If you're small to mid-size business in Scottsdale Arizona you are struggling against a lot of local competition. There are hundreds, if not thousands of businesses in the Scottsdale area, so you need to get the competitive advantage.

That advantage is online marketing. If people are getting locally, searching for what you offer, you need to be found. That does not necessarily mean position one in google, but putting the time and effort to get on the first page, will definitely get you some organic search traffic.

The Scottsdale area is what I consider upper-middle class, so there is a lot of discretionary income to go around. There are a lot of at-home moms that use the internet to find what they're looking for locally.

Some of the businesses that are competitive in Scottsdale is cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry, massage therapy, landscape design, real estate, interior decorating, to name just a few.

So you can imagine if people are searching for your product or service, you better be first page, preferably top 5, and make sure you have an optimized google places listing too!

Then you have youtube. The second biggest search engine on the Internet. If you don't have a youtube channel, go get one right now. Then start shooting 30 second videos on the products and services you offer, so you can start linking back to your site from the youtube video.

Don't forget Twitter and even LinkedIn.

I think a lot of businesses haven't figured out Twitter, but many now know the importance of having a Facebook page. You can get really creative with your facebook page, and have special offers, as well as meetups to build a community around your company.

Another competitive business in Scottsdale is auto dealerships. In one block you have Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche, Infinity, Range Rover and BMW. I'm not kidding!

So just because you're a big name dealership, should you ignore the web, and social media? Hell to the no! You gotta be every where! The places your market sees you the better the brand recognition is for you and your company.

Doing joint ventures and promotions with complimentary business in the area is a wise move. Offer discounts for each others customers, and you'll start building a new database of customers from it.

It's competitive here in Scottsdale, but with the right mix of both offline and online marketing, you can corner your market, and be the leader. Once you get first mover position, then everyone else is playing for second.

Internet marketing in Scottsdale is also quite competitive, but there are some smaller, and nimble companies who move fast and often, and can help your business grow by leaps and bounds.

Make sure the professional you work with has a proven track record on the internet, and can back his promises. The better companies are not cheap, but well worth it, when you consider the amount of new leads and customers you're going to get.

If you're a small business, marketing on the internet is much better than those vanity ad magazines you pay thousands of dollars a month for.