Blogging is like walking, so many don't do it because they can't believe something so easy could be so good for you!

Nearly 50 million Americans visited online Web logs in the first quarter of 2005, according to the "Behaviors of the Blogosphere" report from comScore Networks Inc., a Virginia-based consumer research firm. That's an increase of 45 percent compared with the same period in 2004. Marketers are quickly capitalizing on the growth of this type of consumer-generated media.

The phenomenon of employee blogging as it relates to internal and external corporate communications is the subject of a new study by public relations firm Edelman and Intelliseek Inc.

"Talking from the Inside Out: The Rise of Employee Bloggers" found blogs can help a company position itself in the marketplace, develop personal relationships with customers, improve media relations and assist with recruitment. "While employee and CEO blogs are not silver-bullet solutions, they are viable common channels for many purposes," according to the report

Paid Search Expected to Outpace Display By 2010

ClickZ News By Enid Burns September 20, 2005
Paid search revenues are set to outpace display advertising by 2010, according to a JupiterResearch report forecasting the next five years in the U.S. paid search market.
The category accounted for 34 percent of total online ad spending in 2004, or $4.2 billion in spending. In 2009, paid search will draw even with display advertising, with both bringing in around $6.9 billion. By 2010, paid search, including paid listings and paid inclusion, is expected to equal 40 percent of the online ad spend, or $7.5 billion. Story

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE REASON FOR THIS. ROI.

We all know, people hate change. No one wants to have to start buying media in a brand new way. No one.

So why are they? Because business is all about the bottom line. This approach must be proving to be a more cost effective way to spend these advertising dollars.

Local Search Engine Marketing Works.

Where have you heard this before?

Jumpstart Brings SEM to Local Auto Dealers› › › ClickZ News
By Kevin Newcomb July 11, 2005

Jumpstart Automotive Media, a media agency specializing in marketing programs for auto dealers, has launched a search engine marketing program to drive traffic to local auto dealers.

Jumpstart trafficBUILDER will plan and manage SEM programs for auto dealers, with an emphasis on driving customers in that dealer's local market to its Web site.

"Our main priority is to help our dealers sell cars. There are customers searching online for specific makes and models in every city across America. We want to make sure our dealers get recognized online and help sell their inventory," said Rob Bollinger, SVP of Jumpstart's dealer sales division.

Local dealers can outsource their search campaign management to Jumpstart for a flat fee, which will buy pay-per-click ads on Google, Yahoo!, and other paid search networks. Industry watchers have lauded this kind of simplification of search marketing as a way to get more local businesses to advertise in the medium.

Jumpstart also runs an ad network for automotive site publishers, where it has exclusive relationships to sell ad inventory on sites in its auto channel. It offers both national and local targeting of rich media ad units.

So do we! Check us out. give a call Sacramento... And we are local!

Placement is good, but "clicks" turning into customers is better. Conversion, my Sacramento area business friends, that is what all of this is about.

Posting from a North-bound, Central Sacramento Valley, Amtrak Train - COOL!

Sacramento auto dealers, dentist, doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs... this is good stuff.

According to other studies including the recent 2005 Web2Store Benchmark Survey, the value of those who search online but convert offline is quite high.

The study found for every dollar spent online, the average Web-to-store shopper spends $1.60 offline at local retailers. Nielsen/NetRatings' report found computer hardware was the top online retail category by a wide margin, with an average order size of $584.47. Events and movie tickets came in second at $121.60; and automotive third, with an average order size of $119.23.

Knocking on pretty doors...

Today, I visited nearly 20 Sacramento, Roseville and Rancho Cordova Furniture stores. Wow... Some of these places are really incredible. So well designed, beautiful colors, sounds and fountain filled rooms...me thinks me likes the furniture industry. I was there dropping off advance copies of the Prosper Magazine Blog piece I had done recently on Sacramento furniture stores and their amazing disappearing act when it comes to search engines. I was handing out links to the report...( http://www.eyeballfarm.com/cgi-bin/download.cgi). It will interesting to see what kind of response we get. I know I am not a great writer, but for those who will take the time to dig through the style and understand the opportunity - wow, what a bonanza awaiting them. It was interesting to see the kind of reactions cold-calling still elicits in people. For the most part, those who greeted me were pleasant. (The folks at Consign it Home Furnishings were downright neighborly in fact. I strongly recommend paying them a visit should the need arise.) Others, however, regarded me as if I were speaking of witchcraft. These were sales people treating me rudely for being, well, a sales person I guess! People seem so afraid of change. Weird.