Economic downturn = offline advertising (unmeasurable) spend down, online marketing (measurable) spend up?

That’s what a lot of people seem to be saying [here and here]. But not me.

Not entirely anyway. I can see online marketing spend increasing in line with the already forecasted increases, but in terms of a higher jump because of the downturn no.

This week on my Drapers blog you can find out how Jordan/Katie Price can market her equestrian clothing range online.

I’ve put together some tactics that businesses can do, without the help of an SEO team, to help their search engine rankings.

Read them here on the Score Communications website.

Seth Godin thinks we should tip websites we like by clicking on adverts.

His heart may have been in the right place but the recommendation didn’t go down well with many in the online marketing world.

Here are some alternative ways you can tip a website that you like.

Bookmark it
Return
Digg/Delicio.us/Furl the link
Add it to your Facebook
Email/Send the link to a friend
Send the URL to your friend
Link to it from your own blog
Write about it on a forum/message board
Tell your friend about it
SMS is to your friend

Are adverts the new online tip jar? Seth Godin thinks so. Apparently if we read something online that we like we should say thank you by clicking on an ad.

On his blog Seth says…

“If you like what you’re reading, click an ad to say thanks.”

In the view that the company or blogger will pocket your click cost from the advertiser.

But LEON Bailey Green says…

“If you like what you’re reading, keep coming back. And click on an advert IF you like it.”

So what are the effects of the visitor, webmaster and advertiser?

Read my article ‘How else can Google ascertain relevancy?’ on E-Consultancy.

This week on E-Consultancy I asked the question ‘Is the role of the SEO dead and should PRs own natural search?’.

There’s been much talk in meedja circles about UKTV’s rebrands for three of its main channels, UKTV Gold (GOLD), UKTV Gold+1 (Watch) and UKTV Drama (Alibi), but little mention of how the brands will work online.

All three channels quite rightfully have unique identities, although I do think UKTV should have stuck to the formula of having an overall brand feel so viewers know the channels belong to the same family.

I say that with my online marketing head on as that strategy would have allowed UKTV to offer a marketable web presence which houses content to complements the programmes, video on demand and community features.

1. You’re website’s been dropped by Google (BMW)
2. You’ve dropped in rankings (GoCompare)
3. A uncomplimentary website is bidding on paid search for your brand name
4. A competitor is bidding on paid search for your brand name
5. A bad news story ranks for your brand name (British Airways)

Self styled commercially focused search engine marketing agency Maven Metrics was set up last year by Lucie Follet.

I caught up with Lucie to get her thoughts on the search marketing industry, why she has set up automotive parts websites and her plans for new bottled water company Sip’s online marketing campaign.

Maven Metrics is described as being commercially focused. How do you think this approach makes Maven Metrics different to other search marketing agencies?

The main difference with us is that we have worked in other, highly commercial and competitive environments – specifically non-marketing, ‘non meedja’ industries. In my own case, I worked in Investment Banking as a Japan equity sales/analyst until 2002 and also operate my own niche websites which I use as a test bed for hands-on work for any tips or advice I find in blogs and forums.

This combination of being commercial and hands-on is unusual and not always found in larger agencies. It’s not uncommon to find individuals working in SEO and especially web analytics who are so hung up on terms such as ‘conversion rate’ or ‘measuring engagement’ or the anthropological nature of blog networks that they have forgotten the commercial purpose to the website and how this relates to the bottom line – it has become totally abstract and a mere blip on an excel sheet.

I personally find this quite alarming.

With everyone apparently “feeling the pinch” discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have seen year on year sales rise by 13% and 20% respectively.

It’s the perfect time for Aldi and Lidl to increase marketing activity. With more of their shoppers coming from the middle classes, how can they market themselves to attract more of these affluent shoppers?

Isn’t it horrible when search engines crawl your website when it’s down (1)?

Read my articles on the Drapers Maximising Revenue Through Online Fashion Retailing conference.

‘Being relevant’.

‘Search engine traffic’.

‘Trust’.

Continuing the family theme from my previous post on celebrity relatives (Kardashian vs Lohan), I thought I would show you an example of how one celebrity sibling, Danielle Brown, is using her Spice Girl sister Mel B’s name to attract attention for her own business online.

Danielle Brown, sister of Mel, former Emmerdale actress and some time OK! magazine feature, is sponsoring the keyphrase ‘mel b’ in Google’s search results.

This means every time someone searches for ‘mel b’ they are presented with an advert for Danielle’s events management company Danielle Brown Events. If someone clicks on that ad to the website, Danielle pays a small fee to Google.

You may know James Layfield as one of the youngest ever Managing Directors in Richard Branson’s Virgin group.

James, named in the Top 30 under 35 UK Entrepreneurs by Growing Business Magazine, caught the entrepreneurial bug from Richard Branson and went on to found youth marketing agency The Lounge Group.

The best marketing agencies understand their client’s clients. With a network of 8,000 under 35’s, The Lounge Group has the upper hand on devising campaigns that work to the youth market.

In this interview I ask James what he learned from working with Richard Branson and how The Lounge Group fills a gap in the market.

You once worked alongside Richard Branson. Did any aspect of working for Richard’s Virgin group inspire you to set up The Lounge Group?
As Branson’s youngest ever MD I definitely learnt a few things. I was inspired by his ability to trust and give responsibility to good people, he taught me to have the confidence to bring in people to the businesses that are better than me.