Just in case you haven't noticed, the world of internet marketing is rapidly changing. Many old-school marketers that are simply relying on keyword density and link exchanges are being left behind by savvy, progressive marketers who are capitalizing on the many opportunities afforded by the growing world of Web 2.0. These are actually very exciting times for internet marketers. Why? Simply because, until now, there has never been so many opportunities to capitalize on FREE advertising. Many marketers using YouTube, Squiddo and other social networking sites are experiencing an incredible influx of traffic to their sites. It's really hard to believe that so much traffic can be generated using these powerful, free social network sites.

Until a few years ago, the internet was a not very socially active place. Sure, we had email to communicate with friends and family, but now meeting new people online is the "in thing" and extremely easy. Since social networking sites have helped create a more tight-knit community, internet markets have an unprecedented opportunity to cash in on this viral and potent environment. It seems there are new social networking sites coming out almost weekly. Smart marketers are using every popular social networking site to obtain multiple streams of traffic.

Let's take a look at YouTube. Can you guess which YouTube videos receive the most hits? It's the ones that are entertaining (usually funny), creative and/or unique. Let's be brutally honest here. Internet marketers, as a whole, are not the most creative beings on the planet. I've seen a few really sad and "cheesy" attempts by marketers to promote their products on YouTube. I've also seen a handful of very good video marketing ads. Our mindset with any kind of advertising we do should be summed up in one word - quality. We would do well to create ads which display the same level of quality as our products.

In summary, is there a downside or "catch" to using these free sites to promote your products or website? No, you just need to know a few simple techniques in order to maximize results. There really is a fine line between attracting thousands of first time visitors and attracting a trickle of unimpressed ones. That fine line is called knowledge. We're not talking about spending weeks or months learning these vital Web 2.0 marketing techniques and strategies. You can actually learn them very quickly. In fact, you can implement these techniques today and see results immediately!