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Online marketing analysts have identified the need for more reliable platforms when it comes to internet advertising for smartphones, iPads and other portable devices.

A recent report from analysts Tealeaf revealed that of 10 million smartphone users questioned worldwide, a shocking 83 per cent had experienced problems when taking advantage of offers made via online marketing.

Personalised internet marketing is becoming ever more important, and in the seemingly ever-shifting landscape of the sector, the need for reliable systems to capture the confidence of the consumer is becoming clear. This is particularly true when you consider the ever-increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which add a further personal dimension to online marketing and purchasing – especially with versions of both networks configured specifically for mobile devices.

Given this, the challenge is clear for IT professionals and online marketers alike – the technology must keep up with the customers’ desire for effective mobile purchasing.

Search engine giant Yahoo! Is on the verge of unveiling a new tool which could be of great benefit for companies seeking to improve sales through online marketing.

The forthcoming Yahoo! Search Direct tool aims to bring the search engine up to par with arch-rival Google, with features such as the ability to predict what a search query will be as it is typed and to instantly list results for these predictions.

Internet advertising will also get a boost from a pop-up feature, which displays a box on the screen containing content that Yahoo! believes will be relevant for the user.

The search engine’s head of search and marketplaces Shashi Seth said that items to be included in this Search Direct box could include video adverts or graphic ads – which will be of great interest to anyone planning Pay Per Click or Paid Search internet marketing campaigns.

Mr Seth went on to promise more revelations from Yahoo!, saying: “Over the course of the next couple of months you’re probably going to see some of these ideas at play.”

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Online marketing expert Waseem Saddique urged companies basing internet advertising and marketing campaigns around pay per click (PPC) strategies to tailor the strategy to the different requirements of standard computers and mobile devices.

Mr Saddique stressed that PPC ads destined for mobile devices such as smartphones and iPads have different restrictions and needs when it comes to online marketing – such as the layout of the advert, which needs to be optimised for viewing on a smaller screen. Such ads need to be simpler and more eyecatching, he suggested, especially since people on the go will only be looking at such ads for a very limited time period.

Location, location, location is becoming more important in the field of internet marketing as well, Mr Saddique added.

Many web giants are already making changes to the way they operate in order to make it easier for online marketing efforts, such as Google.

In February, the search engine leader announced new features for AdWords, such as the capacity to add different payment methods and switch between them at will.

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An internet marketing expert has urged businesses with an online presence to ensure that they offer the very best in customer service.

Wolff Olins retail strategist Suzy Radcliffe said that too many retailers forget about providing top-class customer support when planning their online marketing and online advertising campaigns – preferring to focus instead on making their products or services widely available and maximising the possibility of sales.

Ms Radcliffe stressed that such priorities were of course important for any company seeking to maximise returns via internet marketing, but insisted that the best in customer service also helped firms to secure more sales through customer satisfaction and loyalty.

She cited a recent YouGov survey, which revealed that 84 per cent of customers buying online would never come again to a first-time website if they felt they had received bad customer service.

“That is a really fruitful area for retailers to start building brand loyalty and brand advocates by offering superb customer service,” Ms Radcliffe added, recommending that online companies should respond swiftly to any customers’ queries or complaints and ensure that problems were dealt with efficiently.

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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) assumed extra responsibilities today that will ensure it is better able to regulate the growing field of internet marketing – and especially internet advertising via social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

Prior to this date, the watchdog was only able to examine and adjudicate paid-for advertising online, leaving a loophole when it came to social media, which lay outside its remit.

However, the ASA has received more than 4,500 complaints over the past two years which concern social media and online advertising. It now hopes that its expanded remit will be adequate to cover this burgeoning field.

It could, under its new powers, remove advertising from search engines such as Google, as well as being able to place its own adverts warning users about ads that are in breach of the regulations.

The ASA stressed that it will be “acting on and investigating complaints as well as pro-actively monitoring and taking action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.”

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A survey published recently has found that the most respected brand in the UK is search engine giant Google.

A firm favourite with online marketing providers and SEO writers as it is, Google easily came top in the TNS Corporate Reputation Index – a list which rates companies on a number of factors, including the quality of their services, the levels of trust they inspire in customers and their customer services themselves.

Some 70 per cent of customers polled found Google’s quality of service ‘very good’ or ‘excellent,’ TNS revealed.

TNS head of stakeholder management Gemma Hicks said: “We are seeing high reputation scores being driven mostly by a strong reaction to company success, proving that people are a lot more rational in their assessment of reputation.”

The ever-increasing budget for online marketing and advertising was the key theme last week of a major speech by the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) head of research, Mark Blayney Stuart.

Mr Blayney Stuart was addressing a special event organised by the Isle of Man branch of the CIM, on the subject of the future of internet marketing. He said that more people were now investing in online marketing than ever before, predicting that “the online spend will overtake offline spend in the next three years as increasingly there will be a shift in budgets to online marketing rather than offline.”

He also stressed that targeting the right audiences was an essential part of an effective internet marketing strategy, saying that “our experience is that people don’t actually go ‘surfing’ the internet. We all stick mainly to seven or eight sites that we are familiar with and trust.”

Mr Blayney Stuart also gave several examples of successful online marketing campaigns, such as Sainsbury’s, which communicated with potential customers through Yahoo Answers, and the viral success of the Cadbury’s gorilla advert, which spawned many online imitators.