In our current economic challenged times, you may be trying to cut every corner possible, and while that’s one way to save money, in marketing, you may choose to take a different approach. Small businesses oftentimes stay in business because they have something unique to offer. Why not take that one step further and ask yourself what’s your specialty?

One thing I’ve noticed is that while many businesses are hurting, others are thriving. Why? They have what people want. And believe it or not, not all customers are looking for the cheapest Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or a specialty service.

What products or services do you get the most feedback on? What gets the most word of mouth advertising? That’s your niche. Take the time to develop that area of your business and then watch the results. Do you notice a response?

Consider starting a second website just for your specialty line. If you’ve learned a lot about search engine optimization (SEO), you may welcome to chance to create a website from ground up–choose your domain name based on your niche service or product and with specific keywords that set you apart from your competition–and then post your website on search directories. Remember, you can link between the two sites and point to content you’ve created that features both sites.

It’s ironic, but it just might work. Instead of tightening the reigns, narrow your focus.
Promote what you do really well.
Market to the segment of the market you fit,
You may just find that your small business will begin to flourish–by specialized marketing.

Small business websites can benefit from including government sources in their content.
There’s plenty of public domain information, and you’ll be surprised to find relevant content that your readers will find helpful. Updating your webpage with content and important keywords is the fastest way to improve your rank on search engines.

But what about copyrights?
Much of the information is public domain and copyright free.
Public domain government sources are generated with your tax dollars–so you have every right to access this content.

Do a search on public domain government sites and you’ll find a vast array of subjects such as transportation, maps, psychology, photos, statistics, education, finance, engineering, art and entertainment, and the list goes on…

Some uses for public domanin, government sources are: for marketing research, as a statistic to prove a specific trend, as fun facts, or for data gathering in a particular area or field.

One word of warning: Some information is outdated and can be riddled with errors or biased opinions–not that other web content articles don’t contain similar discrepencies–but check the facts and strive to be as accurate as possible.

Look for copyright and permission notices on U.S. Federal Government publications and websites, but if you don’t find one, don’t assume there isn’t one.

You can check public domain use by visiting the Copyright & Intellectual Property Working Group (CENDI).

Many government sources offer articles, statistics, and graphs written directly on a webpage or placed in an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

If you find information you’d like to use that’s in a PDF file, you should consider converting them to a webpage. Why?

Because Web pages load quicke
You can place a liink from that document directly to your site
Keywords are picked up by search engines in web pages
PDF files don’t rank well on search engines

Some government sites that aren’t public domain are:

The U.S. Postal Service is exempt (you may not use).
Some governmental works were writen by private individuals and companies and are copyright protected.
Certain governmental organizations such as the NTS (National Technical Information Service) has a five-year copyright protection, so check the dates.

Sounds like a lot of rules? Not really. Not when compared to the mammoth amount of information available.

By doing a simple search on public domain content, you can find great information for your small business website, build content, and improve your website ranking.

Linkage is no doubt the most important component of building Internet exposure for your small business website. Google, Yahoo!, MSN and other search engines determine the ranking of your site, in large part, based on how many people link to your website.

Launching a linkage campaign means you’re serious about requiring links and you’ve made a plan. There are less than scrupulous ways to achieve links, but there are also methods to acquiring good links–and search engines will take notice.

Small businesses need to focus on building a reputable online presence.

What most people don’t know is that there are many benefits to a linkage campaign that reach far beyond simply gaining links.

The Benefits of a Linkage Campaign:

• You find other similar sites, which lets you know who your competition is.
• You find out what other businesses are doing right–and wrong.
• You are introduced to the web community and can begin online networking.
• You can find and connect with partner programs and other promotional avenues.
• A linkage report is stored as an HTML file and becomes your map to other key sites.

Behind each link is a website, and behind each website is a media contact. Over time, you start to communicate with each other, may even meet each other at a convention, and these connections can alter the course of your career. You never know what may happen in the future, and keeping lines of communication open benefits everyone. Hey, you never know when you might be looking for a job!

Start solid and strive to add 3 new links a week. Send simple emails, appropriately referred to as “link letters,” and compliment their site–and ask to be added as a link and tell them you’ll reciprocate. Create a links page on your website. Then, follow up–no one likes being used. Consider an email update or exchange of an e-newsletter as a courtesy call–remember those? When a sales person would actually stop by and chat? It’s the same principle.

Your linkage campaign is based on consistency. As a small business owner, you give yourself a huge advantage by linking with others and utilizing this great networking tool.

Small business marketing isn’t as tough as you think if you use the Rule of Seven to help promote your business and as a gauge for what works and what doesn’t.

The basic premise of the Rule of Seven is derived from sales and advertising circles and is based on the principle that it will take at least five to seven exposures before someone may act on your ad and even begin to consider your product or services.

Why? The Rule of Seven Works on two principles: trust and validation.

Consumers are hit with so many ads, so many pressured sales call that has left them jaded and skeptical.

They also want what I call the “me too” factor.

How many times have you watched a fad product pick up momentum because of word of mouth? In your own office someone might have tried a new gym up the street. Within a month, four more of your employees have tried it out and two have signed on. That’s the “me too” factor. Yes, it’s word of mouth advertising, but it’s also that momentum effect that someone else validated it first—so it must be a good thing, right?

In group dynamics, psychologists have found that a newcomer isn’t accepted as “one of the gang” until they’ve attended seven times—in a row.

Consistency goes hand-in-hand with validity.

Does this mean that just because your ad ran in the hometown magazine for seven straight months that you’re going to be inundated with calls? Not necessarily.

How to Make the Rule of Seven Work for You:

• Consider your audience and how best to reach them. If you have a “young” product, then social networking, e-newsletters, and video ads are smart choices. If your product or services leans toward a slightly older demographic, then incorporate mailers, phone call follow-ups, and senior discounts—but don’t forego emails and e-newsletters since many 50+ clients utilize the Internet. Don’t waste those valuable ad dollars when it doesn’t match your market.

• Keep track of your efforts. How will you know what’s working or not working if you don’t have it all laid out where you can view and consider your efforts? Consider offering a 10% discount for filling out a short questionnaire on how your customer found you and what they like about your services.

• Know when to mix it up and when to stay focused. If you’ve run a local ad four times, bite the bullet and run it four or six more times. Momentum takes time. Let your audience see you everywhere. Try that approach for at least seven if not ten, twelve times, and then switch tactics—blitz one area where you saw a blip of results.

The Rule of Seven is just a catchy name for consistency.

Small business marketing is about proving to your customers that you’re worth checking out.

The entire point of marketing your small business is to bring in sales. So, is your marketing campaign working?

There are a lot of mistakes that you might be making, but as long as you have the basics down, you should be able to see higher sales. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind for your marketing.

Know your target audience. If you created a product without anyone specific in mind, you`ll probably make a few sales, but nothing like you would if you focused on a very specific portion of the market.

Understand your competition. Ignoring the competition isn`t going to give you any edge, so be sure you pay attention to this area. By looking at what they are doing, you can adjust accordingly for better marketing.

Marketing isn`t just about blindly advertising, it requires strategy, so be sure to understand what you`re doing and why you are doing it.

Just because your business is already up and running doesn`t mean you should stop all market research. It`s very important to know your audience at all times, especially since it could end up changing. For example, it is quite possible that your target audience made the switch from VHS to DVD, which would change the way they look at things and what they buy.

You can never have too much information about your target market. Every little bit helps you make connections with them and it`s far easier to promote your business if you have done your market research and know precisely what people are looking for from you. Give them what they want, solve their problems and you`ll end up with a very successful business.

Market research is commonly thought of as something you do before you set up your business and this is certainly when it is most important. However, you need to keep in mind that this is not the only time that you will need to find out about your target audience, so don`t leave market research by the wayside!

When you were first working out the details of your business, chances are you did some market research. The majority of business owners check out whether or not people would be willing to purchase their products before they actually start the business and these are often the most successful businesses.

However, if you really want to succeed, it`s a good idea to stay in touch with your market and know what they need each step of the way. If you are able to stay abreast of new developments in the market, you can easily respond and alter your products or service to fit the new need.

Market research is something that needs to be done on a continual basis. It will let you increase your business and when something no longer works, you`ll know where to turn next. This is a vital part of building your business, so don`t just assume that since you did it once, marketing research is over and done with.

Using market research will help you keep your business up to speed and full of clients.

Most people avoid forums like the plague when marketing, but there are those who plunge in headfirst, posting blatant ads everywhere. Neither of these two groups reaps many benefits from the very useful arena of forums.

You see, if you use them right, forums can be your best marketing ticket. You just need to make sure that you are presenting information, not a hard sell. People usually head to forums to find support and advice, so if you provide that, you can also mention your business when appropriate, or include it in your sig line.

The trick is to be a contributing member of the community. If you think of it in real world terms, a door-to-door salesman is like those who spam the forums, only there to sell. On the other hand, if you get a recommendation from a friend who has given good advice in the past, you`ll be far more likely to buy.

Being that good, helpful friend in forums will help you make the connections necessary to market.

Do you have a logo for your business? While most offline businesses tend to think of a logo right off the bat, the majority of small internet-based businesses neglect this aspect of marketing. It`s a very important part of branding.

What do you think of when you see the golden arches? Of course, McDonalds . . . that is a symbol that is recognized around the world . . . no sign necessary. What about the swoosh symbol for Nike? Or the leaping cat for Puma? These are logos that have been very successfully used to promote the business behind them and people are recognizing these brands everywhere.

Having a logo will help trigger recognition in your clients` minds. When they see your logo, they`ll instantly think of your services or products. Which is precisely what you want them to think of. A logo is part of the marketing process and it really does help to include this in your graphic design.

When you build your first website you may not know exactly what it takes get traffic. The first step to any online endeavor is research - keyword research.

Keywords are important because they tell you what people are searching for online. It does no good to optimize your website for terms that no one uses in a search query. A good keyword research effort can give you much of the information you need to begin your Internet marketing, and especially building your first website.

By conducting keyword research you’ll find out how many search queries for important keywords are conducted each month, how many websites currently are optimized for those keywords, and useful synonyms for the words you want to target. That’s valuable information and if you are wise then you will listen to it. Start with keyword research or don’t bother.