The conversation since the beginning of the year has been the economy.  More than half the year is over and there has been approximately a 7% decline in luxury consumer items. The prediction is that the downtrend will continue for the rest of 2009.

There are many factors beyond our control, making it difficult for anyone to make solid and consistent plans for a year such as this one. With proper planning, however, small businesses can weather the storm and even thrive.  Let’s look at how to get the most out of your marketing dollars:

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising still seems to be a decent marketing strategy, however, the expense is slightly higher than other internet marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO). For better results, less cost and an overall better return on investment, SEO is usually the best option despite being more time consuming.  If you decide to hire a firm for SEO, make sure you check the references of the firm because many claim they can deliver results when, in fact, they can’t.

With the rise of smart phones, mobile sites and developing a mobile strategy is necessary. It doesn’t matter what type of business you have.  For instance, if you own a restaurant, accept reservations through a platform like Open Table. Make sure the business is listed under local listings such as Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Yahoo Local and Google Local searches because you want your business to come up as a top local listing when someone searches for the type of cuisine you serve in your local market.

Viral marketing is a great way to enhance search engine rankings. YouTube has become an important platform for viral marketing and popular videos can greatly increase traffic to your site. For example, the Free Hugs Campaign generated over 50 million views on YouTube with this video:

The success of the video landed the Free Hugs Campaign founder, Juan Mann, on the Oprah Winfrey show as well.

Press release distribution centers and article content directories help with generating more traffic for your website.  Both portals allow publishers to publish a signature file containing your name, contact information, and link to website (which also helps with search engine rankings).

Using social media websites and networking sites have changed the way that business is conducted online.  It has revolutionized the way that businesses communicate with their audiences and the way that businesses brand themselves. Twitter and Facebook seem to be the two hottest websites out there right now and there are many other social media platforms that can help build brand awareness.

While putting together your marketing plan, investigate the various strategies that can take your business to the next level -even during a recession.