"We're ready to work on our 2007 online budget."

That's a comment I'm hearing more and more as we wrap up the current year and turn our attention to the new. When I'm working with client team members that are thinking about what we can actually accomplish with the tools available today, that's a great comment to hear.

More than ever before, the online tools we have at our disposal are becoming the foundation for tracking the majority, if not all, of the success of all of the advertising and marketing activities of our clients. That said, budgets that were once lumped in under "Internet" are now being broken down to more specific disciplines. This is refreshing as it gets people thinking more about ROI. We've moved from "the website" to more defined deliverables such as "leads" and "conversions" and "the long tail"

Companies that are using, or plan to use, the internet as an important part of their marketing mix should break out their budgets to cover the basics. From there, each segment can be expanded as necessary for further segmentation.

Here is a list to get started with along with some links to companies we think offer great products and value. Of course, the Team at Congruent Media can handle all of this for you :)

Infrastructure
Website Hosting - Congruent Media
Secure Certificate - Comodo
Google Analytics - Analytics
Email Service Provider Hosting - Vertical Response | Constant Contact
ROI Tracking Mechanism - DART for Advertisers
Google Website Optimizer - Sign up for BETA
PR Hits Tracking - Google Alerts
CRM Application Licenses (lead/customer service mgmt.) - SalesForce.com

Internet Solutions Partner - Congruent Media
Strategy, Site Updates, Design
Application Design and Programming
Search Engine Optimization
Pay-Per-Click Campaign Management
eNewsletter Campaigns
Sweepstakes and Contests

Search Engine Marketing
PPC Search Engine Marketing - Google Adwords
PPC Search Engine Marketing - Yahoo Search Services
PPC Search Engine Marketing - Microsoft adCenter

Banner Advertising
Banner Ad Network - Advertising.com
Microsoft Small Business Banners - Microsoft.com
Targeted Sites - specific to your needs

Viral Marketing Opportunities
Online Video - YouTube.com
Social Communities - MySpace.com
Blogging - TypePad.com

This is not intended to be a complete list as every marketer should have stuff they're trying that's under the radar, creative and otherwise unique to their own situation. If you're not at least looking at all of the above in 2007, you should consider how important a well run internet marketing team can impact your company's effectiveness in the marketplace.