If you could somehow gather dozens and dozens of executives, CEOs, and other business decision-makers into a room together and ask them how important Internet marketing is to a company, the answers you get would likely range somewhere between "very" and "extremely."

That's no surprise – nearly every organization uses the web to find customers of one sort or another. But, if you were to ask the same hypothetical group how much they've learned about Internet marketing from the companies that they’re paying small fortunes to, a blank stare might be the only answer you receive.

From time to time, we come across debates about whether bigger is actually better when it comes to business websites.

This is a relevant question for business owners and online marketers, since a "bigger" website – that is, one with more pages in the complex site structure – might end up being a bigger investment than a smaller site.

Having a search engine optimized business website is a little bit like running a marathon, or writing a novel: Lots of people want to have the finished achievement, but don't look forward to the time and effort it would take to make it happen.

In other words, it's a love-hate relationship. On the one hand, there's the goal, and on the other is the challenge. Here is a quick peek at both sides of the coin:

Although we are big fans of web analytics, it is sometimes important to remind clients that more information doesn't always lead to better predictions or decisions (just ask your local weather reporter).

In fact, in some ways an overload of information actually makes it harder to progress in your business and online marketing plan.

Here at Kayak, we work with all kinds of businesses, and not all of them have an easy time explaining what they do for customers.

There have always been highly technical companies, of course, but the need for them to market effectively has never been greater. That’s because the information age is leading to more and more specialization, where new companies are springing to life, helping businesses and consumers to meet needs that didn't even exist a few years ago.

In recent years, it has become standard practice to talk about copywriting, video, and other online marketing ingredients as "content." That's useful shorthand, but it's also potentially damaging to your actual marketing efforts.

The reason is partly to do with the word, but mostly to do with the philosophy behind it.

As friends, colleagues, and relatives, we have found hundreds of ways to use social media sites to enrich our lives.

We've discovered that social media can be great for spreading news, sharing thoughts, keeping in touch with loved ones, or even finding a laugh in a few spare moments. In fact, many of us now treat Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as regular parts of our daily routines.

A handful of retailers recently announced that they would be offering something of an almost unheard-of value: smart phones selling for a single penny.

You can bet that will bring shoppers to the stores in the early hours of the morning, and the idea might even spur you to grab a couple for that special someone on your shopping list.

With more than 100 million people accessing the web via iPhones, iPads, Droids, Blackberries and other smart phone-type devices, the market is just too big to ignore.

Like search engine optimization and social media profiles – or even traditional websites themselves, for that matter – mobile business websites are quickly becoming one of those online marketing tools that most companies have to have simply to keep up with the competition.

When you're running a small business, or even an established medium-sized organization, swimming against a tide of much larger companies can seem completely overwhelming. How do you even make a dent in the market when your competitors can outspend you 100 to 1?

Believe it or not, there is a way you can use your size to your advantage… and more specifically, to use your competitors’ size to their disadvantage.