Q: I am the owner of a company called Party Wraps. We have been in business since 2001, I am listed in the Hybrid Mom Marketplace. We started with just chocolate bars and have added numerous products. Recently my business has slowed down due to the economy. I wanted to know if you have any advice how I can promote my business. We ship all over the United States and have a lot of repeat customers. I worked so hard to get where we are today so any advice would be helpful and appreciated.

ND: As in Hollywood, when you age it's time for a facelift or at least some botox! This plateau is an opportunity for you to update the site look and feel as well as do some undercover work. The holy grail of organic Google rankings is where you can really see results.

Google works in seemingly mysterious ways. It searches through the text on your site for the key words that people are typing in when looking for your product category, Google also ranks that search by the NEWEST words. This means that if you have some part of your site designed so that you can update it frequently it has a better chance of being found. Look up "SEO" Search Engine Optimization.

Once you are found, what you sell needs to be up front and center in lovely photos that draw people in to look further. As much as we may want depth of character to matter, in the case of sales, looks are everything!

Tip:
Create a Facebook Fan Page so that your raving fans have a location to talk about how wonderful your products are! Give them opportunities to win prizes then interact with fans often to garner their loyalty and affection.