Search engine optimisation (SEO) needs to be planned in tandem with paid search for the best results in 2009, it has been claimed.

This comes from David Berkowitz, director of emerging media and client strategy at 360i, who wrote on a Media Post blog: "Several studies show that by integrating search engine marketing with search engine optimisation, results are greater than the sum of its parts."

Mr Berkowitz said marketers should expect SEO tactics to push forward with new ways to infuse paid search listings with video and display media.

He described this integration as a "holistic" approach to adapting to the inevitable shifts of a new year plagued by recession.

The combination of SEO and paid search, will be motivated by more "concentrated efforts to attract brand marketers", Mr Berkowitz claimed.

Consumers over the next year are therefore likely to notice a dramatic shift in the layout of search engine results pages.

Mr Berkowitz added that this move is timely considering the original and current format of results pages is the same as the basic template drawn up ten years ago.

Ann Smarty of SearchEngineJournal.com recently claimed that the title of a page dictates the SEO ranking, which therefore has an impact on the image of the search engine results page.

Living Streams comment:   We have held the view expressed in this article for the last couple of years.  Our popular search engine marketing support contract is very much based on this premise.