Even in difficult times, companies still have to advertise their products and services. The real question becomes how.

If this article from Bloomberg is any sign, there is a strong indication that companies are increasingly looking at the benefits of marketing along side search results, which benefits Google tremendously:

Advertisers are shifting budgets away from TV and print media toward ads that run alongside search listings, targeting online shoppers. The Internet will account for 8.7 percent of the $284 billion in U.S. ad spending this year, up from 7.2 percent in 2007, according to Barclays Capital.

As the article goes on to state the now familiar refrain – we are indeed in “Uncharted Territory”.

It’s safe to say that this not only applies to the economy directly, but to each and every one of our lives as well.

This has me thinking in a back-to-basics state of mind both personally and professionally.

The interesting question for me is whether or not the Internet has penetrated enough households and lifestyles that it will remain as one of the “basics” of life?

When the Internet bubble burst 7 years ago, I remember people telling me to get out of my line of work… there were those who suggested that the world wide web – as we know it – is going away.

And yet, here I am, like so many of you – still making a living in technology.

Although I would not be surprised to see all sorts of lay offs and cost cutting measures, I cannot yet imagine ever going back to life before the web. It’s funny, because sometimes I find myself trying to explain it to my son, who is now 13, you know… what life was like “way back when”… year by year, it’s getting much harder to do.

Of course, there was Internet before Google, but it’s still good to see that even in this tight economy, Google can prove their value and still make money.

This is especially so for those of us using Google for our own incomes as well!

I ran across this pligg module today that adds a dynamic sitemap to your pligg site…

PatchLog | Xml Sitemaps Pligg module

At first glance, (more…)

From: Google shares plummet after disappointing earnings

“Management said economic turmoil in the United States and parts of Europe appears to be causing consumers to click less frequently on the ads that generate virtually all its profits.”

That’s an interesting statement… I wonder how the economic downturn really effects click rates. I can certainly understand how it would effect actual consumer spending – but I wonder how it effects browsing and click throughs?

I would think, if anything, the economic challenges would have an effect on the types of ads. Which is probably why the article also states ‘Google managers said they expect the Mountain View-based company will thrive even if the economy weakens further.’

That’s the fascinating thing about a company like google – they have all of the data one could imagine – not just static economic data, but live streaming user-behavior data. In other words, as users change their behaviors and habits, it seems to me that google is well position to likewise shift gears and follow the trends.

Did you know that most web analytics programs can tell you what people are searching for when they come to your site from a search engine?

Since so much traffic comes from this source, it’s worth taking the time to research this a bit.

Likewise, did you know that google has a page where you can see broad search trends in near real time?

(more…)