Creating a robust web presence is important now more than ever. A website with top of the line graphics, enough flash to slow even a 15mbps download speed, won’t do you much good if you can’t target clients and increase qualified traffic.

So how do you do this? Create a client-serving site rather than a self-serving site

Start by developing relevant content. Providing value through your content will keep users on your site and show them your worth to their business. Research and get inside your potential client’s thought process.

What are they looking for? How can you solve their problems better than your competition?

Too often, companies focus on what they can do rather than what they can do for potential clients. There is a subtle but important distinction between these statements, and clients can tell the difference.

Next, make your site less complex. Focus on site functionality rather than flashy, complicated set-ups that look cool superficially, but ultimately distract viewers from their purpose. A site that is easy to navigate will result in more page views and more conversions than their flashy counterparts.

Finally, connect with potential clients in the environments they already frequent – like social media sites. The website is no longer the center of the internet universe. It is merely a part of a larger – more fluid – structure where social media sites and search engines connect users to valuable content.

Use this to your advantage by bringing potential clients to your site through social networks. One way to do this is by using social media sites to distribute your site’s content. Create daily blog posts and use Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc. to deliver traffic to your site.

Be sure to deliver valuable content and not a transparent sales pitch. Again, clients can see the difference. If the content you create is valuable and targeted to potential clients they will view more pages and – hopefully- invest in your services or buy your products.

Scott LoSasso, President of LoSasso Advertising, answers questions from the audience and panel moderator Gary Slack of Slack Barshinger at Google offices in Chicago.

In an effort to help traditional advertising agencies understand how to implement search marketing strategies, Google invited a panel of agency experts to share their insights on how they have used search marketing and other online strategies to improve client and agency performance.

Scott LoSasso comments, “I was flattered to be asked to sit on the panel. The past few years have been such an interesting time of change in this industry. We continue to work very hard with our clients and staff to integrate everything we do. It requires a vigilant effort and a fundamental shift in thinking. This was a fun event and I was happy to share some of what we have learned.”

Google offers a full suite of tools for search management, and they are in the process of rolling out new support services to help agencies leverage their platform.

Worldwide Partners, Inc. recently surveyed agency executives about the predicted direction of their clients’ advertising budgets for 2009.

It’s no surprise that many seem pessimistic, but digital marketing seems to be bucking the trend.

The next few years will be quite interesting for marketers. There will be a mad rush to learn how to make the web work harder, and agencies that understand direct response will win out.

A focus on measurement and marketing metrics along with an understanding of multi-variant testing and other direct marketing methods will provide a big advantage over traditional brand marketers.

Survey results show that digital marketing will grow for 62% of marketers in 2009. Given the economy, it is a critical year to do it right.
Don’t you think?

Video: Why Most Interactive Advertising Doesn’t Work

Click Here for Survey Results

As we’ve moved into this protracted period of slow to negative growth, we have talked a lot about how spending allocations must change and how the web has affected the landscape of marketing.

But shifting the focus of the message is equally important.

When people are hurting, they buy differently; they need more value. As marketers, it is key to recognize that value is really all about benefit, not price. The benefits our products deliver are now more important than ever.

The pie is smaller—so fewer will grow. But this is a time when the fight for market share is critically important. The companies that learn how to strengthen their story and interactive approach in 2009 will be the greatest beneficiaries when we pull out of this mess.

This is not a simple task—it requires effort on several fronts, but it is not that complicated either. Step into your customers’ shoes and look at what they need. Align your strengths with their needs and make yourself easy to find. They will be doing more research and buying more carefully. This in itself gives you opportunity.

To find the silver lining in this economy is a real challenge—but if you make the effort to find it, it’s there.

Scott LoSasso, President of LoSasso Advertising in Chicago, discusses marketing planning for 2009. With marketers concerned about the economy, it’s important to make sure that you don’t stop evolving. Online marketing is essential to  positioning your company for growth coming out of the economic slowdown.