Internet Audience reaches One Billion mark

Obviously, for interactive marketing (web and technology based marketing) to truly be useful (beyond cost effectiveness and tracking capabilities) it has to have a significant share of the world's audience. Well, if you thought 900 million was not enough, the World Internet Audience now has surpassed the one billion mark (according to ComScore. Read More).

Well, for those of you who sell your products and services nationally (or internationally) that's great news. But how many businesses classify themselves has nationally concerned. Using our market (the Myrtle Beach market) as an example, what does a hotel in our area care about the web users in China or California, or even just west of the Mississippi?

That's a common concern of local based businesses. But the concern is a bit misguided. First, local businesses and local business owners need to realize that services such as SEO, PPC, and email marketing can be geo-targeted or geo specific. You can target those areas (east of the Mississippi River, only drive markets, etc). That means you're only spending your dollars and time on that audience that can logically and logistically convert.

So you might be saying - big deal - one billion Internet users, but even one percent of that humongous pie is 10 million. Want to go lower. Even a THOUSANDTH of a percent of one billion is one million. Go lower, and you still can't deny the strength of the Internet's user base.

Want to take your local business to the Web? Contact me and we'll talk.

White House goes Web 2.0

Well, there you have it folks. The United States government has finally gone truly interactive. After all, what could me a more important outlet for the expression of opinions than the official United States government website, WhiteHouse.gov?

Instead of just calling or emailing your elected representatives, you can post live comments for all the world to see and read. This of course makes it much more difficult for elected officials to ignore pressing issues that concern their constituents. And when you add the media into the mix, well - you're talking real power to the people. Okay, maybe that's a little to overly optimisitic, but by embracing WEB 2.0 technologies, our government is that much closer, that much more connected to its citizens.

Big business has been shouldering the praise-and-wrath opinions of their "constituents" for years now, and many of them have found that consumers like knowing what other consumers have to say about a business, product, or service. The government should be no different. It's about transparency.

Being connected with your audience (be it voters, consumers, or clients) makes your decision making and marketing campaigns that much more informed. So, knowing how slow the government moves...if your own small to large business website doesn't have some kind of WEB 2.0 response mechanism in place, don't you think it's time? After all, can you really guage your own success without listening to the very people who can make or break your success?

Read all about WhiteHouse.gov's official make over at TG Daily.com.

And the number one place you should spend your marketing dollars is...

Direct Mail. That's right. Not everything is about Google and the Internet. (Though, admittedly I do sometimes sound like a Google evangelist). According to Ad Age, they project that Direct Mail Marketing will rank number one in "projected advertising spending" in 2009. Translation: Businesses both large and small are still spending most of their marketing dollars (approximately 22.6%) on Direct Mail. Is it down from 2008? Yes by about 2.0%. But put it all into perspective. Internet spend encompasses less than 5% of the pie. So, even though I put a lot of attention on Internet and Interactive marketing (hey - it's what I do), I'm not advocating the exclusion or demise of traditional marketing. Traditional marketing, such as direct mail, continues to be powerful. And when integrated with Interactive marketing campaigns (here I go again), the results can knock your socks off. But more on that later. For know, if you want to read more about other Ad Age projects for 2009, check out the Ad Age Datacenter.

Where in the Web is your Website - Changes in Search Engine Marketing for 2009

As mentioned in my last article (A New Year in Marketing), one of the most significant changes on the marketing horizon for 2009 is Google's newly revised algorithm. It's so significant in fact that it warranted an article all of its own. It's important to note this change at length because many webmasters who suddenly see their Google rankings dance, plummet – or worse – disappear will want to know exactly why. And, more importantly, how to fix the supposed "problem.” I'll discuss this common misconception later in this article.

To recap, during the latter part of 2008, at a high profile trade show for everything happening in search and search engine optimization there was a buzz about the changes in how Google is going to display search engine results pages (SERPs). Google's vision is that search will become more personalized by the user's location and search history. Instead of a purely algorithm-driven SERP, those results will be influenced by a user's personal behavior and physical location. How heavily behavior will influence the SERP is debatable, but Google has been toying with the idea since 2004. So, it will be more than a ripple that you can count on. They also plan on displaying their Pay Per Click ads based on this same behavioral influence.

At the very least, a user will be able to actively manipulate their own SERP (which will be served up to them on any computer, just as long as they are logged into Google).

Though many people in the industry have heard about this coming change, few out-of-industry professionals can truly grasp what it means for their business – and especially – to their search engine optimization and pay per click campaign(s). Not to fear...Read More.

Happy New Year - Brand New Website

Well, for those of you who found your way onto this marketing blog through the company website probably noticed a few changes on DSL Marketing's website. In fact, you would have noticed that we launched a completely new website - with our brand new message for 2009. Marketing - Evolved. What does it mean? Two things really. First, it means, as we all know in the industry and what we should all be explaining to our clients, is that marketing and advertising is continuosly changing, and to be successful, you need to not only be aware of them, but learn from them.

By evolution, we also mean that DSL Marketing, as a company, continuously keeps abreast of all the changes taking place in traditional and interactive marketing. And as a service to not only our clients, we try to educate the greater Myrtle Beach market. That's really what this blog is about, which launched at the same time as our brand new website. So for those of you who breezed passed the new look, or for those who reached this blog through a search engine, take peek at the new DSL Marketing website.