We are being reminded multiple times a day of how tough times are and how much tougher they will get. Unemployment is expected to rise even into the double digits during 2009. The Auto Industry is in an unimaginable mess. Our banking and financial systems are dysfunctional, not even trusting each other to lend between themselves. The federal government seems to lack planning, direction or even the understanding of how to deal with and address these issues effectively. Talk of recession, the worst one since the Great Depression, and even talk of another Great Depression are all part of the daily discussion. For business owners, large and small, marketing executives and managers , sales executives and representatives, these are formidable forces to be reckoned with and are the everyday challenges being faced in conducting business, particularly in the areas of planning and execution with precious sales and marketing budgets.

We are in the midst of a frightening and deepening financial and economic crisis worldwide. The world is making huge adjustments to correct many flawed policies, processes and practices including the use of real estate equity to fuel a worldwide buying binge, highly leveraged global gambling casino-style betting on the success of highly risky credit in the name of Credit Default Swaps. The process is called “deleveraging” but really what this is the process of liquidating hard and soft assets to pay off what can be paid off in the face of never-before-seen lost bets on incredibly risky investments. As someone first said, “This too shall pass.” But what will the world look like? In this writing I will focus on marketing and the lessons we can learn.

Competition is fierce in Pay Per Click Advertising on both Google Adwords and Yahoo Sponsor Search, aka Overture. There’s nothing more attractive than displaying your products and services to targeted audiences who are only looking for the specific products and services that you offer.

It’s one of the most asked questions. How do I increase my ecommerce sales? While there is not a quick answer or solution, there are some major factors that can contribute to increased online sales for ecommerce websites. The keys are relevance and the correct strategy. There are literally tens of thousands of ecommerce websites online; why should yours be any different and make millions?

Creating an online brand is no easy task. It requires a well-structured strategy and a good game plan. Since the competition is so great in the online marketplace, there’s a thin line between making and losing money. Therefore, any brand should carry certain characteristics.

Search Engine Advertising is a term that is inherently confusing. Some use this term interchangeably with Sponsored Search or Pay Per Click Advertising as in Google Adwords. Of course, these are actual advertisements that are tied to specific keyword phrases. As such they are targeted advertisements because they are only viewed based on the keyword itself. Others use this term to mean Organic Search Engine Optimization or SEO which in fact are not advertisements. Rather, these are listings based strictly on relevance as rated by the search engines themselves. These listings are not purchased or bid upon like PPC; they are earned through highly sophisticated optimization techniques. Successful Organic Optimization results in highly visible listings with no cost to the website owner no matter how many times the listing is displayed or clicked.

The difference between making and losing money in a PPC campaign is all too often directly attributable to a lack of, or even, non-existence of an Adwords Management Strategy.

A lot of Pay per Click Gurus tell clients not use the Google’s Content Network because it is filled with Made for Adsense sites and click fraud, which is a huge issue. However, the same Gurus do not say anything about the content network not being able to generate targeted traffic, but it does.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is not reserved and exclusive for big business. In fact, it is the brightest light for small businesses to effectively compete in their respective markets. It is a mistake to believe that the “big boys” know what they are doing on the internet, at least not yet.

Website Optimization and Internet Marketing are synonymous terms.  The major supporting cast or specialty is Search Engine Optimization or SEO.

However SEO is often misunderstood.   It is not at all unusual to speak with prospective clients that think SEO is all about meta tags, title tags and even “tricks.”  However so-called White Hat SEO or “ethical” SEO or much more accurately, EFFECTIVE SEO, involves no tricks and the lexicon of meta tags and title tags does little justice to the true scope of what is involved in SEO.

As is the case with many products and service providers, there is a wide disparity between and amongst SEO companies.  Without essaying over the comparisons of “unnamed” companies or competitors, let’s review those qualities you should seek in selecting the right SEO company for your online strategy.

C-Level Executives have an important stake in the online business performance of their company websites. However, CEOs, COOs, CFO’s and other top execs are no different than any other top executives and business owners when it comes to their website and “the purpose of it all.” Often they are frustrated that a good deal of company money has been spent on website design and promotion yet the early optimism has faded with time as the hoped-for results in terms of sales, profitability and corporate efficiency just didn’t materialize.