Utah currently has one of the most stable economies in the entire nation. Much of the reason for this seems to be largely based on a strong real-estate market. Utah has thus far avoided the subprime banking issues that have plagued even well-established financial institutions. The housing market in Utah is stable, unemployment is low, incomes are up, and according to Wells Fargo economist Kelly Matthews, Utah is not feeling the squeeze as much as other states, and faces little threat of falling into a recession. Utah’s economic situation is a model for the nation.

So what does Utah’s economy have to do with PPC? Think about how consumers are being affected by the national financial downturn. The general advice from analysts is to spend a little less and save a little more. Marketers in other states have to deal with this reality when they consider marketing budgets for the coming quarter. The economic squeeze will inevitably affect their bottom line. However, if you are a business that markets goods and/or services to the local Utah market, you’ve got potential customers with more stable jobs and more money to spend than those in other metro markets whose prospects are crumbling under the burden of bad loans and rampant foreclosures.

Are you in Utah Real Estate? Do you provide other local services such as legal consulting, chiropractic or other health care services, child care, food delivery, etc? Professionally structured and managed PPC marketing should be a no brainer for you right now. A strategic search marketing partner will help you to maximize opportunities to gain a competitive advantage even in difficult times.

Quick! Who’s the latest American Idol favorite this week?

1. David Archuletta
2. Colton Berry
3. Alana Whitaker

You’re right if you chose #3.

The whole American Idol craze is hard to ignore. I’ll bet that even if you’re like me and hate American Idol, most of you have some idea who the current and past contestants are. Does the name Sanjaya ring a bell? Of course it does, as does the word made popular by one of his famous hair styles, the Pony Hawk.

Sanjaya was blessed more with great hair than he was with a great vocal style. Yet he was last season’s most talked about contestant on American Idol. He rode the American Idol wave to pseudo-celeb status. We all remember his name. We recall his hair. I secretly tuned into American Idol last season just to see what Sanjaya was going to do. Through a little differentiation, Sanjaya became a brand through the American Idol medium.

What does this have to do with Pay Per Click? Well, PPC vendors work in much the same way for advertisers as American Idol works for wanna-be idols. How so? (more…)