Businesses of all sizes get taken by a bad breed of online marketing firms that shamelessly over promise and under deliver.

These fly-by-night SEO ‘experts’ lurk in the darkest corners of the Web, many under the cloak of anonymity, preying on businesses that seek a competitive edge on the ever-expanding Internet.

Unfortunately, many fall victim because they don’t do adequate research, and buy into hyped-up sales pitches packed with unachievable promises. When all’s said and done, they are left with sub-standard services, products and results — if anything at all.

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Webcopyplus recently completed an interesting project for B.C. Lions legend Jamie Taras, who’s taken his winning ways from the field to the boardroom with Team Taras.

Taras offers an incredibly unique team building event at B.C. Place Stadium. You and your colleagues get to partake in an inspiring session, which includes on-field team training amongst the football players and cheerleaders. To top it off, you get to cheer the team on to victory.

A spectacular way to take a break from the office and motivate your team!

As Web 2.0 pulls the rug out from under news distribution monopolies, its interactive element will likely tune in millions more online users.

Not only are more people using the Internet each year (currently 1.17 billion globally, up 225 per cent from 2000), people are naturally drawn by its increasingly interactive nature. The opportunity to participate, even if not acted on, is engaging in itself.

Indeed, Web 2.0 allows users to discuss and influence precisely what’s near and dear to their hearts.

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The LA Times recently published an article, in which it compares Google to Osama bin Laden. It seems Google’s plans to let users comment on aggregated news has some editors and journalists edgy. But as long as they do their jobs and publish objective and complete articles, they have nothing to fear.

I wrote the following letter to the LA Times editor in response to the article:

Welcome to Web 2.0, LA Times, where consumers and the public at large get a say.

Surely, providing Google users forums to comment on news stories will result in some biased and uninformed viewpoints, but it’ll also keep editors and journalists on their toes.

For if you don’t do your job, and produce biased or incomplete articles, there will be a newly empowered body ready to call you on it.

Site after site, poor web copywriting continues to obstruct user experience. The problem is most businesses and organizations tend to treat copywriting as an afterthought.

While reading a newsletter posted by Icograda, I was directed to a poll with the following copy:

Current Opinion

State your opinion. Share your views. Vote on the weekly Opinion poll. Then view the collective results. Just click the check box beside your selection, then click on the “Vote” button.

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Robert Kiyosaki’s ‘Before you quit your job’ takes you up several hundred feet to get an unobstructed perspective on what separates employees (who seek security) and entrepreneurs (who seek freedom). Moreover, the Rich Dad book reveals everything from how to deal with mental roadblocks to how to position yourself in your chosen industry.

Regardless where you’re at with your entrepreneurial endeavors, this book is worth picking up. While it sometimes overlaps Kiyosaki’s original ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ book, it contains several valuable gems.

StrawberryFrog, a global agency with offices in Amsterdam and New York, recently blogged about the impact and future of consumer-generated content.

Tori Winn, Digital Executive Creative Director at StrawberryFrog, gave her take on the future of consumer-generated content, concluding the future is bright.

Indeed, the emergence of consumer-generated content is rapidly empowering consumers. That’s a good thing, and it’s here to stay.

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Google has unleashed a Local Business Referrals program to tighten its stranglehold on Internet yellow pages (IYP) companies such as YellowPages.com.

To improve its local results, Google is paying Business Referral Representatives to canvas local businesses to collect information, such as hours of operation, and take digital photos of the establishments. The representatives get up to $10 (U.S.) for each approved and verified referral. You can sign up here.

Google tells candidates: “…you’ll be helping the businesses you refer attract new customers while also making it easier for people in your community to find the products and services they’re searching for.”

Long-established directories that have been struggling to stay relevant in the rapidly progressing search engine industry may see the already significant gaps widen. Late last year, comScore reported Google garnered 29.8 per cent of local searches by U.S. Internet users compared to just 3.9 per cent by YellowPages.com.

While competitors and Internet marketers will be studying Google’s Local Business Referral Referrals program closely, one thing’s for sure: the pace of the IYP/local search race is heating up and the offerings are going to get better.

Advantage: consumers, local businesses and, of course, advertisers.

While visting Seth Godin’s newest blog, which promotes his latest book, The Dip, I was moved by a magnificent opera performance by an unassuming mobile phone salesman.

Paul Potts, who confessed to having confidence challenges, earned a standing ovation within seconds of his performance and blew away the American Idol/ Britian’s got Talent judges. He went on to the finals and won the entire competition.

Regardless what business you’re in, this will prove to be an inspiration. Watch it here. It’s four minutes well spent.

Another Gem in the Rough

And here’s another moving performance. They laughed, and then they cried.

Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old that “wants to be a singer,” sings Les Miserables’ I Dreamed A Dream on Britain’s Got Talent.

Watch her blow the audience and judges away.

Watch Out for that Kid, Susan!

After Simon Cowell cut Shaheen Jafargholi’s initial song short, the 12-year-old dazzled Britian’s Got Talent’s judges and audiences with a soulful version of Michael Jackson’s Who’s Loving You.

Following Shaheen’s performance, Simon tells him: “This is how one song can change your life. And this may be the start of something special for you, young man.”

See Shaheen here.

Businesses are starting to recognize it’s not the volume of online traffic, but the quality that counts.

Good traffic comprises relevant visitors who are likely to fulfill a desired action on your website, whether it’s to make a purchase, e-mail or call, subscribe to a newsletter or what have you.

Poor traffic, even in extraordinary amounts, is a waste of bandwidth. No matter how impressive the numbers, the wrong crowd won’t bring you desired results.
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