, 23.8 per cent reported that search engine marketing will be crucial to their success in the coming months, followed by email marketing and PR.

Effective web analytics, search engine marketing and Pay Per Click advertising are some of the topics lined up for debate at next week's Pay Per Click Summit (PPC Summit) in Chicago.

Speakers at the event will feature sessions ranging from "Why Content Ads Are Your Ace In The Hole" and "Advanced Keyword Research and Targeting" to "Meaningful Web Analytics – Beyond the Numbers" and "Landing Page Optimisation for Increased Conversions".

Taking place on 4th and 5th November in Chicago's DoubleTree Hotel, around 17 experts in the field of search engine marketing plan to unveil their insider strategies, solutions and resources for improving organisations' online marketing results.

"As businesses are forced to do more with less today, savvy marketers turn to search engine marketing to maximise their customer outreach and ensure a lower cost per acquisition," said a PPC Summit spokesperson.

The representative continued: "Attendees can expect to gain practical knowledge and actionable techniques from leading experts who have years of experience managing successful campaigns on Google, Microsoft/Bing, Yahoo! Search Marketing and all search engines."

Some of the event's sponsors and partners include the Direct Marketing Association, the Web Marketing Association and the International Internet Marketing Association.