Social media became The Place to be in the past year. Americans spend 80% more time on networking sites in the past year alone, according to researchers. What does it mean to you? It means that your customers spend a lot less time on non-networking websites - websites like yours. If you owned your business for a while, you have been around the block. You know, that being where your customers are is vital for your business survival. On the internet, the same principle applies. But don't rush to join all the networking sites and don't start pounding people with sale offers and coupons. People hate that. Instead, have a plan.

I keep noticing recently that more and more service companies are throwing a "free website" in with their services. This offer seems odd to me, but hardly unexpected. Clearly, internet is becoming incredibly important for marketing, branding, and just plain exposure. It is just natural that everyone will be trying to capitalize on that.

Notable is a great collaboration tool which allows you to quickly get feedback on design, content, and code on a website project. Reviewers can capture a part of your page screen (design elements, code, etc.) and add comments and critique. Sign up for a free service or opt for a paid account. As a registered user, you will be able to quickly capture your screen using a Firefox plugin or an iPhone app and upload the images into your project's workspace where people can leave comments.

[via TechCrunch]

Starting this week Google is trying out a new type of search ad and pricing system in the San Francisco and San Diego markets. Currently, advertisers set up an advertising campaign, pick keywords, and bid on them to select when and where their ads will appear on search pages. Google will test a new flat rate pricing model. They will offer advertisers and non-advertisers a search ad for a flat fee. Google software will analyze different factors and determine what the average price for an ad is and will control where and when an ad appears. In other words, if you are a current advertiser, Google will use your keywords and bid prices to automatically set up accounts for your competitors. As a serious advertiser on Google, you want to pay them for traffic and you optimize your marketing efforts to get relevant traffic from Google. Now, Google will use your efforts as a free market research tool for competing businesses. Not good news for local advertisers who take their marketing campaigns seriously.

PPC Advertising stands for pay-per-click advertising. It is simply online marketing where advertisers pay only when their ads get clicked. In other words, as an advertiser, you are paying for the traffic to your website through an advertising campaign. Usually, you select keywords that are relevant to your business or website, sign up with PPC provider (like Google), and create ads relevant to your keywords and your website. When someone searches for a keyword you selected, your ad comes up and if it is compelling enough, that someone clicks on it and goes to your website. You pay for that click.

PPC advertising is very much different from newspaper, radio, magazine advertisement. With PPC campaign you can target your audience much better. And you are putting your ad in front of the very people who are looking for a service like you provide; they are more likely to become your customer. There is also much better and faster tracking of your success if you are serious about your return on investment. And most importantly, it is a lot cheaper for you if you do it right.