Do You Think a Website is Important to Market Your Business?

At the end of 2009 “...the majority of small business owners still don't consider use of the Internet as mandatory in running a small business in America today...” Discover said this in a December 17th article in the Daily Herald.

45 percent of 22 million small business in America had Websites as of August, 2009. The article went on to say: “Forty-six percent of small business owners said it is a myth that every company should have a Web site, 44 percent felt the opposite and 10 percent were not sure.”

I was also a skeptic up until about three years ago. Then I began to see the potential sales results from a targeted E-marketing effort. So, looking at it from a glass half-full perspective: there are 9.5 million small businesses that DO have Websites. Isn't that a large target audience!

What Do Search Engines See When They Visit Your Website? It Could Surprise You!

Enter your site's domain name in a Google search box. Click on the search function. Your site should be the first result on the page. Click on “Cached” at the bottom, next to your address. Your Web site's landing page should open up and it should look as it does on a monitor. Next click on “text-only-version” near the top right. All graphics and pictures will be eliminated and you will see the text or content as search engine robots do. This is what is read and categorized/indexed so search engines can match your information to their search engine queries. Be on guard if things look strange!

For a pdf version download with graphics, visit our site DIYWEBJEM – DIY Guides.

Income Ideas: Website Flipping

A website flipper is like a virtual real estate broker without the need for a license. Real estate flippers buy a property, fix it up and then sell it for a profit. Website flippers do essentially the same thing just instead with websites.

How do you actually make money from website flipping and how hard is it to do? Here are some tips for those considering giving the virtual real estate market a go:

Buy a site to generate ad revenue. This works very well for sites whose overall content is good but they have been poorly optimized by their owner. You may not need to do much more than ramp up the traffic coming to the site. Buying the site will give you the right to all of its’ content as well, which you could repackage and redistribute for even more profit.

Buy a Community Site. Many busy forums are started by keen hobbyists, who then run out of the money to pay for all the extra bandwidth to keep them going. Just be careful with the site’s audience, as they may not take well to their community forum becoming an advertising laden affair and migrate away quickly. Subtlety is called for here to avoid being left with a lemon on your hands.

In order to be a successful website flipper you need the design and marketing skills to successfully upgrade the site, or at least know where to hire someone who does. In order to make the kind of profit you are hoping for you will need to put the effort in, this is not a “passive” moneymaker.

Good places to begin shopping for a website? Flippa is a major player in the industry but, even Ebay now has a websites for sale section. Some others to try: BuySellWebsite, DealASite, & WebsiteBroker. To really find a bargain you may have to dig deep into a Google search but, this expanding business venture could be a great investment.

For more online business tips and advice visit http://www.myworkathomeresources.com

3 Reasons to Hire a Creative Web Designer – Sorry, but I don't agree.

The comment beneath this LinkedIn discussion headline read: “Website is all about the way you design it! No matter how much marketing you do, or how quality-filled products and services you offer, it is designing that gets you the actual recognition.”

My comment: “Can't agree less. A pretty Website without traffic is like a bright billboard on a road with no traffic after it was bypassed by a superhighway. It's like a Cubic zirconia bright, shiny and optically flawless - but basically worthless.

“There are no absolutes in building a successful Web business. It takes a combination of graphic art design, Web development and E-Marketing to complete the entire picture. Cash is king, traffic drives sales. Beauty is skin deep.”

Do you have a thought or comment on my comment?

When did you find out it was all about traffic?

A major Search Engine Optimization company's newsletter I received today had this subject line: "When did you find out it was all about traffic?"

It didn't take me long to realize I had that figured out a while back. Generating traffic to your site is what increases sales. And sales are why you are in business, unless of course you are philanthropic.

Traffic also has a side effect. It raises page ranking because it proves you have good content, or what people are looking for. Good content plus high traffic (or backlinks) get you good grades in Google.

Has the economy slowed your sales? Try some newer Web marketing techniques when traditional methods do not work!

Old school marketing techniques such as telemarketing, cold calling, direct mail, e-mail campaigns, etc., are known as “Outbound” or interruption based marketing. They have put time starved consumers and businesses in a “do not interrupt me” defensive mode. Protective shields (voice mail, spam filters, etc.) guard against attacks.

Organizations must adopt to the consumer's altered buying patterns to survive these turbulent times. Realize how people search for information and answers to questions. They do so on their terms, not yours. They do so when they are ready and at times convenient to them. This is especially true of more affluent and higher educated people.

Where do they turn to for information and answers to their questions? The same place you turn to, the WEB. Of course they do! It is open round the clock. Consumers scour Websites, reviews, forums, blogs, and social networking sites such as MySpace, facebook, LinkedIn. Information is dispersed almost instantaneously via Twitter and other broadcasting means.

The key to your Web success is adopting to this newer “Inbound” or permission based marketing. I define this loosely as being at the right place at the right time. Or, in other words, when someone searches for your service or product, make it easy to find you, 24/7/365. Make it easy for them to find you and your information. Prepare your site for Google searches through optimization. Then get your self known by blogging, article marketing, video marketing, press releases, etc.

Comments are welcome.

Spring Courses for Website Owners to Drive Traffic and Increase Sales

I am proud to announce I will be teaching two short courses for the Buffalo Grove (IL) Park District starting in the Spring, 2010. The courses will be repeated in the Summer.

The first is "Considerations in Putting Your Business on the Web" for non- Website owners. It is a pre-requisite if someone does not have a site for the follow up course: "Increasing your Traffic (and Sales) to your Existing Website."

Look for enrollment announcements in about three months!

Fondly,

Michael