Here is a TopTenREVIEWS review of the top internet marketing companies. Various service areas are evaluated, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), link building, social media optimization and more.

Read the online marketing services firms review.

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!

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the much-talked-about stimulus spending law, is estimated to bring $2.5 billion in spending to technology vendors. This is according to IDC Industry Insights, as reported by David Hubler in Washington Technology.  

This is a “once-in-a-lifetime flood of new technology money,” says IDC. They estimated $101.2 billion in technology spending will be generated between 2009 and 2012.

Among the federal tech opportunities that law is expected to impact the most:

● The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) National Computer Center data center modernization—$500 million.

● The SSA’s claims processing program—$490 million. 

● The Homeland Security Department data center, law enforcement communications–$340 million. 

● The State Department’s security and network assurance technologies—$290 million.

● The Institute of Education Science’s high-performance computing and predictive services—$250 million.

● The Veterans Affairs Department data center and information technology services—$50 million.

● The Agriculture Department’s Farm Services Agency data center and systems services—$50 million.

DMNews reported recently that 99.5% of press releases don’t feature search engine optimization (SEO) for the web. This DMNews story was written by Brian Halligan:

• Social media, other than blogs—68%
• Enewsletters/email—60%
• Blogs—56%
• Case studies—55%
• Online video—51%
• White papers—46%
• Microsites—43%

Where do tech people search for products and solutions when making buying decisions? The recent Google/TechTarget Research Project asked 2,200 worldwide tech buyers and decision makers this question: Which of the following search sites have you used to find information on technology solutions for your organization in the past six months?

A new joint study from Google and Tech Target, examines the search habits of technology professionals when making purchasing decisions. The purpose of the The Google/TechTarget Research Project:

• Reveal the mindset of the IT buyer in context of their purchase process and search mode
• Put marketers in a better position to make keyword buys, choose content to syndicate
• Determine optimal selection and scheduling of content and website media to attract the IT buyer

• Different search terms are used by buyers at various stages of the IT buying process
• There is a concrete relationship between search and branding, as well as lead generation and ROI implications
• Surprises were found regarding buyer utilization of new media including mobile devices, video and RSS feeds
• Information source preferences were established

• 53% of IT purchasers use search to discover vendor solutions they are not previously aware of
• 86% of searchers look for a familiar brand or manufacturer before clicking on a search result
• 67% willing to click on the link of a manufacturer with which they are not familiar
• Over 40% of searchers will click on search ads that are contextual to content on IT Publisher sites, and 46% willing to read those ads.