Peter Platt has PSquared focused on digital growth

Since its inception, digital technology has spawned the onset of reactionaries who may believe that receiving a thousand clicks means their website is humming right along.

"More often than not, when we ask companies what digital does for their business, they don't know," said Peter Platt, president of PSquared Digital. "A lot of people talk about the latest trends. Not many talk about driving sales."

He began the company out of his home three years ago, and today has moved it into office space on Allens Creek Road in Brighton. "We help companies use digital to deliver real business impact," he said. "We use business marketing strategies, haloed with analytics to drive measurable results."

Platt and his team start with a two- to three-week performance analysis that includes a review of what clients have been doing digitally, what works and what does not, a check of the competition and eventual roll-out of services in consultation with clients.

"We try to flex our team to fit theirs," he said. "We strive to work with our clients existing resources and then fill the necessary holes."

Chris Talbot, a senior director at EarthLink, said that working with PSquared Digital has helped grow the firm in a very short time. "In the first six months, Peter helped us increase our intake opportunities by about 1,200 percent," said Talbot.

Although Search engine optimization has been a popular topic in the digital world, it alone is not enough to help small businesses drive sales. "You have to question the idea of a free service driving your sales," he said. "In addition, a lot of people also focus on the wrong metric. You don't need to be No. 1 on Google. You need more traffic from Google."

He also said that banner ads are often dismissed too early as an ineffective advertising metric due to a low click through rate. They do have their place, Platt said.

"We can often see the impact of these campaigns in other ways including increases in search traffic when banners are running," he said. "As digital marketers, we need to think a little bit harder, and look closer at where digital has impact on the business as a whole."

Russo is a freelance writer covering the Rochester area.

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