Web site advertising is the most efficient and cost effective option for small businesses these days. This is especially true for businesses who want exposure within their local market, city or county. Examples of local businesses include: real estate brokers, chiropractors, insurance agents and retail shops, to name a few.

There are a number of reasons why web site advertising is so effective. The most compelling reason is that the way people find businesses today has shifted dramatically over the last few years. It’s estimated that 70% or more of people now search for local businesses through online search engines, rather than the traditional methods.

Previously, people searched local listings in the newspaper and the yellow pages. These forms of discovery used to be very effective, especially since there really wasn’t much competition. However, the Internet and search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have changed the game dramatically. These changes are not just about a local company listing, but also about the company’s listing in context to another company’s listing.

Here’s an example of context-related web site advertising for local businesses. Someone looking for a “Turkish restaurant in NYC” would likely key that phrase into one of the major search engines. Google might display 7 or more restaurant profiles matching those criteria. But, in addition to the restaurant profiles, there would likely be links to their websites, restaurant reviews, and perhaps even 3rd party websites offering discount coupons. This is an example of how the search engines provide substantially more value than a static “print” advertisement.

Website advertising for local businesses also has the distinct advantage of precise marketing analytics. Small, local businesses don’t have the luxury of wasting advertising dollars guessing which of their campaigns was successful. With website advertising, every click and ultimate purchase can be tracked right down to the exact wording that drove the customer to the company’s website. In addition, company’s can rotate ADs to determine which one motivates the most number of people to “click through.”

By now, many people have heard of the phrase “getting on the first page of Google.” Statistics suggest that 80% of people searching on the Internet do not go past the first page of search results. These results include both the “paid” advertising slots and the “free” or what is typically called “organic” slots / results.

Just as in the traditional advertising world (print, radio, TV), website advertising for local businesses requires a thoughtful approach to strategy. For example, in the old cable TV world, one might ask “How large of an audience will see my AD?” or “Can I target only three metro cities, instead of the whole county?” The same thought process is necessary for website advertising. The differences; however, are mind-boggling.

For example, with website advertising you can literally put an AD up “on demand.” No more back and forth negotiating or proofing / re-proofing with the cable company. You can precisely target your ADs to a county, city or even zip code. And, you can turn an AD on or off in seconds.

This is just a primer on why website advertising for local businesses is so compelling. There are a thousand more examples of the advertising power of this new channel. The $64,000 question is “Are you ready for the Internet?”

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I recently stumbled upon a site called, www.Google.org, while searching for something completely unrelated. What I found led me to an amazing discovery of how Google is leveraging its enormous data to help us prepare for H1N1 Swine Flu and many other diseases and possible pandemics.

We all know that data turned into useful information is a powerful tool for projecting population growth, tracking the trajectory of hurricanes and even predicting pandemic outbreaks. And what company has the pulse of global data collection better than Google?

Google is clearly on to something big with www.Google.org. The tagline on this website reads “Google.org aspires to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age.” Essentially, Google is taking the data that people key into their search engine to map out where outbreaks of diseases are occurring. This is an effort to help people prepare for H1N1 swine flu and other infections. This, in essence is the Google way, indeed.

Let’s take a simple chart from their Flu Trends tab. Google believes that certain terms keyed into their search engine could be “good indicators of flu activity.” Armed with this data they can estimate flu activity up to two weeks faster than the old, traditional ways. Google has compared their results with those of traditional surveillance systems and found a precise correlation between them.

On this page from Google.org, http://www.google.org/flutrends/intl/en_us, US flu activity is shown as minimal in most of the US, except for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alaska, where the flu activity is registered as low. This same interactive chart also allows you to drill down state by state. This data, of course, will become increasingly more populated as the flu season gets into full swing.

Interestingly, this page, http://www.google.org/flutrends/intl/en_nz/, shows New Zealand as having a high flu activity, with a higher concentration of flu in the North Island. The Ministry of Health has recommended seasonal influenza immunization.

Now preparing for H1N1 swine flu the Google way is really more than just charts, graphs and pretty numbers. The purpose of the Google.org organization is to provide grants to people with innovative ideas in the area of disease control, green initiatives and much more. One of the recipients of a grant from Google is HealthMap. Among other things, they’ve launched an iPhone app called “Outbreaks Near Me.” This free app allows you to see what outbreaks have been reported near your neighborhood, work place or vacation destination.

Imagine the implications of this data collection and representation to the end users? This type of collaboration is one of the keys to building a better informed and prepared population. Of course, there are also other preventative measures against H1N1 swine flu, such as washing hands, eating right, and keeping your hands away from your face. But, who knows … preparing for H1N1 Swine flu the Google way just might keep you from venturing into an infected region in the first place!

Read more articles from David Chan.

There’s a lot to be said, both good and bad, about real estate business development. For years the world of real estate business development made many people rich, allowed them to retire sooner rather than later and also helped families fund college educations for their children. Now, with the housing crunch and financial debacle, is business development in the real estate market still a good bet? Depends on which real estate market you choose to develop: OFFLINE or ONLINE.

Allow me to first explain the offline real estate market. By offline real estate market, I mean residential homes, apartment buildings, raw land and commercial office buildings … in other words, the physical world of real estate.

Developing business opportunities in the offline real estate market made a lot of people rich, but it also decimated a generation. If you had the good fortune of “buying low and selling high”, you made out like a bandit. However, like stocks, real estate business development is not for the “un-initiated”, nor is it for anyone who doesn’t do their homework. And, even if you do your homework, there are a lot of bad deals and crooked people out there.

Offline real estate development requires an understanding of demographics, local markets, finance, and much, much more. In addition, it requires plenty of money, especially these days, to finance down payments, mortgages, insurance and taxes. It also requires looking at the big picture. It’s all great and wonderful to think about the upside, but what about the downside? In other words, how can you get burned?

Let’s explore an example. Suppose a crooked real estate agent brings you a deal that just looks tremendous on paper. It only requires an investment of a few thousand or perhaps a few hundred thousand in order to make millions. The developer has a great track record and wants to bring low cost housing to people who need it. In fact, the real estate agent believes so much in the deal that he/she has also invested in the deal.

Keep in mind the old adage that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. There are so many scam artists in the world of offline real estate. And, the biggest problem of all is that the stakes are very high, indeed. You can lose thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or your life savings in offline real estate business development. As a tip, one good tool to check for scam artists, like crooked developers is www.ripoffreport.com.

Contrast OFFLINE real estate business development with ONLINE real estate business development. What is this you ask? It’s the world of building businesses leveraging the Internet.

For example, buying and registering a domain name is analogous to buying a piece of raw land in the physical world. Creating a website, then, is analogous to building a house on that piece of physical land. And, adding content (images, text, video, etc.) on your website is like adorning your physical home with furniture, pictures and such.

How is business development executed in the online real estate market … by creating value for your online property. Let’s take an example. When www.PartyPoker.com first launched, it was merely a website for like minded people to pass the time playing poker. Today, it is the #1 gaming site on the Internet, as tracked by www.Alexa.com.

How did Party Poker become numero uno … through community and social proof. They built the best poker site, invited people, friends of friends and affiliates. How do they make money … through advertising and the cultivation of their subscriber base.

Compared to the cost of offline real estate, acquiring, building and maintaining online real estate is peanuts. Yet, the rewards can outstrip those of offline real estate by a thousand fold, if not more. One real life example is the sale of YouTube to Google for $1.65 Billion in 2006.

There are many more examples of online real estate business development opportunities. The key is to pick a niche, understand your demographics, put down stakes, build your dream site, and invite your flock. Sound familiar?

Read more articles from David Chan.