Consumers are cutting back spending so much that they are showing “a reduced desire to even search for new products, much less purchase them,” according to Majestic Research. IAC, whose Ask.com search engine’s ad sales are handled by Google, noted last week that the search trends “have not been good over the last 30 to 60 days … particularly on commercial-oriented queries.”

In addition, those consumers still in buying mode are browsing around for bargains more often, thereby reducing the returns on individual clicks. And that is lowering the price marketers are willing to pay for keywords, a point also noted by IAC.

We noticed some PPC slowdown last month in our client work, as well as significant overall traffic declines (despite unchanged or improved visibility on search engines). What was more interesting, however, was a decline in non-search-related visits to many client sites. I’ve wondered if the intense focus on the U.S. presidential election skimmed off a lot of the more casual traffic, including visits from those receiving updates by RSS or email.

One thing’s true, however: just as the stock market’s downturn benefits those with cash to invest at fire-sale prices, a shaking-out of PPC competition will benefit those companies who continue their PPC campaigns, and continue to optimize their websites for better organic-search positioning.

One study has shown that almost 75 percent of online shoppers do just that, no matter how attractive the price or service, if they can’t find what they need.

Companies and their site designers need to approach their site – before it goes live – as if they’re first-time visitors. They cannot assume or take anything for granted, including that visitors will automatically start on the home page.

Therefore, every page must have a corporate presence, with name, logo and toll-free number if applicable. Every page must have a navigation bar that starts with a home button and includes buttons linking to other pages. Every page should have a search button.

If visitors will be ordering goods, every product page should have a prominent link to the checkout page.

Each page must be logically organized and answer every question the shopper could possibly have about that product or service. With clothing, for example, it’s imperative to explain and/or illustrate fiber content, washing instructions, stock availability, size charts and options in color and size.

Product photographs, with zoom capabilities, are a necessity, and video is a must for product demonstrations.

Product reviews by professionals or satisfied buyers, whether displayed on the site or linked to on other sites, establish credibility and increase shoppers’ comfort level. That also can be boosted by prominently displaying the company guarantee and links to customer service.

The site must be well-written and well-maintained, with updated information and working links. Nothing destroys confidence in a company like a neglected Web site. Again, shoppers will simply move on to another site.

Sites should make it easy for shoppers to sign up for newsletters or other means of learning about exclusive specials or other events. This gives them a feeling of inclusiveness and reminds them to return to the site for future needs. However, it must be clear that they can easily opt out of the mailing list.

If site visitors are buying goods, the checkout page must include the following: shipping options and cost, turnaround time and accepted payment methods, plus the ability to revise the order easily and to generate a printer-friendly summary.

The Web site is the front door to that company – if shoppers can’t get in or don’t feel welcome and valued, they won’t come back.

Iron Key sells its secured USB drive that encrypts the data you write to it, and most importantly, contains portable Firefox which runs on a secured session through Iron Key’s servers every time you use it; so it is like having an instant secured VPN to browse the web on, check your G mail, etc.

Iron Key is reviewed here.

These are not very expensive, and come in 1 GB ($79), 2 GB ($109), and 4GB ($149). Iron Key includes secured backup software too. However if you want a do-it-yourself solution, you can try one of these options:

One effective way to keep your browsing and email secure is to set up a secure connection at home and create a VPN on your laptop that you use for traveling; allowing yourself to securely VPN into your home network. Vendors that provide this service include gotomypc and webex pcnow; or you can set up a VPN on your own using instructions such as these.

A very important initial step in this process is to disable SSID broadcast in your broadband router settings (usually through an online dashboard that lets you change these settings for your account). Uncheck the box for this option as it is unnecessary for the router to broadcast its name information every few seconds. The Wifi signal will still work in your home with this option unchecked, and disabling it will make it that much harder for hackers to gain access to your data.

Additionally routing your Internet activity through secured servers such as offered by OpenDNS can help keep your network secure by allowing you to filter sites you select, and by blocking phishing sites. OpenDNS also offers reliability on their zero downtime network.

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty starts with a seemingly easy premise: Reach out to the widest possible audience with a proposition that speaks to their concerns. Self-esteem building for all women was the key message, with Dove selecting 6 women from all walks of life to embrace the variety of ways beauty can be represented. Beauty industry stereotypes are criticized as harmful to a woman’s well-being. Dove’s multi-channel campaign spans the media spectrum including videos, public transportation signage, town hall meetings, panel discussions and online forums. At each point the “Real Beauty” message resonates to all women. Dove expanded the campaign to reach out to pre-teen and teen girls; making the message of esteem building a universal campaign theme.

The key to the Dove campaign’s success was that Dove reached out to the widest possible audience. They created an atmosphere of inclusiveness, which by its very definition, encourages participants to share and identify with the “real beauty” concept. Through this initiative, using Dove products becomes part of an overall experience that simultaneously brings attention to the Dove brand and to the idea of real beauty, that’s inclusive for all women. The Dove initiative continues to build momentum with its own website, campaignforrealbeauty.com, and focuses on multiple engagement opportunities on and offline to encourage self-esteem in women of all ages, body types and walks of life.

What happens when the unthinkable occurs? Delta Air Lines and Dell Computers are two companies that have experienced the wrath of indignant customers armed with advanced publishing platforms. Another company is the Kryptonite Bike Lock Company, which in September 2004 learned that some of their locks could be picked with simple Bic pens. (While early reporting alleged that Kryptonite only learned of the blog-based buzz when the New York Times posted a story, Donna Tocci, Public Relations Manager for Kryptonite, more recently told Dave Taylor that the company had been “aware of the Internet involvement with this issue from the first day. This included blogs and forums.”)

Kryptonite had to deal with the situation fast — and their response should serve as a primer on outstanding customer service and company reputation-management. The crisis was two-fold for Kryptonite: They needed to 1) replace malfunctioning products while 2) quelling rumors that their company was unresponsive to consumer needs.

According to Tocci, Kryptonite did everything they could to ensure that their corporate response to the Bic pen unlock episode was rapid and global in scope. Timing and execution allowed the company to distribute over 380,000 replacement locks to customers worldwide. Tocci said that Kryptonite quickly set up a synergy among distributors, retailers, factories, shippers and fulfillment houses to ensure that customers were able to get replacement locks within weeks of the first mention of a problem in an online forum.

Tocci crystalizes the lessons that can be learned from her company’s experience: “They [companies] do need a good crisis management plan no matter who they are or how they choose to implement it.”

The takeaways from this incident transcend blogs and blogging, and offer critical insights into what being a responsive company really means; no matter which medium is used to reach customers.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA.org) recently reported that Del Monte used customer input from its online pet owner community, I Love My Dog, to help create a new dog treat product. The Wall Street Journal reported the full story that discusses how Del Monte purposely created their 400 member community consisting of hand picked dog owners who could help them with product feedback.

If you’re looking for new ways to dialogue with your customers, consider creating a branded social network site using applications such as KickApps, Ning, or CrowdVine. Some groups use these apps for short-term events such as conferences. Or you can start a brand new social network and ask your customers to help you create your next hit product! Need more information? Download this PDF 9 Steps To A Successful Online Community or view these YouTube videos on CrowdVine’s conference networking and social networking applications.

One important action you can take is to attend to unsubscribes quickly. If you get unsubscribe requests for newsletters or email campaigns, ensure that the email addresses are removed from your list immediately. People do get annoyed if they unsubscribe from a list only to find that they still receive messages from you. Keeping your databases and lists up to date can help reduce spam complaints against you.

Post an anti-spam policy on your site. List what you are doing to reduce spam related to your marketing activities. Show your site visitors that you genuinely are concerned that they receive only the messages they want and that you take spam issues very seriously.

Another way to protect yourself from being labeled a spammer is to not reuse your email lists for multiple campaigns. If a customer signs up for one newsletter, and you send several unrelated newsletters and messages to that address, this may be perceived as spam by users. Allow users to manually select the messages they want to receive. Providing clear ways to opt in and out and easy ways to unsubscribe can help you keep spam complaints down.

Unsubscribes Are Good For You? That’s the title of a blog post by Justin Premick at AWeber Communications. He makes the good point that an “unsubscriber” used to be interested in your messages, and they have changed their mind for a reason. By inquiring on your unsubscribe page the reason for the unsubscribe, you may glean useful data to help you improve your email marketing messages.

You could write a few short articles or even a detailed white paper or two to offer to site visitors. Use persuasive calls to action to elicit a response and make a clear, valuable offer. For example, if you sell furniture polish, you could write this call to action: “Get free tips on how to remove scratches from wood furniture.” You can link this call to action to a contact form, letting the visitor know that their email address will not be sold or spammed, and that you will send their list of tips immediately. Give the user a chance to opt in for more marketing messages, such as email newsletters or special offers.

It all starts with making an offer. If you direct site visitors to what you want them to do (make a purchase, download a demo, request a free trial) you will be on your way to improving your conversion rate.

The proliferation of video online provides a way for some groups to produce how-to and informational videos, such as this one concerning myths about the common cold. Other groups use online videos to promote a particular viewpoint, such as storewars.org’s humorous Grocery Store Wars video, which features animated fruits and vegetables playing the familiar Luke, Darth Vader, Obi Wan, Chewbacca and Han Solo characters. The premise of the video is to inform consumers that pesticides used by non-organic farmers harm the air and water, and create a health hazard for the food supply. The video represents the viewpoint of the Organic Trade Association, which claims that organic food is healthier and more nutritious.

Even though online videos are popular and can often be entertaining, investigating their claims for truthfulness can be important. For example, one can examine facts about the benefits of pesticides such as keeping restaurants, hotels and malls free of insects and rodents, or preventing the spread of bacteria, including Staphylococcus.

The ubiquitousness of broadband makes online videos easy to enjoy. Many videos are mere entertainment while others contain marketing messages. Taking a moment to dig a bit deeper beyond what is presented on the screen can help viewers get a more balanced viewpoint. All of this said, I really appreciate the creativity of video creators who can take a boring subject and make it interesting. Why even cardboard can be entertaining on YouTube: Behold the folding cardboard chair!