I wanted to repost the recent article from Matt McGee posted on Search Engine Land as I believe its very important and extremely relevant to our business. Recently we saw, as I am sure most online marketing companies did, a major change in Google’s Local Listings and what pulls a map up and what does not. We started seeing mixed results and after an initial statement from Google saying that there had been a glitch with a recent upgrade we waited patiently for the fix.

Its seems now that there was no “glitch” and Google actually made a conscious decision to exclude SEO companies and Web Design firms from pulling maps up for local searches. You can jump to the complete article below but this seems hardly a neutral move from the company that can “Do No Evil”. In fact, the very definition of Google’s existence is pure search and that means  no filters, no biases, no favoritism. Hardly seems that way to me.

This article  very interesting as I am sure Google will say that we all still do pull up in Google Local Listings and Google Onebox, its just you have to search a different way and they are right. For example

Before the change – Searching for “online marketing los angeles” would pull up the Google Onebox for local online marketing companies in Los Angeles

After the change – Searching for ” online marketing IN los angeles” now pulls up the same results, no IN, no results.

This seems like a small, insignificant change, but its actually a big deal because it tells us that Google feels like it can control what results to serve you.

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We thought you would like to see how Google is changing. Recently we had a chance to experience some of the changes Google is implementing into is new user interface. We decided to do a short video walkthrough so you can see for yourself and share your thoughts.

Want to test if for yourself? Follow this link for more info –

On October 3, 2009 Softline Solutions with over 500 supporters gathered in Verdugo Park, CA to help raise money for the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR). Attendees were also encouraged to register as bone marrow donors to help expand the registry’s list.’

The event was a success as the Armenian community gathered for a 5k walk-run. Alongside with Softline Solutions, other major contributors included City of Glendale, Glendale Memorial Hospital, and Bank of America. Click here to read more about the event.

Its happening everywhere. Stocks are on the decline, earnings reports are bad, people are being laid off and this is all in big business. So your thinking to yourself how can I possibly weather this economic storm if I’m a small or medium size business without the huge resources of larger companies?

What most news articles and reports don’t mention is that even in the face of cutbacks to marketing budgets most companies turn to online marketing as an efficient and economical way of advertising, generating leads, and driving new sales to their business.

Online marketing can take many different forms, and can mean different things to different business’s. The important thing to understand is that in tough times its the best possible solution you may have to increasing sales even in a tough economy.

So why should you invest in online marketing?

Online marketing not only provides your business the ability to efficiently and effectively target you advertising efforts to specifics groups, it also provides you the ability to maximize your ROI and adjust your approach in almost real time. The reason why many large companies increase their online marketing budgets in tough times is because they are able to analyze what they are spending down to the smallest detail and can tell whether its working very quickly.

Direct Mail and other forms of traditional marketing simply cant offer that. You can mail out 10000 flyer’s and hope the most people look at them before they throw it away and some people actually respond, but its really hit or miss. Turn to email marketing however and now you can target 10000 people via email, know that your email will end up in their inbox, understand exactly how many people took the time to view, know if they actually clicked through to your site, and track them through every point of the transaction. Not to mention its a fraction of the cost of direct mail and you can adjust and target your campaign overnight not weeks later.

This is just one example of how online marketing can recession proof your marketing iniatives. The list goes on from Paid Search Listings, Local Optimization, and website enhancements that can all drive more sales, leads, business, or traffic to your site with the ability to track every detail.

Corporations discovered the advantages of these techniques a long time ago, now small and medium business is getting into the game and if you have considered it yet I seriously suggest you take another look.

It could be the difference between weathering the economy and growing your busines, or getting beaten down by the economic storm.

Your company has experienced incredible growth over the last decade due to the incredible increase in connectivity and information sharing abilities of the internet.  Your online sales have increased, your overall growth has increased, but at the same time your finding it increasingly difficult to manage customer satisfaction both off and online. While offline customer satisfaction has more of a one to one experience its the online portion that’s really got you worried.

You see, in the online world, its not really a one to one relationship. Rather, one unsatisfied customer can translate into a wave of criticism, negative press, blog posts, forum comments, and much more that can not only hurt your company’s reputation but also hurt your pocket book.

Lets face it, the internet has presented you with huge opportunities and potential for your business that you never imagined but at the same time you worried because managing your brand, customer satisfaction, and your reputation is a whole new animal online.

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