Canadian Business’ Paul Brent recently suggested in Dewing It Alone that the power of social networks could render traditional marketing departments obsolete. It certainly seems to be putting the nail in the coffin.

Marketing spend is rapidly shifting online as businesses are realizing they can get more bang and reach through the Internet. To be sure, the Internet has already killed the old music institution and transformed TV. Case in point: the appeal and effectiveness of traditional 30-second commercials are fading fast, and new players and methods are taking over.

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Thanks to the Internet, businesses no longer need to outspend their competitors to outperform them on the marketing front. Small companies can go toe-to-toe with established, deep-pocketed enterprises, virtually overnight.

But how? By leveraging the value a well-versed website designer brings to the table. Regardless of a business’ size or industry, a proficient website designer can help:

• Achieve a desired image and appeal to specific markets
• Enable prospects and customers to quickly find relevant information and easily complete tasks
• Build a customer base and increase leads, sales and revenues

Oddly, businesses frequently fork over significant marketing budgets to PR firms, radio, TV, and print publications. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, businesses spend about $400 billion on advertising annually, much of the money going to traditional channels, like television commercials. However, when it comes to their website — the marketing hub that pulls all marketing operations together — business owners often tighten the purse strings.

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Someone in the printing business recently suggested to me websites are “overrated.” I was blown away. A website is not just a piece of the marketing pie; it’s the actual hub that connects all the marketing strategies and tactics, online and offline.

Regardless what business or industry you’re in, websites have evolved into the base of operations, where prospects and clients inevitably go to gain product, service, and company information.

Of course, other marketing elements play a role: postcards, e-mails, PR, commercials and much more. But these sources frequently push people to a website. Even TV commercials are trading in 1-800 numbers for website addresses.

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The article Web copy motivators notes fear is a powerful influential factor on and off the Web. But, as Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive notes, it can also be counter-productive.

Research has demonstrated that fear-arousing communications usually stimulate the audience to take action to reduce the threat. However, Author Robert Cialdini explained, “When the fear producing message describes danger but the audience is not told a clear, specific, effective means of reducing the danger, they may deal with the fear by ‘blocking out’ the message or denying it applies to them.”

As a result, they may be paralyzed into taking no action at all.

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Marketing intelligence is important, but so is practical intelligence.

Marketing intelligence comes from gathering information on business and competition. This intelligence helps businesses understand a market, so it can develop sound strategies and develop customer relationships.

You’ve gained valuable knowledge. You’ve got a high IQ. Fantastic! But what you do with it relies on practical intelligence.

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Google will soon be unveiling a new search architecture called Google Caffeine, which promises to be faster, and bring users social media updates in real time.

From an SEO perspective, it will reportedly inject a new ranking factor into the algorithm — website speed. As a result, Google will be pushing faster sites higher in the search results, whereas slower sites will find it harder to rank.

On that front, here’s an insightful article you might want to check out: Website Performance: What To Know and What You Can Do.