Got Gold?????

Unless you have been in a cave, you would know that the price of gold is on the rise.  Right now, the price per ounce of gold is pushing above $1000!  The price of gold has appreciated greatly during this economic downturn.  According to Time.com, “The supply of gold is also a factor in pricing. Many investors holding gold reserves have faced losses in their other assets, which would have led them to sell their gold. Ordinary people, too, have motive to sell their gold jewelry during a recession, which should increase the supply of gold on the open market and impede a price hike.”
Leadpile Lead Exchange has certainly recognized this increased demand in gold. Getting cash for your gold is hot in the affiliate marketing world, and on our televisions. I don’t think I can go an hour or two without seeing some sort of cash for gold commercial on t.v. Knowing this, Leadpile has created an offer, and is always looking for traffic to it (nationalgoldcenter.com). We have advertisers wanting more and more leads in this arena, and if you have a desire to jump on this band wagon, let us know.

It is with sadness that I write about another major newspaper ceasing publication.  Tuesday, March 17th will be the final printed edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  Just like the Rocky Mountain News, this comes as no surprise as the Hearst Corporation was attempting to sell the newspaper with no success.  The company will retain a small staff to continue with an online-only news venture.

Seattle becomes another major city with just one daily printed major newspaper.  The Seattle Times for the moment remains in operation, but is bleeding debt.  The Times is a family-owned newspaper, and will benefit some by the closing of the competition.  There is an outside chance that Seattle could become the first major city with NO printed major newspapers if the family cannot, or chooses not to, withstand the challenging time ahead.

Sadly, there will be more newspapers closing in the near future, and the San Francisco Chronicle is likely to be next.

Much has been written and spoken about Twitter recently.  Some people love it, and others view it as a waste of time.  Also, the lack of a business model that produces revenue has been discussed.  Does Twitter act like email, search, and/or social networking?  The answers currently appear to be no, no, and yes.

This week, the people at Hitwise came out with some research on where people are going after visiting Twitter.  Indications are that Twitter is acting more like social networking than search or email.  Two out of five visitors are visiting social networks or entertainment sites after visiting Twitter.

At this point, very little Twitter traffic is visiting retail sites (search activity) nor is the traffic visiting finance, business or dating sites (email activity).  It appears to be more about social networking and distributing content, especially photo-sharing, than on selling products or services.

Things are sure to change rapidly, but it appears that the monetization of Twitter and its growing traffic is a work in progress.  This potentially huge opportunity is still there for the taking.

I know it is tough going for many people and companies right now.  So, I am writing about the major search engines.  Let’s take roll call… Yahoo are you here?  Good.  How about you Ask.com?  Ok…maybe a little louder next time.  Google, I’m sure you are here… of course you are, you are everywhere.  Lastly, MSN are you out there?  Ok, everyone is accounted for. 

Now, let’s have everyone who increased their market share during this tough year take one step forward.  Ok, anybody else?   If anyone lost market share, please sit down.  Well, as you may have guessed there is only one search engine standing.  Times are tough, but there is only one company weathering the storm, and their dominance is growing.

In February, over 72% of all search queries were done on Google.  An 8% increase from a year ago.  The other three major players (can we call them major anymore?) accounted for over 26% of search activity.  Yahoo accounted for 17% of the search activity (down 17% from a year ago) and isn’t really trying anymore.  Ask.com is also shrinking (down 10%) with little effort to improve.  MSN (down 20%) is at least trying, and may still acquire Yahoo to a form a decent second option to Google.

When we assemble this same group a year from now, will Google have over 80% of the search market?  Don’t bet against it.

According to internetnews.com, “A new forecast from research group IDC is projecting that in the first quarter of 2009, online ad spending will see its first real decline since the dotcom implosion in 2001. ” In addition, the fourth quarter e-commerce spending had declined, compared to 2007 e-commerce spending. Consumers spending less could certainly have an impact on the overall online ad spending, however it appears paid search has been the best performing. This article also points out the correlation between the US economy (recession some call it) and the overall online advertising being down. Companies don’t have as much money to spend on this aspect of their business, compared to when sales are up they can afford to spend more on things such as advertising.

Leadpile Lead Exchange deals with all sorts of online activity. Paid search is a very common way of driving traffic to our lead generation websites, however there is also a lot of others that seem to be performing well too.  I am not sure I really see the decline in ad spending, but time will tell.

Do you ever wonder how the online experience will change over the years?  Well, to look forward, perhaps we should look backward.  Do you remember how you spent your time online just over a decade ago?  You probably started by firing up your modem, and going to your AOL account.  If you ventured away from AOL, you would use Internet Explorer (maybe Netscape) to explore a few sites. Remember, you were paying by the hour, so you didn’t stay online very long, and you were tying up a phone line.  Also, it took forever for pages to load, so it wasn’t very easy to move around.

Americans with internet access were spending less than 30 minutes a month online just 13 years ago.  Today, it is estimated that people spend over 27 hours a month online.  There was no Google, and YouTube was still years away.  The Web was completely different back then, and to predict what the future will look like is difficult.  The safe guess is that we will be spending more time online, but how will the experience change?

For those of you in the online lead generation business, there is a great conference coming up March 4-5th, 2009 called LeadsCon. This conference is being held in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mirage Hotel. Companies from all over will be coming together to try and increase the effectiveness and success of the industry.  Leadpile will be a sponsor for this great event.  Also, we will be attending this conference and we are looking forward to meeting some new faces, and once again seeing the familiar faces. If you will be attending and would like to meet up, please let us know!

With today’s struggling economy, many consumers are facing the reality of being forced to look for new employment.  The unfortunate thing is that many consumers were in the same job for many years, and possibly feeling a little overwhelmed with how technologically advanced jobs are requiring people to now be. In an effort to help consumers learn all aspects of the Microsoft Office products, and other technical skills to be successful in today’s workforce, Microsoft has launched their Elevate America website.

This website is a great idea and something that I truly believe can be a great tool for anyone looking for a new job, or someone currently working and wanting to learn more.  There are various certification courses, Microsoft Office tutorials, E-learning courses and information about classes available in their area.

According to the website, these are the things they are looking to accomplish:

*  Expanded access to basic technological literacy and skills training.

*  Intermediate technology skills training courses, instructor-led and online, plus selected certification exams.

* Access to a new web portal that will help guide individuals to training that positions them for success in the economy today, and tomorrow.

Leadpile Lead Exchange believes that knowing all this information is very important in any career.  Having a company like Microsoft offer these services is a sign that everyone is trying to contribute their part in helping our nation get back on their feet. Knowledge is power!

In recent news, South Carolina is the next state to be heading in the direction of payday lending regulations. According to the Augusta Chronicle, the South Carolina house of representatives has passed a bill preventing consumers from taking out more than one payday loan (up to $600) at a time. In addition to the number of payday loans being potentially allowed, the bill requires the industry to allow customers to go into a extended payment plan if they can’t meet that deadline (without incorporating more fees). This bill is now going to be headed to the Senate to be voted on. If this passes this is just another state that is cracking down on payday lenders. Leadpile Lead Exchange will be keeping an eye on this.

Every time you check out at a retail store, do you recognize the statement, “would you like to save 10% on today’s purchase?”

You are getting asked this at all your favorite retails stores, because they are looking to have you open a new store credit card.  This is something that is enticing you to potentially save some money on that current purchase.  Who doesn’t want to save money, so many consumers choose to accept the offer.  However, do you know when you answer “yes”, that is giving that company to pull your credit and potentially affecting your credit score?

Any time anyone applies for new credit it affects your credit and it also affects your overall outstanding bills you are now going to have to pay.  Are these things that you think of when making that split second decision to say, “yes I would like to save 10% with that new credit card?”  According to bankrate.com, there are some pros and cons to retail credit cards.

Pros
• Promotions, discounts and other perks.
• Helps build credit history.

Cons
• High interest rates.
• Low credit limits.
• Lowers your credit score.
• Another spending temptation.

Once consumers have these sorts of credit cards and all other types of credit cards, it creates a potential financial hardship if there is a life changing event (ie- job loss, pay reduction, loss of spouse etc) that could put a consumer in a tough situation. Debt consolidation and debt settlement companies are great services to look into if you are buried in the debt. Leadpile Lead Exchange works a lot with these lead types, and I have to say in recent months there has been a lot more activity in those verticals. This tells me that too many people said “yes I would like to save 10% on this purchase”. Think before getting that next new credit card!

Payday loans, also known as a cash advance, are a very large business in the United States.  These short term loans often are under a lot of scrutiny from lenders and government agencies.  However, it is hard to ignore the fact that I read that the payday loan industry is potentially lending 50 billion dollars.

These short-term loans are being taken out by people who need cash and possibly their bank, credit union or credit cards are not an option.  As I have pointed out before, the average person taking out a payday loan is not what it used to be, or what people generally think of as a “typical” customer. According to Indystar.com, “the average household income for Advance America customer has risen to $43,000, with 90 percent holding at least high school diplomas and half with some college. About half have credit cards.” Indystar.com also goes on to point out that nationally, the number of payday outlets has gone from zero in 1990 to about 25,000 today. However, many choose the convenience of searching online for their short term loan, and then get matched up with companies like Leadpile Lead Exchange to then connect them to that needed payday lender. The fact that this industry is potentially a 50 billion dollar industry, points out that there is definitely a need for these short term loans.

With all the foreclosures happening around in the country, this time could be ideal for those that are looking to buy a home.  However, there are some things that really need to be looked at before doing this.  According to US News & World Report these are the things to take a look at before you consider buying a home:

1. Make sure your financial house is in order

In order to get the best interest rate possible, pull your credit prior to looking at getting a home.   Make sure everything looks positive and get the proper help in order to resolve any outstanding items.  Also, look at your overall financial portfolio and how much more you can handle on a monthly basis.  Don’t go buy a home if you are unstable in your current job.

2. Buy a home, not an investment

There is still a possibility that the housing market will continue to suffer.  Knowing this, don’t go out looking for just a cheap deal.  Get a home that you want to live in and make it a “home”.  Much of our housing economy is in this position potentially because of the number of “investment” properties that were purchased in years past.

3. Be conservative

Don’t go overboard with the future payments of the home you are looking at.  Things are still not stable in our US economy, so be a little on the conservative side with that additional “bills” you take on.

4. Get those concessions

There are a lot of homes for sale right now, therefore getting extra incentives with the home is a possibility.  It does not hurt to ask!

5. Check out foreclosures

Check out foreclosures first and see if there are any home that appeal to you.  However, working with a foreclosure home or short sale home takes some knowledge, so get with the appropriate person who knows how to handle the transaction.

The bottom line is is this is a great time to go get a home, however do your homework first, so you do not become a part of the national statistics of people loosing their homes.  Pull your credit, research home values before moving forward with anything.  It will certainly benefit you in the long run.  Leadpile Lead Exchange is currently working with the home purchase lead type.  These are people looking to buy a home and we are always looking for more companies looking to help these consumers to get that home.