Here’s how it could work. Let’s say you have been tasked with finding and purchasing new shirts for your company’s softball team. The players on this team are known for being a bit persnickety, and the white t-shirt with the company logo will not do. So, you begin searching the web for a design that provides function and fashion.

You start by trying to settle on a style. Your search query is “softball t-shirts”. After searching through a number of basic, uninspired sites, you find a site that offers hundreds of different styles and colors. Perfect. Now you need to get a logo idea.

Your next search query is “softball logos”. After compiling a number of logo options, you send them out for the team to vote on. Three weeks later, when all the votes are in, you have your new shirt design.

Now, it’s time to order your shirts. Your final search query, “create custom softball shirts”, provides you with a daunting list of sites offering custom designs and graphics. Now, if you could only remember that site you came across three weeks ago. Oh, well. Looks like the white t-shirt will have to do.

How could Google stars change this? Well, when you performed your first search for “softball t-shirts”, if you had Google stars enabled, you could have “starred” that site you found. Then three weeks later, when you searched for “create custom softball shirts”, that site could have shown up above the regular search results with a star by it.

So, who will Google stars impact? It will impact sites that position well, provide a good user experience and have the ability to quickly impact users in a positive way. Does that sound like your site?

When it comes to your marketing strategy, don’t get stuck on an island.

Yes, it sounds cheesy, but hear me out. What I’m basically saying is that from time to time it pays to step back and take a look at the big picture. Take a look at your marketing strategy and ask yourself what’s working, what’s not and whether there any areas of your business that could benefit from additional marketing efforts. There are a variety of exciting, new marketing methods available to businesses today, but not everyone is utilizing these channels to reach their existing and potential audiences.

So what do I mean when I say, “Don’t get stuck on an island”? I’m talking about not being afraid to try new marketing initiatives and not focusing so much on a single marketing effort. Sure, a single method might be working like gangbusters for you and that’s great. You should continue to pursue it. Just don’t be afraid to try something new. Perhaps you’ve already established your business in its specific natural search space. But have you thought about branching out into social media? Maybe you’ve promoted your business through PPC for years and have never given much thought to your site’s natural presence in the engines, or the site’s design and how it might be affecting your user experience. Some SEO or design work might be just the thing you need to establish yourself in the natural space.

The overall lesson here is that there’s a lot of opportunity out there. While your current efforts might be working great, if you don’t take some time every once in a while to look at your total marketing strategy, you may find that you’ve also become stranded on a veritable marketing-island. And monsters or not, that sounds a little scary to me.

As a digital marketer, 99.9 percent of communication with clients is done through either email or phone. This leaves no room to pick up on body language, hand gestures or other nonverbal cues. As a result, it’s imperative that we constantly confirm and validate the words of our clients.

With an arsenal including web design, SEO, PPC, app development, social media and more, we have quite a few creative and technical minds within the Oneupweb office. However, experience and creativity go out the window if there’s a listening breakdown during the early stages of a client needs assessment. When you combine strong listening skills with creativity and experience, you lay the foundation to not only deliver a bull’s-eye proposal, but to also exceed expectations and goals.

At Oneupweb, we pride ourselves on being strong listeners with integrated solutions. Based on what we learn about your company, we’re not afraid to tell you that what you’re looking for may not be the best solution. You may be looking at one channel and we may propose three. And you can bet that one of those channels will be social media.

Social media provides one of the ultimate channels to listen to your customers—like an online focus group. We’re going to listen to you and then we’re going to help you listen to your clients. As fundamental as listening may be, it’s probably the weakest skill across any position within an organization.

When it comes to decisions based on price alone, you get what you pay for. Try to find that agency that makes you say, “Wow, they were really listening.”

When you read something online, are you sure you’re getting all the facts? I can’t tell you how many times a relative has sent me an e-mail saying something along the lines of, “The government is going to take away your right to speak English and your first born if you don’t stand up and fight for gun rights.” Really? With a little extra effort they would have found that the government would have only really taken their first born.

On the contrary, Oneupweb’s website states, “Cutting edge digital marketing is no longer a luxury reserved for the big brands.” And this is 100% correct and truthful.

My point is this: it is a proven, fabricated fact that 67% of statistics are made up on the spot. As you read through my blog post, you probably thought that everything I posted would be accurate information when really, the statement made by Oneupweb was the only true one. The point is that when you read anything on the internet that could have an affect on important decisions, it is always a good idea to find other sources of information that back it up. Now, I cannot give you a list of sites to run your information through, but you can double-check your facts against other credible sites.  Just make sure it’s not the same regurgitated article, blog or forum that you originally found.

Choosing the right design agency to manage your creative and marketing efforts is a daunting task. And I think it’s safe to assume that finding an agency that you can build and grow a working relationship with is ideally what you want to find.

But first, there are a few things you must do to get yourself ready. Before you even start scouring the internet for a compatible design agency, you must figure out exactly what you want—it’s time to create a brief. This is done in order to clarify things, including the message you want your brand to relay, the purpose behind the project, your target audience and of course, your tentative budget. Having these things established will help you communicate better with whichever agency you choose to work with.

After you’ve created your brief, it’s time to determine what you’re looking for in a creative agency. What factors are most important to you? Is it location, experience, company culture, a well-rounded portfolio—all of the above? Whatever it may be, establishing a few guidelines detailing what you’re looking for in a design agency will aid you in your search to find the right one.

When you find an agency that sparks your interest, be sure to refer back to those qualifying factors (location, experience, company culture, etc) you had initially established. If this agency lives up to those standards, there are a few more things you should look for before contacting them, including:

• Portfolio
  Check out their portfolio. Are they offering a wide range of creative services? Are the pieces well executed and void of spelling errors and funky photoshop disasters? Does the copy make sense and match the imagery and style? Is the style aimed at the right audience? For example, using kittens and puppies in an ad selling hot rods to middle-aged men most likely isn’t the appropriate approach. And don’t overlook the details. You can usually tell if a design firm is credible by closely examining their work. Do they have a good handle on typography? Is there a sense of hierarchy? Keeping all of these things in mind will help give you a little more insight into what type of work a creative agency is capable of.

• Accessibility and Web Standards
  Take a look at their site on multiple browsers (Firefox, IE and Safari are fine for starters). Does it look right? Be sure the company practices good web standards. And it might be a good idea to ask a friend who is web savvy to be sure their code doesn’t look like spaghetti (they’ll know what you’re talking about). Syntax is the discipline that exams the grammatical rules and structural patterns that a web developer should adhere to when writing code for a site. A company that takes web standards into account is usually on the right track.

• The Future
  Do they offer services that are essential for growing a business? Can they offer you other services besides web design, such as print, point-of-purchase, media planning/buying, copywriting, and public relations? Hiring an agency that can provide a variety of services might be your best bet.

Once you find an agency that fits your standards, go ahead and give them a call. Pay attention to how they answer the phone and how they treat your request or questions. Be sure that you feel comfortable and at ease when communicating with them.

Choosing a creative agency is not an easy task. Be sure to take the time to find the right fit for your needs. And do your homework—you’ll be glad you did.

Except, it’s not just any other rag. Ask anyone who has seen the infomercial, the reason we’ve all heard of it can be attributed to one thing—marketing.

The ShamWow was rated the number one infomercial of all time by CNBC. Truth be told, infomercials are a bit annoying. But that fact aside, they’re effective. And here are five reasons why.

1. They tell a story. And often, they give the background of how the product was developed. It’s usually the same story. An average person stumbles across a way to improve an average product. Take the Snuggie, for example. Blankets have been around longer than any of us have been alive. So what makes this blanket so unique? It has sleeves.

2. They demonstrate how the product works. They prove it’s the best thing ever, and it’s something that will make our lives better.

3. They infuse customer testimonials. Infomercials often feature customers telling customers that this product works.

4.They provide a specific offer. Example: “Buy 1 Snuggie™ Blanket with a Free Book Light for $19.95 + $7.95 P&H, and receive a 2nd Snuggie™ Blanket in the same color & a 2nd Book Light for FREE! Just pay an additional $7.95 P&H!” Right to the point.

5. They provide an immediate call to action. And there is always an incentive for customers to buy now. “Call and order in the next sixty seconds, and we’ll double your order!” You know the routine.

Any marketer trying to sell a product or service can learn from infomercials—whether it’s how to do it right, or wrong. So the next time you’re setting up a campaign—take a second to think about those famous infomercials we all know.

Or on second thought, contact Oneupweb and let us do the thinking for you. We’re relentless digital marketers—and growing businesses is what we do best.

Now, I could go all faux-philosopher on you and start blabbing away about the calendar year being an artificial construct and, as such, what difference does a new year make, but, yawn, who needs to hear all that? Plus, duh. All I know is this—there’s no better way for me to ensure January is a month filled with disappointment than to make even marginally far-reaching resolutions. Unless my follow-up resolution is to fail to keep any previous resolution, well, I’ll fail. I blame my lizard-brain, the lump on the top of my brain stem that basically just needs whatever regardless of any consequences.

I see the power of the animal urge evidenced every day in our dog, Charlie. Charlie knows, for example, certain things are off limits. Like, say, the fish food. For the most part, Charlie’s dog-conscience, paired with our vigilance, enables him to keep himself from trying to get the fish food. Charlie’s dog-conscience is of a tentative nature, however, because it sure didn’t stop Charlie from eating an entire bag of algae tablets after they fell on the floor. Was he ashamed? You bet. Did he feel guilty? In the way dogs feel guilt, which is to say, fleetingly. Will he refrain from eating another bag of bottom-feeding fish food if he finds it within reach and he’s not being watched, despite the fact that they’re made of freaking algae? No way. Were Charlie to make a resolution, any resolution, it would be broken before he knew he was breaking it.

Our (“our” consisting of me and Charlie) gift to you this year, then, is this advice: make your online marketing resolutions those of the shooting fish in a bucket variety. Kill multiple birds with one rock. Reassess the tree from which you’ve plucked the low-hanging fruit, and see if you missed some. (I’d resolved to use fewer cliches this year. See how that went?) Given the fact that we’ve either just been through or are still enduring a relatively serious recession, it’s not unusual to need to make every marketing dollar count. Plan accordingly. If you’re planning a site redesign, take advantage of the fact that you’ll have the hood up and schedule a usability assessment—it’s way easier to make changes when the IT team’s already dedicated. If you need your SEO spruced up, keep in mind that title tags are at once relatively easy to construct while still being one of the most powerful on-page ranking components. As long as you’re working on those, make sure your meta descriptions are compelling and, more importantly, aren’t getting cut off on the results pages. Make sure your copywriting best practices are up-to-date before you add a bunch of new copy to your site.

Even better, admit to yourself that your valuable time is better spent elsewhere and hire Oneupweb to keep your online marketing resolutions for you (even the difficult ones). We’re the equivalent of a drill sergeant, personal trainer and  constant dog-watcher—all in one.

And thus, I break another resolution (to avoid the use of the flimsy metaphor).

Smart marketing is “you” marketing. “You” marketing is when every message, every conversation and every touch-point is about the consumer. Rather than count your money, you should be counting the number of new relationships at the end of each month.

“You” marketing recognizes the numerous channels and opportunities to connect with an audience. Get rid of the mindset that the bigger the audience, the better. A more efficient mindset to consider is that a smaller, targeted audience translates into a bigger bulls-eye. However, the bulls-eye in this instance is not to close, but rather gain initial approval from the consumer and then broaden it.

Consider a cancer screening center that distributes a press release, outlining a new study that reveals an increased risk for prostate cancer in men with high-protein diets. The press release then links to the website, which offers a free PDF download of the full study. At the end of the study, there is a brief description and link to an application allowing men to enter diet-related information to calculate their individual risk. Depending on your risk, the results may highly recommend that you schedule a screening. This recommendation includes a 1-800 number that connects you instantly with a specialist. The end goal for this center is to generate cancer screenings.

A competitor may decide to rely strictly on Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click advertising to send traffic directly to a page with a 1-800 number. The cancer screening center that distributed the press release enjoys a 40% higher number of incoming calls to their specialists.

Scenarios aside, it’s about finding the right marketing combination that pushes consumers through the sales cycle, no matter how many necessary steps are required in between.

The first step to finding the right marketing combination is to be aware of every single marketing weapon in your arsenal. Apply benefits and features of what you are offering to your target audience’s everyday life.

Oneupweb now offers an expanded list of services to help you take full advantage of your arsenal. Take a look at our weapons cache and take what you need.

Or maybe whether or not they should continue optimizing it.

The short answer: it depends. But in most cases, the answer is: no, you shouldn’t wait to optimize your website, even if you do have redesign plans.  This is especially true if such plans are several months out and you don’t want to wait until then to start generating more leads and sales.

Are there times where you should absolutely wait?  Maybe, in rare cases.  Here’s one for example.  Let’s say you have plans to redesign your site in three months.  It will be a complete overhaul.  The site will have a new look and feel, the back end system will get an upgrade, page URLs will change, all of the content will be updated, there will be new content, certain content will be removed (all of which hasn’t yet been determined), and the organization will change dramatically.

If this is the case, then yes, it would probably be a good idea to hold off—at least on some things. Even with all of these changes that will take place, there are still things that you could be doing to help your cause in terms of building organic search engine placement.

Like what, you ask?

Well, the page URLs will be changing, which can cause a temporary loss of trust and relevancy applied to those pages by the search engines. So what? You shouldn’t wait to optimize pages that you know will remain on the site after the redesign.  Instead, optimize the “bejesus” out of those pages.  Then, when things change and the new site goes live, let the search engines know about it.

So all this stuff is going to be changing on site.  What about things that should be playing a role in your SEO efforts off site?

Again, URLs are changing—but the domain itself is not.  Link building efforts should not be postponed (or held off if you haven’t yet started).  If you get a link to a page in the interim that has its URL change, ask the webmaster of the site hosting that link to kindly update it. If it doesn’t happen right away, worst case, you maintain some value by notifying the engines where they can find that page’s closest replacement.

What about social media? We’ve seen the search engine landscape change dramatically over the past several months, meaning more blended results and more focus on social outlets. Just because your site is going through a redesign doesn’t mean you should stop focusing on brand building through social media, which ultimately plays a role in how you position in natural SERPs.

Certainly there are things that need to be taken into consideration, and it’s extremely helpful to have a knowledgeable partner to guide you on what you should be doing and when.  If your partner that’s handling the redesign is experienced in SEO, and I mean really experienced—not just with the basics—that’s even better.

The key takeaway here is no matter where you’re at with site redesign plans, and no matter what you have planned, it is almost never the case that, right now, there’s not something that you could be doing to work toward your objectives as they relate to greater search engine visibility for your brand. Contact Oneupweb if you need some help. It’s just what we do.

Just like that annoying bunny – keep going!

And fret not—there are no awkward mornings in the bathroom shivering on the scale, no “I give up pints of ice cream on January 10th” involved. You can stick with this one and see it pay off. Quickly.

Reevaluate the way you measure success.

Simple. It is. But in the sales and marketing world, particularly the digital marketing world—the implications are huge. And the change, well, like most change, can be hard to adjust to at first.

Walk with me for a minute. Digital marketing, back when it was shiny and new and the world was wealthy, offered one very tangible benefit (among many of course). You could measure it. Track it. Nail offline sales down to the last click customers executed online. You could pin point exactly where your consumers weren’t clicking, converting or engaging and slice those initiatives out of your budget, with laser precision. And you did that. We all did at some point.

The result? You had a 2009 marketing budget so lean it would make Amy Winehouse jealous and so efficient it put the ShamWow to shame. All you kept was the one tactic that “worked” in months previous. Your plan was destined for the marketing hall of fame.

And here we are now, winding down the year and at a point where we have to explain to our bosses and neighbors alike why the plan didn’t work. And I’ll give you a hint—it had nothing to do with the size of your budget.

Think about this long and hard before you walk into your 2010 budget meeting with the board next week demanding that you need double the marketing spend for 2010 in order to see anything work. What were you measuring when you hacked the initiatives that “weren’t working”? Did it extend beyond the bottom line or the last point of conversion?

For example, did you or your agency stop to consider the impact that your display campaign might have had on the success of your paid search campaign before you decided that the only one to survive was the more “successful” paid campaign? And this year, when your one time efficiency super star—the paid search campaign—fell flat on it’s face while it was expected to perform on it’s own, what did you credit as the reason for its failure? The economy? The creative? The size of your budget?

Reevaluate the way you measure success. And failure. The results you see might surprise you. And of course, if you need a hand, Oneupweb is happy to lend one. Make 2010 a phenomenal year. For your marketing plan and yourself.