Fitch Ratings is calling for the weakest holiday season in the past twenty years for retailers. This is not surprising given the current state of the economy. The firm notes that retail sales have turned negative in the “back to school” period for the first time since 2001, and are expected to remain negative for the balance of 2008. How do you emphasize value in your marketing campaigns? In a release, Fitch writes:

As a full-time webmaster and site owner, figuring out just what Google wants has been the most challenging aspect of running an online business. For many webmasters Google is the eight ton elephant in the room and you only have two options: upset the elephant and get trampled or quickly find out what it likes to consume and try to feed it.

In order to keep Google fed, webmasters have to jump through more than one set of hoops. When it comes to getting top rankings in Google’s Index or SERPs, there are 200 of these hoops or ranking factors. And if you want to play in Google’s ballpark, you have to try and master the majority of them.

These are tough times, no doubt. The pinch is on every business to cut unnecessary costs and improve efficiency. Those businesses that were squeaking by to begin with are now in danger of closing their doors.

Advertising is usually one of the first items on the chopping block (though it shouldn’t be). You’ve got to cut costs, and you certainly don’t want to lay off any employees if you can help it, so you start looking a bit more closely at your marketing budget to see where you can rein in ad spending. It’s a natural reaction to a tightening budget, and there is a good reason for it.

The one assumption you need to make to follow along with me in this article is “People Buy People.” It can be a hard concept for many people to understand and agree with. However, millions of spent dollars have proven this premise to me, so I consider it more of a law than a theory.

If you understand the rule that people buy people, then your website MUST have a pleasant atmosphere that allows the visitor to connect with you, your company and your products.

Let’s face it, Blogs on the topic of Internet marketing are a dime a dozen. Everyone and their dog seems to have one. I’ll be the first to admit it takes a lot to impress me. Some blogs are just boring and uneventful. But then there are some that make me want to come back again and again.

I’ve often said that social networking can take up your entire day, if you allow it. You sit down at your desk in the morning, and you see several Facebook event invites and friend requests. As you log into your account, someone’s Facebook status update catches your eye, and before you know it, 3 hours have passed while you’re reading and responding to social networking messages. How can you possibly get any work done in your business or for your clients at this rate?

Why should I care about Social Media Optimization?

You should care about Social Media Optimization (SMO), because you care about your company’s image. There’s an old saying that goes something like, “A happy customer will tell one other person about his good experience. A disgruntled customer will tell ten people about his bad experience.” Good or bad, that’s powerful marketing. Social Media Optimization gives you the power to take an active role in managing your brand by interacting with your current and potential clients by discussing your products, their comments and concerns and continually promoting your brand.

Tip O’Neill, the late Speaker of The House of Representatives is often quoted as saying “All politics is local,” meaning a politician that helps a constituent with a problem is likely to win that vote based on the personal assistance provided, irrespective of that politician’s stance on the larger, more weighty, geo-political issues. What then of business, is all business local or international?

Shopping Is An Experience

WNW Design are proud to announce the launch of the Western Commodities website.

Western Commodities is a family owned private company trading in Dried Fruit and Edible Nuts. They source commodities from around the world, principally nuts and dried fruits. Their range is expanding particularly as organic business grows. For instance they now trade seeds, grains and pulses.

Western Commodities ship full container loads directly from origin to clients on other continents. Browse the website http://www.westcommorganics.com/ for more information.

Once upon a time, onsite optimization was the most crucial factor in search engine ranking. Webmasters and SEO experts spent ample time ensuring keywords were used in all relevant tags, and that the keyword concentration on each page was just right (usually 5-7%). Then came all the spamming and keyword stuffing, as webmasters and SEO experts fought viciously to usurp one another in the ranks. Search engines took notice, and adjusted their scoring algorithms accordingly. Onsite optimization lost its footing.