Non-profits and businesses are benefiting by website content services.

Don’t blink or you’ll be left behind.  At least one Chicago-area non-profit has ditched its Yellow Book online advertising campaign, favoring our own new website update and promotion service.

Our client, a Chicago-area counseling center, had been running both Yellow Book ads and our own TFC SearchRank program. TFC SearchRank offers this client custom-written news stories three times a month, in addition to posting news releases on publicity websites.

The counseling center’s Yellow Book ads had been shut down for several months, and all of the center’s paid online advertising was coming from our TFC SearchRank program.

I was elated when I found out that our program was doing all the muscle work. I suspected it, but wasn’t sure. Now I knew. The number of people that came over the internet for our client more than doubled in January compared to the month before, according to their records. We’re happy that the program has gained so much traction since it began in June 2008.

Face it — local search is growing. It’s mostly about search engine optimization. Businesses and non-profits should take note that the old method of using print ads and even online directory listings, such as the Yellow Pages, is just old hat, depending on one’s own market.  If it’s not working for you, dump it.

Our TFC SearchRank program uses a combination of research, newswriting, and placing original articles on both the client’s website and on internet news services, among other techniques.

Although the recession has seen a slowdown in online advertising this year, local online spending is still expected to grow by 5.4% in 2009, according to media-research firm Borrell Associates.

Our secrets can be learned by downloading our free PDF whitepaper, “Seven Proven Ways to Drive Visitors to Your Website.” Religious communities can download the PDF, “Seven Proven Ways to Drive Vocations to Your Website.”

Give us a call at 708-557-9491, or email us today and let us bring you up to speed, internet-wise.

(The TFC SearchRank program, as well as SpunkyBiz.com, is a project of TreeFrogClick, Inc.)

by Kevin Banet
Web promotion expert

Since Feb. 12 was the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, I’d like you to imagine a scene in Kentucky in the early 1800’s.

“Can you open the door, please?” a man’s voice implores.

“Who is it?” replies a woman.

“Abe, from the general store. I have to give you something.”

After the woman lets the tall young man in, he explains to her that when she bought tea from the store, he used the wrong weight on the scales and owes her the tea that she paid for.

“I’m here to return what was due you, ma’m,” says the humble voice.

“Why, Abe, you walked two miles to bring me this — you didn’t have to do that. At least not in the dark, with all the critters out tonight,” the woman exclaims, full of surprise.

There are many stories like this one, and there was certainly a lot of talk around the cracker barrel at the country store about Honest Abe. Today, the trust built up between a business and a customer is less likely to occur over chewing a pinch of tobacco while buying feed corn. We work ten miles away from our home, and we don’t even know our neighbors. And because of the ease of communication from the internet, we find people with personal or professional interests, and customers, thousands of miles away from where we live.

Thus, trust is built up through relationships developed over the internet. You meet people through Facebook and get to know them because you have common interests, or you feel confident in buying a book from an Ebay store when their customer rating is 99% positive.

You might like an article on personal coaching that you found on an article website such as www.EzineArticles.com, and decide to buy a book mentioned there. Or when you see a priest or minister explain an aspect of the Christian faith, you might go to their website and begin an email friendship.

Thus, electronic familiarity enhances trust.

Besides that, there’s an old business saying that any ad that uses Abraham Lincoln’s picture is bound to succeed. So contact me today about your internet needs at the address below.

To reach the “digital generation,” Pope Benedict XVI has launched his own video presence on YouTube last week. Noting that the internet “wraps all of  our planet in an increasingly close-knitted way,” the pontiff’s channel will contain video and audio recordings as well as news about the Holy See.

The Pope and others are going with online videos for more than the reason that they are popular. You can say a lot with pictures, but there is another element for the small business owner or non-profit director: the trust factor.

If you are looking for a doctor, dentist, or lawyer in your city, you want to see a picture of the person to get a “feel” for his work, right? What’s your first impression of him? Does he look like he knows his stuff? Will he treat me with respect? Does he look honest? You can tell a lot just by seeing and hearing him. Thus, video goes deeper than the printed word.

“Things are going the way of video marketing, so hop on the train when you can so you can start taking advantage of the free traffic,” says entrepreneur and marketing expert Andrew Maule.

Start by taking a look at YouTube.com to see videos in your line of work that you like. You’ll see that some use still photos with slides of text. Others use video images. Set up a profile on YouTube. If you want to keep your video very simple, use YouTube’s video editing feature, upload your own photos, and make a one-minute video. YouTube offers explanations about video in general, about how to get a video from a camcorder onto YouTube, and how to make a video out of still pictures.

If you want to get more involved, buy a video camera for under $300. Most computers today have movie-editing software, so splice in text between your video shots. Put your company name at the beginning and end, and your website address at least at the end. Select keywords that identify what you are talking about. Don’t forget to link to the video from your website.

Hope on to the video bandwagon today.