Does Google Adwords make sense for you?

If you have an online marketing strategy, there’s a good chance that Google Adwords is an important part of it. And if you’re using an SEO software product for your internet marketing, you’re probably carefully monitoring—and hopefully optimizing—your Adwords’ performance.

But like all things marketing, Adwords isn’t for everyone. Just because it’s hot and all your friends are doing it, doesn’t mean it will make business sense for you. Many companies delve into Google Adwords, only to throw in the towel a short while later. For a variety of reasons, they don’t get the return on investment they think they should.

Here are some ways to know if Google Adwords is—or isn’t for you.

Read more at TopTenREVIEWS SEO Software Review.

Search is fundamental to customer acquisition. And search engine optimization (SEO) is projected to grow consistently, according to eMarketer’s Search Marketing Trends report.

Read the rest at blogs.aquent.com:  http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/author/kelly-boykin/2009/06/

In a tight economy with a lot of competition comes welcome news to DC area creatives and businesses that need creative. According to DesignersCouch.com, one of my favorite creative communities, Washington D.C. is among the top five U.S. town for creative professionals. 

According to the article, ”DC is a town whose design industry is about to boom in a major way.” The salaries here are on par with New York City.

Read the entire article here: http://designerscouch.org/show_article/234/top-5-us-cities-for-creative-professionals-in-2010.html.

The online ad marketing had it’s best quarter ever in Q4 09, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

This record $6.3 billion in revenues speaks to the worst of the ad slump behind us, according to PwC’s David Silverman.

Other highlights of the report:

• Search and display advertising is still the largest overall interactive advertising spend. Search revenues comprise 47% of the total spending.
• Digital video in particular is strong, with an almost 39% increase from 2008 to 2009.
• Based on data from PwC from 2005 to 2009 in tv, radio, newspapers, consumers magazines and Internet, the Internet’s share of combined ad revenue more than doubled from 8% to 17%.

Find out more at http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-040710

Small business use of social media is steeply on the rise in the U.S.  The third wave of the Small Business Success Index™ (SBSI), sponsored by Network Solutions® and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, reports that social media is being used by twice as many small businesses since last year.

How does your business measure up?

Read more and see the breakdown at http://growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-success-index-highlights/.

Forrester Research predicts IT spending will rise 6.6 percent in 2010. This is a stark contrast to 2009, where IT spending fell 8.2 percent in the U.S. and and 8.9 percent overall in international markets.

Hardware and software investments will drive the rise in spending, with software projected to rise 9.7 percent.

Read more from Nasdaq.com. Here’s to a strong tech marketing 2010!

We’ve been focusing on a favorite topic of mine—branding for government contractors. I’ll be the first to tell you that revenue generating initiatives are of greater value in a down economy than branding efforts. But federal contractors are different. Generally speaking, they tend to lack the strong brand identity and recognition of their commercial sector counterparts. Only, unlike their commercial counterparts, successful government contractors, with a greater immunity to the recession, can afford to make the investment in brand building now. 

Building or maintaining a strong brand should be an important short and long term revenue goal for your company. Especially in a recession. But for many federal contractors, the time, attention (and money) dedicated to this initiative fall short. The reasons for this are many and range for too much emphasis on set-aside status, to a desire to make marketing materials look and sound like other industry players. For example, many small government contractors want their marketing materials to sound like Lockheed Martin or CSC, but of course don’t have the marketing budgets of the big boys.

• What is unique about my organization or brand in the context of the industry as a whole?
• Which of these factors are most important to my clients and prospects?
• Which of these factors are most difficult for your competitors to imitate?
• Which of these factors can be most easily understood by my prospects?

1. For the brand to be effective, it has to be unique.
2. For the brand to make an impact and be memorable, it has to be clear and compelling.
3. For the brand to generate revenue, it has to foster a sense of ownership by my clients, partners and employees.
4. For the brand to be credible, it must be believable.

Check back soon for more of what works and what doesn’t in branding for government contractors.