The contest starts Monday and runs until July 11.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The days of keyword-stuffing your company’s website is over. And if you think voice-based internet search is a gimmick, think again.

The days of keyword-stuffing your company’s website are over. And if you think voice-based internet search is a gimmick, think again.

There are now more than 2 billion monthly Facebook users according to data released by the company earlier this year. This means that it is getting harder and harder to get attention on Facebook.

Did you “try marketing” this year? If you did, you probably wasted your money. Here is what usually happens: You saw a television or radio ad for a competitor or received one of the company’s postcards — by mistake.

“The worst customer service experience ever!”

“The bed was dirty, and the bathroom had hair on the toilet seat. My dog refused to enter the room. He slept in the car. I don’t know why I didn’t do the same thing. Do not ever stay here!”

Literally, hundreds of millions of dollars in sales are generated mostly by the “stealth” marketing tactic of publicity. That’s a huge return on investment, because publicity is free.

Groups like NADCA have done a lot to boost the professional image of companies that perform duct cleaning, but the industry is still rife with dishonest contractors who prey on homeowners.

Former editor and publisher Ed Bas wrote his first column under that headline in July 1997, when BNP Media — then known as Business News Publishing Co. — took over production of the magazine from Nick Carter, whose father started Snips in 1932.