With the ease of making purchases at the click of a button, online shopping is more popular than ever among today’s consumers. A recent study found that 78 percent of Americans research purchases online, and 66 percent use the internet as their most common source for buying and selling. The growth of e-commerce creates great opportunity for businesses to reach their target audiences and drive activity beyond what is possible in a physical store. To meet this demand, those same businesses must ensure their website is properly equipped to process and deliver online orders.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals the three essential items every business needs to conduct successful e-commerce, and shares additional tools and tips to help simplify online shopping for your customers.

Cloud computing has emerged as one of the “next big things” behind business growth. According to a recent Gartner survey, worldwide cloud adoption is expanding at a pace of roughly 17 percent per year. But is the cloud the best fit for your business to store data and run applications? And what benefits and risks exist from implementing cloud services?

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo explains the basics every business should know regarding the cloud, and shares the potential pros and cons to consider when evaluating if and how cloud computing fits into future plans.

Innovation is one of the most common buzzwords in marketing today. How many times have you heard that a company now offers “the most innovative product on the market,” or a competitor is a “leader in innovation”? As the term becomes more prominent, what does it truly mean to innovate your business? And how can you build upon your current offerings to capture the attention of new audiences?

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals four basic innovation strategies businesses can use to expand their offerings and develop a memorable and attractive brand for widespread prospects.

Although strategic marketing is considered a critical element for business growth and continued success, some business owners turn to the same excuses to either ignore marketing altogether, or only implement a strategy when absolutely needed. By stating that they don’t have the time or budget for marketing, or don’t feel that marketing works, these owners are ignoring potential customers and creating opportunities for competitors to take leadership within a given space. Successful businesses understand that effective marketing does not require great expense or a specific time, but rather creativity and proactivity.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon shares the best ways business owners can shift their minds away from these common marketing myths, and offers tips to ensure you get the greatest results possible from your campaign.

For some business owners, extraordinary creative writing skills may not come naturally. Even for savvy experienced marketers, developing the best copy to fit the audience, medium and subject matter within a particular campaign is a constant challenge. In a crowded marketplace, making even the smallest tweaks to the words your prospects will hopefully has the potential to make a great difference in garnering a desired reaction.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon shares five basic wordsmithing tips both inexperienced and veteran copywriters can rely on to ensure the language in their materials makes the desired impact among prospects.

As marketing dollars become more precious in tough economic times, business owners continue to seek new cost-effective tactics that can produce sales. Linked to that goal is the increased challenge for marketers to understand what their customers need and provide relevant messaging. With the growing demand for online resources to guide product purchases, and the traditionally open minds of online shoppers, a website that offers ratings, reviews and recommendations combined with effective online advertising can serve as the mix marketers need to attract new customers in a down economy.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon shares proven tactics and contemporary insights on how to effectively leverage online marketing tactics to deliver new customers.

When evaluating advertising options, it can be easy for online marketers to limit themselves to traditional banners and email campaigns. However, marketers should consider a multitude of options to obtain leads and attract customers.

In my last post, I examined how several traditional advertising mechanisms can generate reaction from both existing customers and prospects. This week, we’ll review how successfully manipulating Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising and search engine optimization can get your brand in front of your target audiences even more prominently.

Since you are only required to pay for the click-throughs generated by your text or banner ads, Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is a great option for any business. The challenge of PPC advertising is to ensure you pay the right price for the product you are selling. Pay too high, and you’ll spend more than you need or, in the worst cases, end up losing money. Pay too little, and you might not generate the traffic you desire.

Search engines were the first online media tool to provide PPC advertising forums, with Google being one of the leading providers. As more people use Facebook, its PPC solutions continue to gain popularity. Furthermore, with Facebook’s ability to narrowly target a specific profile group, its advertisements can be more effective than Google’s.

If you want to reach a wide range of web sites through one company, consider promoting through advertising networks. For example, instead of looking on your own for web sites that reach mothers with young children, an advertising network can generate a list of several sites that reach this demographic from its network of publishers.

Local Search is an ideal advertising opportunity for businesses who want to drive customers to their brick and mortar locations. Google has a powerful local search engine which drives traffic to local businesses upon searches that include a ZIP code, city name or another local identifier. Sites such as Yelp can help direct customers to specific locations, combined with reviews and other relevant details.

There is not yet one single perfect way to generate the response you desire with online advertising. However, by taking advantage of all the digital outlets available today, you can put your company in the best position to get noticed and expand your customer base.

Ramon Ray is a technology evangelist, writer and editor for Smallbiztechnology.com.

As businesses compete for sales, wouldn’t it be nice to have a steady stream of interested prospects contacting you? By establishing and executing a referral campaign that combines sales and marketing, you can begin to build relationships with key influencers who can help convince prospective customers to look into your business. Winning over influencers requires more than passing out business cards and high-level networking – making a lasting impact on the people who can help your business most is a long-term, multi-tiered effort.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon reveals five strategies sales and marketing professionals can implement to win referrals from key influencers, and the best strategies to maintain consistent communications over time.

In addition to the competition from within a crowded marketplace, marketers must fight the crowds within a target customer’s selective memory. Each customer filters different messages, making it a challenge to create the one message that sticks within the memory from the thousands encountered each day. An effective campaign must provide something different that consumers will remember, and it is important to build that lasting connection that will hopefully come to the surface when it’s time to make a purchase.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon shares the four most effective marketing tactics to create messages that generate thought and stick with customers.

The green movement continues to generate momentum within the consumer space, as more customers base purchasing decisions on not only what is best for them, but also what is best for the planet. More than 80 percent of Americans believe they can make a positive difference by purchasing from environmentally-conscious companies. As a result, marketers must develop messaging that promotes equal benefits for both the consumer and the planet.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon shares three vital tips companies should consider when launching an eco-friendly product to ensure their messaging will resonate with those looking to go green.