WSI & the #1 Fastest Growing Technology Company in North America

WSI LocalAdworks is the platform underneath which ReachLocal and WSI collaborate to bring clients world class, paid search engine marketing services. ReachLocal was named the #1 Fastest Growing Technology Company in North America this month by Deloitte.

To learn more, read the press release highlighting ReachLocal's recent recognition on their website.

Northeast Ohio Web Design Company Featured in Cleveland Business Connect

This month, our office was featured in the Northeast Ohio regional magazine Cleveland Business Connect. The title of the article is "Dollar Sense: Optimizing Internet Use" and was written by Erica Abdnour.

The article highlights our efforts to empower non-profit organizations to take control of their website and the associated costs through the use of content management system-based websites. A content management system (CMS) allows non-technical users to update a website in minutes. Organizations using a CMS have the ability to make changes to their website on a frequent basis, whenever needed, without relying on a third party to do it for them. As a web design company, we understand how costly it can be to implement a new website and keep it up-to-date. A content management system allows companies and organizations to save money on the ongoing maintenance of a site by giving them the ability to make updates on their own.

To learn more, you can read the full article on our website here.

WSI's Flagship Products Gets Aquired by Adobe

We are pleased to announce that one of WSI's standardized flagship products, WSI eFusion (Business Catalyst) has recently been acquired by Adobe Systems Inc.

Adobe was attracted to WSI eFusion because it enables Web professionals to build online businesses at a fraction of the traditional time and cost, without programming. Also, WSI eFusion is a great fit with Adobe's line of widely used products, such as PDF, Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flex and AIR.

For more information on the acquisition of WSI's eFusion, please check out the Business Catalyst press release on it here.

Positioning Your Business for Success in 2009-2010

As part of a whitepaper from Vistage titled "How to Prepare for the Recovery: Prospering in the New Business Landscape," the company recommends several actions that business owners should take to position themselves well as we exit the current recession. One of those recommended actions is to ramp up marketing and advertising efforts.

Why does advertising during a recession make sense? Over the years, hundreds of studies have been conducted and all the results conclude that businesses that advertise the most during an economic downturn reap the highest rewards on the other side. For example, during the 1989-1991 recession Kraft Salad Dressing increased their advertising and experienced a sales growth of 70%. Also during that period, when most beer companies cut their budgets, Coors Light increased theirs and watched sales rise 15%.

So what are Vistage's "tactical" tips for marketing and advertising?:

• If it isn't working - get rid of it! Cut any programs that are not giving you a return on your investment.
• Keep your core-customers loyal to you. Don't go after new markets; focus on maintaining the customers you already have.
• Mind your competition. Pay attention to what your competitors are doing in terms of advertising. As they cut their budgets, hone in on their customers.
• Do your due diligence. As the market experiences significant changes...so do your customers habits. Pay more attention than ever before to research, etc.
• Don't be afraid to spend! If at all possible, it is the ideal to increase your advertising/marketing budget. If you cannot make an increase, certainly work to maintain your current spending habits.
• Make your customers feel secure. In a very turbulent time, it's important for people to feel confident in your products and services.
• Maintain your best brands. Although it sounds like a good idea to discount your most successful brands, it's a bit contradictory. Instead of reducing the costs on your flagship products and services, consider created a separate brand with a lower price point, etc.

Recession and advertising facts cited from Recession Marketing Success Requires Boldness.

WSI Whitepaper on Google Changes for 2009

Please view a copy of our latest SEO Whitepaper here: "Google Changes for 2009: What They Are, And How They Affect Us."

College Graduates Take on WSI Franchise

A clip of two young WSI franchise owners on the Fox Business channel describing the benefits of purchasing a franchise right out of college.

LinkedIn Email Signatures

If you haven't stumbled upon a LinkedIn email signature yet, you're missing out - they are sweet!


LinkedIn wants you to make the most of your contacts. They have a ton of neat tools to help you work your contacts to the best of your ability. One of those is their Email Signature tool. It allows you to create custom email signatures to link into your existing mail system.

Check out LinkedIn's Tool Area here.

Young Entrpreneurs and WSI

Today, Reuters.com published a piece titled "Young entrepreneurs bypass corporate rat race." In the article, WSI was mentioned; 8 percent of their franchise operators are under the age of 30. Please read the article for more details.

Habits of Shoppers Using Live Chat

Since WSI offers a great product called WSI Live Chat to help our clients increase their site conversion rates, I found this article very interesting - "How Helpful Is Live Chat?"

Touching on statistics from a survey conducted by Bold Software, eMarketer's article helps us understand how much of an effect live chat has on online shoppers' buying habits.

Here is a quick summary of the data:
- Buyers who had used live chat were more likely to make an online purchase at least once a week (40%) over buyers who did not (22%).
- Buyers who used live chat made a greater portion of their holiday gift purchases online.
- 2 in 10 live chat users did more than 75% of their seasonal shopping online, compared to 14% of those who did not use live chat.
- Buyers who used live chat have a higher customer retention rate than those that did not.
- - - 63% of live chat users said there were likely to return to the site.
- - - 62% of live chat users said they were more likely to purchase from a site again.
- - - 38% of live chat users said they made their purchase due to the live chat session alone.

For more details, check out the complete article on eMarketer.

Bucknuts.com Redesign Complete!

WSI is proud announce the redesign and relaunch of BuckNuts.com. Bucknuts is the independent Ohio State sports site and is an ESPN affiliate. The site provides premium stories and forum access to share the latest Ohio State news and conversations with its fan base. The site receives roughly 1.3 million visitors each month with site traffic souring during football season.

Youngstown Makes Entrepreneurs's 10 Best Cities to be an Entrepreneur

That's right... Youngstown made the number one spot on Entrepreneur Magazine's list of 10 Best Cities to be an Entrepreneur.

Located in the Youngstown Business Incubator, we at WSI are especially proud to see our area getting the recognition it deserves. Congrats YBI and Youngstown, Ohio!

Live Chat - Conversion Strategies Webinar Now Available!

This Wednesday, Gene and I had the pleasure of presenting a webinar sponsored by FreeWebinarWednesdays.com. The session was entitled "Generating Website Traffic Without a Conversion Strategy: That's Like Fishing Without a Net?" The webinar focused primarily on live chat technology and the importantance of utilizing the product to enhance an online conversion strategy.

View the recorded here webinar now!

Internet Marketing Trends 2009

WSI recently released a report titled "Internet Marketing Trends Report 2009" that includes a TON of great statistics from eMarketer - all in one place!

Some quick facts from the report are as follows:

In 2009, the US Internet population will grow to nearly 200 million users, or 64.8% of the total US population.

The most popular online activity among US Internet users is search - 94%.
Email is the 2nd most popular - 92%.

77% of respondents in an eMarketer survey stated they participate in social networks. In 2008, about 80 million people visited social networking sites at least one a month.

Even in the economic downtown, online ad spending will increase in 2009 and is expected to reach a record high of $24.5 billion.

Nearly 10% of ad dollars will be spent on the Internet in 2009.

Marketers will spend $12 billion on search in 2009.

In 2009, US eCommerce sales are expected to increase 4% over 2008 and reach $142.3 billion.

For a better understanding of what's going on in the world of Internet Marketing today, please check out our Internet Marketing Trends Report 2009.

911 Tweet for Help

I can't say I agree with being able to post something on Twitter using your SmartPhone but not dial 911?! However, it's interesting to see how social media is taking the world by storm and revolutionizing the way people do things.

Watch the CNN Video Titled "Man 'tweets' for 911 help."

Understanding Twitter

Most of my questions related to social media involve Twitter. Lots of companies don't know what it is or how to use it.

Therefore, I just wanted to include a quick post w/ a link to this video from CommonCraft called "Twitter in Plain English." Although this is does not cover anything on how businesses should be utilizing the tool, it is good for a basic understanding of "the" micro-blogging site.

Google Analytics Webinar - May 28th at 2:00 pm EST

Measuring consumer behavior online is vital in today's economy when marketing budgets are tight. Web analytics can measure visitor behavior on your site as well as determine the effectiveness of any online marketing campaign you run.

In 2 weeks, we will be holding a special webinar entitled: "Google Analytics: Optimize Your Marketing During the Recession". This webinar is an excellent session to attend, especially if you're looking at ways to optimize your marketing spend online. So register now and join us on May 28th for this session.

Google Analytics: Optimize Your Marketing During the Recession

Date: May 28, 2009 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/361218904

Be sure to put my name, Beth Bonanno, as the IC that invited you when you register.

The speaker of the session is Feras Alhlou, one of WSI's Web analytics gurus. Feras has a lot of experience consulting companies of all sizes on how to effectively utilize Web analytics data and make the right decisions for future campaigns. Feras and his team are also Certified Google Analytics Consultants and have spoken at various conferences either held by Google or sponsored by Google.

Free Webinar Wednesdays - May 20th Presentation

On Wednesday, May 20th, Gene and I will be hosting a webinar with www.FreeWebinarWednesdays.com. Our presentation will focus on ensuring your website has conversion strategies and more specifically, we will cover the WSI Live Chat product and how real-time chat can help you grow your revenue and enhance your customer service online.

More information about our webinar can be found on www.FreeWebinarWednesdays.com.

SNA International Website Redesign

Over the last few months, our office had the pleasure of working with Dr. Amanda Sozer of Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates on a company rebranding effort and site redesign project.

Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates recently transitioned their company name to SNA International to better reflect the organization's increasing international accomplishments. As part of this transition, we worked with them to design a new logo.


In addition, we also developed a new website to address their three core areas of expertise: Forensic Science Consulting, Mass Fatality Planning & Response and Information Technology tools. The new website can be found at www.SNA-Intl.com.

We wish SNA International the best as they continue to expand their services and expertise to reach clients worldwide!

IrishSportsDaily.com Launched

Irish Sports Daily is a premiere fan site for Notre Dame football, basketball, and recruiting news. The site features many integrated attributes like premium content and forum boards for paying customers to access to the latest and greatest news. IrishSportsDaily.com also sports a mobile site template designed specifically to make browsing on your mobile phone user-friendly. The writers of the site also have their own blogs that are frequently updated with more informal or personal takes on the Notre Dame teams, games and rivals. Featured stories, search functionality, and a video center make this site very interactive and satisfying for those Notre Dame fans and alumni that just can’t get enough of the blue and gold.

Check out Irish Sports Daily now!

Social Media and The Great Generational Divide

Although it's probably common sense, eMarketer recently posted an article titled "Generations Divided on Workplace Social Nets" that outlines the differences between Baby Boomers and Generation X/Y and the use of social networking sites in the workplace.

What are the highlights?

• 86% of Baby Boomers that participated in a study by LexisNexis stated that they have never visited a social networking site in the workplace. Additionally, 81% said they never read blogs.
• In contrast, only 38% of Generation Y workers said they never visited social networks at work and 58% didn't read blogs.

Why such a gap? Well, the interesting thing to note here is that it's not because one group thinks it more appropriate to view such sites at the workplace while others do not. The majority of workers (65%) across all generations agree that social networking sites blur the line between personal and professional life. Aside from that, the article doesn't really offer us an answer for the contract. My gut would tell me it's because Baby Boomers in general are probably slower to adapt new technology.

My two cents... social networking sites are a GREAT resource for businesses and workers if used properly. Blogs are highly effective for search engine optimization as well as research, LinkedIn can connect you with related professionals and areas of interest, Twitter can help you promote your brand and reach thousands on a real-time basis, etc.

We help small and medium-sized businesses everyday take advantage of social media for the company. I promise... it's nothing to fear. Those who embrace it now will reap the rewards later. If you're interested in learning more about leveraging social media in your business, contact us today.

Gene Bonanno Makes WSI President's Circle

This month, Gene Bonanno, owner of WSI - The Bonanno Group, Inc., was inducted into the WSI President's Circle for 2009. This honor is given to an elite group of top earning WSI Consultants within a specific tenure. Gene was admitted into the tenure of 5 years.

Congratulations Gene!

Another Franchise Expo Down

Thanks to Gene Bonanno and Bonnie Reisland for making the trip out to the east coast this past weekend to represent WSI at the New York/New Jersey Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo.


The show was held on April 18th and 19th and several thousand people came out for the event. Gene and Bonnie were on hand to explain the benefits of the WSI franchise system to folks interested in attaining financial independce and the freedom to be their own boss.

Email Spam Bad for the Environment

In the spirit of Earth Day and my ongoing commitment to be "greener," I thought these were some interesting facts to share...

1.) The annual energy related to email spam totals 33 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh)
2.) That equates to the electricity consumed in 2.4 million U.S. homes
3.) It also creates the same greenhouse gas emissions as 3.1 million cars using 2 billion gallons of gasoline
4.) Surprise! The US is the leading spam-relaying country in the world; we account for 17.5% (2008 stats)
5.) Surprise again! The US also leads in total emissions from spam - 3.8 billion kilograms of CO2 (2008 stats)

UNREAL!

So what can we do about it? Your first step should be to install an effective spam filter. Spam filtering saves electricity and will help reduce the energy waste assosciated with spamming. 80% of the energy waste generated from spam is created by end-users deleting it from their inboxes. So, if it never gets to you, you don't have to waste the time and energy to get rid of it! Genius.

Reference articles:
The Carbon Footprint of Email Spam Report - McAfee
Spam Harms Environment - eMarketer

What the Tweet?

I'm sharing this article because like many of you, I liked the idea of Twitter but was a bit confused about the practical purposes of it for small and medium-sized businesses. This post from Chris Brogan's blog titled "50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business" will hopefully inspire you and your business to start utilizing Twitter more.

Here is a summary of my favorite ideas Brogan shared:

Listen for your name, competitor's names and words that relate to your business.
Post about relevant news in your industry.
Add a human element to your company by talking about non-business-related topics.
Tweet about what interests you, not necessarily what you're doing.
Use it as an opinion poll and ask questions - you will get results.
Enhance your customer service by responding and reaching out directly to your customers.

Social Media and Job Recruiting

As a young professional who dabbles with a lot of social media tools, I found this article particularly interesting: Do You Pass the Social Media Recruitment Test? By: Boris Epstein

Basically, the article discusses how job recruiters have a harder time than ever filling positions as social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn provide an overload of qualified candidates at their fingertips. To separate yourself from the masses, the article then provides some GREAT tips on how to responsibly participate in the social media conversation to enhace your job opportunities.

I would suggest taking a few minutes to read the article to view Epstein's tips on using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter as well as managing your blog and personal brand in Google results.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) On the Rise

In a previous post called “Getting New Customers In a Recession,” I discussed the various types of search engine marketing and why they are so important to businesses looking to do more with less these days.

According to a recent study by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), search engine marketing (SEM) is one area of advertising that is thriving in this harsh economic climate. (No surprise there.) In fact, numbers rose from 2008 to 2009 and are expected to sustain their growth over the long term. It is estimated that the total SEM spend in 2013 will reach $26.1 billion.

It has become clear to businesses that search engine marketing is a critical part of their success. What was once seen as an afterthought in terms of advertising is now front and center. So, why are advertisers relying so heavily upon SEM?

1.) Search engine marketing is quantifiable. It allows advertisers to clearly see where their dollars are being spent and what type of ROI they are receiving from their campaigns.

2.) SEM drives pre-qualified leads to your site. A good search engine marketing program is designed to generate targeted traffic for your site. The keywords/phrases and ad copy included in your campaign are developed to filter out the types of visitors you don’t want, and focus in on those you do.

3.) Search engine marketing can address several advertising goals. It can help build brand awareness, promote an event, drive more sales, etc. It is a medium that has wide applicability.

You can read more on the 2008 State of the Market survey by SEMPO here. If you are interested in putting together an Internet Marketing strategy for your business, please contact us.

SMO Webinar A Success

On Tuesday, we sponsored a webinar entitled "Gain and Maintain the Competitive Edge with Social Media Optimization." Over 350 business owners registered and attended the event making it a huge success! Thanks to everyone who participated.

If you were unable to join us, you can view a recorded version of the presentation online.

As a follow up, we highly recommend reading our white paper "Time is of the essence: Gaining and Maintaining a Competitive Advantage with Social Media." It includes a ton of great facts, figures and information such as this:

68% of adults visit blogs, social networks and online communities
47% said those sites had a direct impact on their purchasing decision
42% say the frequency of their visits to such sites has risen in the last six months
34% say they use social media sites to conduct product research
26% changed their minds about a product or service after reading information in social media

Contact WSI if you are interested in learning more about Social Media Optimization.

Webinar Tomorrow: Social Media Optimization

There is a lot of buzz about Social Media and how this marketing strategy can be used to effectively increase awareness of your products and/or services. Many companies are confused as to where to start -asking themselves- how do I use a forum or a blog and other elements of multimedia to reach my audience? There is lot more to it!

The webinar will focus specifically on what is the right marketing mix and how large, medium and small sized businesses can use this marketing strategy to significantly increase revenues in this economy and specifically "Uncovering the myths" about Social Media.

How Your Business Can Gain & Maintain the
Competitive Edge with Social Media Optimization

Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EST

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/381340994

You can click on the link and register with your first and last name and email address. You would also be required to enter my name, BETH BONANNO, to complete the registration. You will then receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

How Do You Get Your Linkedin Profile to 100%?

70%. That was the pathetic, salty profile completion rate that mocked me from my Linkedin account for months. I could NOT figure it out. I had created my basic profile, input my job and educational background, added some groups and gathered a few recommendations. Still, that 70% lingered. Today was the day I decided … enough is enough.

How do you get your Linkedin profile to 100%?

1. Make sure that you add in all of your job positions; or at a minimum, your current position and the two you held previously. This will significantly enhance your completion rate, as well as help you gain access to groups related to those organizations that you otherwise would not be able to participate in. NOTE: For those of us who are still relatively new to the workforce, this could be a disadvantage. However, consider adding in college internships – this will greatly benefit you.

2. Complete your educational background as best you can. Linkedin only allows you input higher education, which is a bit of a bummer (again for the younger professional). However, as long as you input something you should be good to go.

3. Input a profile summary that briefly highlights what you do for a living so people get to know you. This should be written not only to enhance the SEO of your profile, but to make sure that humans can read and understand it. Also, take the time every couple of months to update your summary. Your business changes … so should your Linkedin profile.

4. Show the world your hot self. Consider adding in your picture so people know what you look like. I know this can be a scary thought for some – but for those of us that were on the front-end of Facebook or MySpace… not including your picture makes you a “shady character.” So, find your most professional mug and update your profile! You will be amazed at how many people will recognize you from your Linkedin profile when they finally meet you in person. TIP: The size of the image Linkedin uses in your profile is 80 px by 80 px. If you want to keep the clarity of your image crisp, create one that size and then upload it.

5. Share your talents and let everyone know what your specialties are; this can be as simple as including what your company focuses on. You can also choose to highlight the areas that interest you most. This information goes right below your profile summary. So, be sure to include what is most important.

6. Get recommendations from at least three individuals within your network. You can obtain these from colleagues, clients, past professors, etc. Then… return the favor. People will be much more willing to draft a recommendation for you if they know they are getting something in return :) Surprise!

So why is it important to complete your Linkedin profile. “Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through Linkedin” – Linkedin. That’s that.

To view my now perfect Linkedin profile, please visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbonanno - and be sure to add me to your network!

Free Google Webinar: Spring Into Action

As a company offering paid search marketing, we often receive updates and event information from Google. Below is an invite for an upcoming webinar hosted by the search engine giant.

Title: Spring Into Action - Online Marketing Tips for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Graduation

Host: Google

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009

When: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST, 10:00 - 11:00 am PST

Presenters: Eric Lopez & Julia Tang, the Google Retail Marketing Team

Description: During this webinar, they will discuss: 1.) Key retail trends around the spring gift giving season. 2.) Marketing tactics and trends to adapt to changing consumer behavior in 2009 and 3.) Building and optimizing effective Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation campaigns.

Register: Click here to register for Google's Spring Into Action Webinar.

Time for the Do Not Direct-Mail List?

Is the end of direct-mail marketing near? Probably not... but that's not to say it isn't taking a serious beating these days.

Although there may always be a need for direct mail advertising, 2008 stats show it is definitely not as popular as it was once. (COUGH - Not a surprise for those of us involved in Internet Marketing.) Direct-mail spending dropped 3% in 2008; costs fell from $58.4 billion in 2007 to $56.7 billion in 2008. That number is expected plummet even further in 2009 to 51.8 billion (9%).



So, what's the cause of this? The long and short of it is that companies are shifting precious funds to "lower-volume, more targeted and higher-value campaigns." Examples of this in the direct-marketing arena are e-mail and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - both of which we're seeing a lot of these days at WSI. If that doesn't satisfy you... blame it on the poor economy, rising postage rates and a cut back in "junk-mail" by banks and credit card companies.

More can be found on the AdvertisingAge in Direct-Mail Spending Down in 2008 and Still Falling.

Sources:
1. A Channel in Transformation: Vertical Marketing Trends in Direct Mail 2009, published by the Winterberry Group.
2. Direct Mail Drop, published by eMarketer.com.

Doctors & Online Reviews

Having just sat down with a client in the healthcare industry seeking advice on utilizing social media tools, I found this article particularly interesting:

Doctors seek gag orders to stop patients' online reviews - by Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press

In the new "Web 2.0 era," brand management should be an essential part of every company's online strategy. Responding to forums, blog comments, user reviews and more is critical to ensuring there is a healthy balance between negative and positive online opinions. As this article mentions, even doctors are being forced to recognize the power of social media with sites such as RateMDs.com.

Personally, I'm not sure exactly where I stand on the issue... but having patients sign a waiver agreement that says they won't post online comments about a doctor seems pretty extreme to me. Something about that just doesn't settle well with me. Maybe it's because I know how beneficial social media can be in regards to the dialog it creates. But, who said doctors really want to hear what their patients think?

Free Web 2.0 Website Tools

While one of our staff members, Justin, was looking for Web 2.0 focused websites he stumbled upon Go2Web20.net. The site is a directory of Web 2.0 websites and what they do.

As I was looking through the list of sites, the following caught my eye as fun and free website tools:

- Website.Grader.com - This free seo tool grades your website using factors such as SEO, traffic, social population and more. It also provides basic tips on improving the marketing power of a site.

- Tynt.com - Tynt's product, Tracer beta, allows you to see what content gets cut and copied most from your site. It also adds an attribution link to mark the content as yours.

- Stimator.com - This was sort of fun... but I still don't understand how they get this. Basically, it puts a dollar number on the value of your website just by inputting your URL. Today, it says our website here is worth $2,813. (I'm going to check back in on this from time to time and see how much it fluctuates since the number is based on the financial market.)

- ClickMeter.com - This website will allow you to track the click throughs on a website. You enter your URL into the site, generate a piece of code, install it and you're on your way.

There are TON more sites on Go2Web20.net... the above are just a few I found interesting. Thanks Justin!

Getting New Customers in a Recession

It's safe to say that most businesses are always looking to do more with less... and during the current economic crisis, this couldn't be more true. Companies want to generate new leads with less money and one of the primary ways they're doing this is through the Internet. More specifically, paid search advertising and search engine optimization have been critical factors in obtaining new customers.

In a recent eMarketer article, they state that search engine marketing is more relevant than ever before.

"It makes sense when you think about it. As tough times force many customers to buy less—and to be pickier about what they do buy—search is becoming ever more important to marketers." - eMarketer

The article highlights four primary areas to focus on 1.) paid search 2.) contextual advertising 3.) paid inclusion and 4.) search engine optimization

So what are these?

Paid search is more commonly known as Pay Per Click Advertising. Simply put, you only pay when a visitor clicks on your ad in a search engine and visits your site. The process is slightly more complicated than that - but that's it in a nutshell. You bid on the keywords and phrases your potential customers are searching for and your ad shows up in the search engine listings. If a visitor sees your ad and clicks in to visit your site, you owe the search engine however much it was that you bid for that keyword/phrase - example: $1.50/click.

Contextual advertising is a targeted form of advertising. Contextual advertising systems scan the copy of a site and input relevant ads based upon the keywords/phrases built in to the text of that site. An example is probably the easiest way to understand this one. A lot of our sports websites use Google AdSense to generate revenue. This is Google's platform for contextual advertising. This is an example from BuckNuts.com - a site for Ohio State sports fans.

Paid inclusion isn't really what I would consider a paid search marketing technique - but I guess it could be. This is where a search engine charges a fee to have a website indexed within it. Indexing a site means that when someone searches for it, it appears in the search engine listings. Both Google and Yahoo have free site submissions. This is a must for search engine optimization. However, there are also paid inclusions. Here is some information on Yahoo's.
The only item open here to still explain is search engine optimization... and I'm tempted to leave that to another day. However, a brief overview goes like this: SEO is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website through natural or organic search results. So, you don't have to pay for placement. Overtime, you utilize a variety of SEO techniques to be seen at the top of the search listings for your keywords/phrases. So, where are organic/natural listings and how can I tell the difference? Those can be found below the sponsored links and are not highlighted or designed as "sponsored."

Some traditional SEO techniques include ensuring meta tags are input properly, optimizing content, images and links, creating an xml sitemap, submitting to directories, enhancing one way links and more.

For more info on search engine marketing, contact WSI.

Ambassador Training Session Held

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to facilitate an Ambassador Training Session for all of the WSI Internet Consultants (ICs) located in the Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The goal of the session was to bring the ICs together to discuss topics such as best practices and lead generation and most importantly to begin networking within our region. Over 20 ICs joined us at the Courtyard by Marriott at the Easton Town Center for the event. We had a great time and look forward to holding similar events in the future.

Columbus Franchise Show a Success

Over the weekend we had the pleasure of representing WSI corporate at the Columbus Franchise & Business Opportunities Expo - February 21st and 22nd.

Lots of great people came to check out the various franchise opportunities available to them. We also met some wonderful exhibitors while we were there, like the guys from Precision Tune Auto Care, Tastee-Freez, and TattleTale.

All our favorite cast members were on hand to help introduce people to the WSI franchise system...

Gene Bonanno


Bonnie Reisland


Jessica Beck


Me


The whole gang...

YBI Makes National News

If you don't already know, our Youngstown office has the pleasure of being located in the Youngstown Business Incubator. That's why we were particularly excited to hear that the National Public Radio featured the YBI on their Feburary 17th morning broadcast.

Heard by over 13 million listeners (including my aunt in New Jersey!), the story focused on the software technology cluster being fostered by the YBI in Youngstown, Ohio. It highlighted some of the organization's key success stories, including Turning Technologies; maker of audience response systems.

Listen to the broadcast now.

Yay for Youngstown!

A Family Operated Business

WSI has an international presence in 87 countries with over 1500 offices worldwide. Fortunately for me, our local office is owned by my father, Gene Bonanno.

I graduated from Mount Union College in May 2006 with a degree in Pre-Law. At that time, I was all set to head off to The University of Akron School of Law... but after one miserable summer in a local law office, I changed my mind and decided to stay at home and work for my dad.

I had been involved with WSI on a part-time basis ever since we opened the doors in June 2005. My choice to stay on full-time was a risky one 3 yrs ago... but it's paying off now. At that time, I knew it was a great opportunity. I could work in a growing industry with an ever-changing landscape and challenge myself with responsibilities most other professionals my age would not have. Most importantly, it would allow me to contribute to an organization in which I had a vested interest. The downside being... it was still a small business in start up mode and working for family generally means working more hours for less.

In the last 3 years, I have been able to work side by side with my to father continually grow our company. We have also added another family member to the staff, my brother - Justin Bonanno - who is key factor in our success.

So, you may be asking why this post? Well, I came across the following article in The New York Times: Resilient in Hard Times: The Family Business. It basically breaks down some important points as to why family owned/operated businesses are better suited for the economic crisis. It's an interesting article in general - but from my perspective, it solidifies why we just keep movin' along. As we often say here, "Failure is not an option."

Franchise Show in Columbus, Ohio on February 21-22, 2009

On February 21 & 22, 2009 our WSI office will be participating as an exhibitor at The Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo in Columbus, Ohio. Details for the two day event are listed below:

Date: February 21 & 22, 2009
Location: Franklin County Veterans Memorial Center, 300 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio
Time: Saturday, February 21, 10am - 5pm, Sunday, February 22, 11am - 4pm
Ticket Information: Tickets are available at the door for $5

For more information, please visit the franchise show website or contact our office at 330.702.8088.

Cleveland Office Established

In our attempt to dominate the state of Ohio (just kidding), we recently announced the opening of our Cleveland office. Our Cleveland Internet Marketing Consultants include industry veterans Bonnie Reisland and Jon Catanese. Contact me for more information on our services and affiliations in the Cleveland market or to speak with Bonnie or Jon.

Cleveland Office:
14837 Detroit Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107-3909

WSI is the #1 Internet Business Franchise

As a local office of WSI, the world's largest Internet consulting firm, we are particularly proud of the recent announcement that WSI has been ranked the #1 Internet Business Franchise for the 9th year in a row by Entrepreneur Magazine!

I blogged about this in December and now it's even more timely, but the current economy is the perfect storm for franchise sales. Our office will be representing the WSI community at a franchise show in Columbus, Ohio on February 21st and 22nd; more information to come in a later post. Whatever your interests may be... now is an ideal time to take a look at and owning your franchise - so stay tuned.

Detailed information about the WSI franchise opportunity can be found on the Entrepreneur website. If you are interested in learning more about a WSI franchise, please contact us directly at 330.702.8088.

30% of Leisure Time Spent Online

According to TNS Global, the US ranks 5th worldwide for the amount of time Internet users spend browsing the Internet. Adults in America spent 30% of their leisure time online in 2008, up from 2007. This number is expected to continue to climb in 2009, as many of those unemployed will use the Internet to search for new jobs or obtain additional training/education.



Ahh, the market the Internet commands.

Columbus Office Established

We recently established a satellite office in Columbus, Ohio. The new office will allow us to better serve clients in that region. Please contact us for more information.

Columbus Office:
1215 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, Ohio 43240-2037
Phone: 866.714.7210
Fax: 888.223.1058

The Numbers Are Coming In...

While the numbers are still coming in, it’s safe to say that online retailers didn’t see the type of growth this holiday season that they were hoping for. comScore states that online sales were down this year; shopping from November 1 through December 23 was 3% lower than last year.

Although many of you may think this is a bad thing, online sales are continuing to rise on an annual basis.



Despite the fact that consumers did not purchase as much online this year as they did last year, they were still browsing. Consumers used the Internet as a research tool comparing prices and learning more about special offers and coupons. Niche sites with specialized products were also very popular this season.