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Create a 10 Second Introduction From Your USP
In my last article I mentioned that a good USP is a must-have for any serious business, and pointed you to some resources on finding the right USP for your business. But a USP does more than just keep your bank manager happy when you apply for a...
Killer Online Marketing Strategy Goes Offline
One of the greatest ways to generate new marketing strategies is to look for new ways to apply proven techniques.
Heck, some of the greatest business innovations of all time came about when someone took something that worked in one industry and...
NETWORK MARKETING: NETWORK YOUR WAY TO WEALTH (AND HEALTH)!
When you see the term "MLM" or "network marketing," several
companies or old-hat opportunities may come to mind. While some
of these organizations are notorious for not delivering the
results they promise, there are a great number of them that...
Pay-Per-Click Fraud Exposed--Part II
According to Andy Jones, a member of the Best Practices Search Engine Forums, fraudulent clicks are just another aspect of the business. "Any of us that use AdWords or any other PPC has to pay for a certain percentage of fraudulent clicks," he...
Start Blogging Now: 10 Reasons Why You Really Need a Blog for Your Business
1. It is perfect for creating a web presence for independent professionals who have something to say and who need people to get to know them and what they can do for them. 2. Having your own business blog gives you credibility and a forum where...
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Is Your Small Business Website a Diamond in the Rough?
The sheer vastness of the cyber economy is staggering. There are
well over six billion web pages vying for the attention Internet
users around the globe. Needless to say, millions of these sites
are owned and maintained by people just like you--small business
entrepreneurs and managers hoping to improve the public profile
of their organization and, ultimately, increase sales.
Given that only a fraction of websites are search engine
optimized or even adequately marketed at all, chances are that
many of you are not making much return on your investment.
While there are a multitude of reasons for this problem, one
stands out as remarkably simple: Most small-office-home-office
(SOHO) websites are virtually invisible to the surfing public.
The old adage "build it and they will come" is charming but
remains, quite sadly, used and abused by entrepreneurs hoping to
push their wares on the World Wide Web. A website, like anything
else in a society overloaded with information and plagued by
consumerism at every level--B2B included--must be marketed. And
smarter marketing is the only way your website will generate a
respectable ROI.
Simply creating and publishing a website and then waiting for
the phone to ring (or your inbox to flood) is akin to printing
off maybe 25 brochures and then purposely leaving the whole pile
on your seat before you get off the subway. What do you think
are the chances any of those brochures are going to sell
anything to anyone? They could be the flashiest and cleverest
brochures ever published, but if no one ever sees them, it
doesn't really matter how much time or money you spent on the
things.
The same principle applies to business websites. And this does
not even account for the issue of content or usability. At least
with a brochure, most people force themselves to put some
content (read
"useful information") in it somewhere. Most of the
time the margins are also aligned nicely, and the colors tend to
not annoy most color blind people. But I'll save those topics
for future articles.
When you build a website--or hire someone to build it for
you--think of it not only as an online brochure for your wares
(which it is and many designers forget this), but as your
business' own walking, talking, near flesh-and-blood
salesperson. Do you want your salesperson to be a wallflower,
sitting in the corner of the ball room at a Rotary meeting,
chain smoking and nervously looking away whenever someone tries
to make eye contact? Or do you want your salesperson to work the
room, shake hands with many interesting people, and give each
one a taste of what your company has to offer? Hey, smoking is
passé. But networking is so now!
The point is, no one but you and your webmaster is going to be
stopping by your site very often if no one but you and your
webmaster knows about it. Websites must be marketed just like
anything else. There are countless ways to bring traffic to your
site, many you may not have even heard of. Whether you hire a
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert or simply rely on word
of mouth generated by you and your staff, one thing is certain:
you must purposefully seek ways to bring traffic to your site
and then follow through religiously. If you don't, I'm afraid
your website will most likely end up just another diamond in the
rough.
About the author:
Karri Flatla is a business graduate of the University of
Lethbridge and principal of snap! virtual assistance inc., a
small business consulting firm providing online marketing
services to the progressive entrepreneur. Karri also produces
Outsmart, the newsletter for small business with big purpose.
Visit http://www.snap-va.com for more information.
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