Don’t believe everything you hear in the media about the economy. While it is true that in the last two years, we’ve suffered a significant economic decline, you can’t wait for news broadcast saying “the worst is over” before your company invests in marketing again. The world is a more cautious and thrifty place now and it will take time and more companies to take that step forward before consumers will start to believe in the recovery. But again this presents a “good opportunity.” Let your company be one of those that consumers have been waiting for. Show them that in the face of what is still perceived as a down economy, you are strong and so are you services. Instill confidence now in the face of your competition and shape a clientele that will be with you through thick and thin.

The economy is recovering all around you, car sales are improving, homes are starting to sell and banks are able to allow for individual/business investments again. If your company doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of it now, the only down economy in the near future will be yours.

According to an article in About.com:

“McGraw-Hill Research conducted a study of U.S. recessions from 1980-1985. Out of the 600 business-to-business companies analyzed, the ones who continued to advertise during the 1981-1982 recession hit a 256-percent growth by 1985 over their competitors that eliminated or decreased spending.”

“Similar findings were shown for the economic downturn of the mid 1970s. These studies reaffirm the notion that in good times and bad, it pays to advertise”.

“Customers will identify with and remember those companies who stuck it out during a tough economy”.

One major opportunity now exists in today’s economy, but only the savviest of entrepreneurs will seize upon it. The opportunity right now is for a business to be leader of the pack, a standard bearer who clearly tells consumers that the economic recovery is at hand. I must caution you that this opportunity will not last very long and in fact, while some business owners are still waiting for confirmation of a recovery, others are already getting a jump on their competition. It’s still not too late! No matter what the state of the economy, there is never a bad time to seize opportunities and build your brand; but it’s always the wrong time to stop.

AJ Ross Creative Media celebrating its 20^th year in business, is located in the Hudson Valley’s historic Chester, NY and was founded by Allan Ross. A former NYC session musician, jingle writer and producer, Ross parlayed that experience into the development of a full-service strategic marketing agency. AJ Ross offers brand development, print, radio, and TV advertising production, graphic design, website development, and public relations. Some of AJ Ross’s accounts include Orange County Tourism, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Finkelstein and Partners, Jacoby and Meyers amongst others. To learn more about AJ Ross Creative Media, visit www.ajross.com, call 800-723-4644, or email info@ajross.com.

In today’s Internet driven market, a common question asked is, “How do I drive traffic to my website?”

Many people will praise PPC saying that it offers you guaranteed presence on Google, but that is only half true. While Organic SEO is more competitive for a lot of terms, it boasts more staying power. Just like most things in business, doing both would be ideal; but for those that need to choose for resource and/or budget reasons, we will look at the pro’s and con’s or each.

PPC (Pay Per Click: for definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_per_click)

PPC offers users the benefit of reserved seating so to speak on Google pages called “Sponsored Link.”
PPC services come with fees you need to be prepared for. First, there is usually an account set-up fee. From there, you choose individual terms (e.g. “lawyer”) or phrases (e.g. “medical law, New York”) that you want to appear on search engine pages for when people type them in.

It’s a process that takes time, patience, and careful selection because let’s face it, who has the money to spend on limitless options, especially in today’s economy. Choosing the right terms/phrases is important. You don’t want to waste your time or money monitoring what people don’t search for when it can go to terms you would get more of a return on.

Once you’ve chosen your terms/phrases, you need to decide how much they are worth to you. This is where the bidding begins. Each term/phrase has a price associated with it and that price changes each time someone is willing to pay more for the Top 10 positions. Everyone wants to be seen in the # 1 spot but this is where you decide how much it’s really worth to you.

You then need to plan out your monthly budget. With billions of people online, your fees can become outrageous without a budget. Here’s an idea of how their budgets typically work.

Example
Monthly budget $100
Divided into daily average ( $100 Divided by 31 days =$3.22 a day)
Cost per “average”term/phrase .10- .25

.25 divided by daily budget ($3.22) = 12 terms or phrases clicked on a day.

What does this mean for you? It means that once your daily allowance has been clicked on, you no longer appear on the “Sponsored Links” section for the remainder of the day. For competitive terms, that means you typically won’t appear on sponsored links anytime after lunch. Without an unlimited budget, it’s a crapshoot as to when people will be able to find you.

As Google users spend more time using this search engine, they are typically reporting banner blindness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banner_blindness). This used to only apply to flashing banner ads on websites but it is now affecting Google users on sponsored links sections. This means when they use Google, their eyes don’t trust a lot of sponsored links due to them redirecting away from what they are searching for.

Organic SEO
Organic SEO is all about ranking on the unpaid sections of search engines. Unpaid and high rankings sound ideal and it is…if you know how to do it.

Organic is the best way to rank your website. Once you’re ranked, you don’t need to worry about budgets, you’re not limited to how many terms/phrases you can afford, and you’re visible away from users’blind spots. Your success is based solely on how hard you are willing to work and taking the time to understand the necessary methods to apply and monitor your rankings.

It takes a little more time but like all good things it’s worth the wait.

As SEO becomes a more popular method of advertising and promoting websites, search engines are occasionally changing the rules to keep it an honest game. Pay attention and weigh what you get in return for your time and money compared to your desired outcome and budget, whether it’s financial or time. With the right understanding of what you are getting into, you’ll find the right fit for your websites rankings.

The Competitive Advantage
Advertising during a bad economy clearly creates a competitive advantage by creating Brand Assurance. Brand Assurance establishes confidence in your demographic when you are consistently in the public eye. Most importantly, you’re at the top of buyers’ minds when purchase decisions are made. People don’t stay loyal to products or companies based on the memory of a strong campaign in rosier times. Memories are short and advertisements that bombard them today and every day are what will stick in their heads and make you a household name when they make a purchasing decision.

There are certain cost effective ways to market your company that you should pay strict attention to. Some of these include:

Website Content
Keep your website fresh and current. Your website has become one of your most important marketing tools. It’s the voice of your company 24 hours a day. It can offer customers your latest promotions or house an entire catalog of information.  It allows you to deliver countless amounts of new information without printing or mailing expenses. You have the potential to connect with millions of people. Now it’s up to you to hook them and keep them interested with new information.

Email Campaigns – The New Way to Send Direct Mail
One of the best ways to reach your existing clients and new prospects is by sending out email campaigns.   It could be an article, newsletter, or just new information of what‘s going on with your company. Your presentation of your email marketing campaign needs to be professional and well thought out. It might be a good idea to hire a professional like AJ Ross to design your initial template. As the old sayings go, “first impressions”and“you get what you pay for.”

You’ve established your brand, built and maintained a strong website, and sent out an email campaign …… so what’s next?

Can you be found on Google?
Another important factor in marketing your company is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to your website. When SEO is done properly, it will place you high on search engine result pages with certain key phrases and terms (i.e. real estate, law firms, doctor, etc.).  You should also hire a professional like AJRoss to help you with your SEO. With millions of people online daily, it is worth the investment.

The economy may be bad, but people are still spending money on products and services. Now is a great time to keep your market share and prove Brand Assurance particularly in these bad economic times. Consumers and companies alike will feel comfortable spending their money on the services your company provides. Make sure they know your name, increase their confidence in your staying power, and assure them you will be there tomorrow and in the years to come.

In today’s online driven world the names Google, Yahoo, MSN are rapidly becoming more of a household name than the Yellow Pages. Most of us now have access to the Internet via work, home, and mobile phone. According to research by Jupiter Media way back in 2004, over 64% of people who are looking for information online, use search engines. The number is closer to 80% today.

In these tough economic times business owners are becoming increasingly challenged and conservative with their marketing budgets. Most of us are seeking low-risk, high-impact marketing options in a down economy. When it comes to meeting these needs, search engines like Google provide a viable and cost effective solution.

So where should your advertising dollars be spent in today’s market?

Consider the traditional advertising option of the yellow pages. For a prominent ad, your costs could be thousands of dollars per month Also, yellow page ads have limited flexibility and you are usually locked in to a one-year commitment.

How many times have you used the paper yellow pages this month?

How many times have you searched for a business or service on Google or Yahoo this month?

Now consider your website. You can further your business leads by making sure that more people are viewing it. You can optimize your website to rank in the main listings without any media spending at all. You can test multiple ads and list under multiple words or phrases all at the same time and get instant tracking on which ads are working for you.

The major search engines also can determine where the search is coming from. This means you can target ads all the way down to a city, or zip code.

If you are not currently utilizing this marketing channel, I recommend you take half of your local marketing this year and invest in search optimization or paid search ads. Work with a search analytics professional to track the new program for 90 days. You will likely be surprised to see who’s been Searching… for you, and see an immediate impact for your business.