Last year eMarketer was predicting just a slight 5% increase in online ad spend for 2010 after a disappointing decline of 3.3% last year. However, last week eMarketer revised their 2010 ad spend prediction to a whopping 11% increase. This was after Google reported a 21% jump in US ad revenues for Q1 2010. And this trend, according to eMarketer, will continue to at least 2014.

So, are you STILL on the online paid advertising “fence”? Are you wondering what your competitors are doing? We know! But, maybe you are the type that would rather not hear it. As they say, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”. “Keeping the blinders on” is less painful then having to hear our competition is “blowing us away”! But, you are still reading this, so maybe there is hope..?

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If you are considering jumping into the world of Internet marketing (IM) but do not have experience in this type of marketing, it is definitely worthwhile to consider hiring a consultant to assist you in your advertising endeavor.

However, hiring a consultant “blind” could result in a very negative experience. Before you hire a consultant I highly suggest you spend some time in basic self-education. For example, next time you are in a bookstore pick up an “Internet Marketing for Dummies” and at least learn what some of the major IM terms like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), PPC (Pay per click), Social media Marketing and keyword research mean and how they can benefit your business. And, at the same time acquire enough knowledge so that you can intelligently engage with a consultant about what he/she is going to do for your online business, while substantially reducing the risk of getting hoodwinked into a costly and unnecessary consultant agreement. In addition to books there are many online resources to help you achieve success on the internet, many Free including videos and reports, such as on this web site.

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