Catch Them In Your Web
How Your Company Can Snag New Customers

 

Written By Jay Grove
posted on December 18, 2007
jay@jaygrove.com

 

The internet has not only changed the way that we do business and spend our free time; it’s also changed our vocabulary. Words like “address” and “mail” have taken on a new meaning in the past twenty years, with many people communicating via e-mail more than they do with the phone or in writing. The internet has gone from being a novelty to truly becoming the “World Wide” Web. So why are some business owners still trying to survive without a web site?

 

Perhaps the most common response for owners and managers is that their business is too small. They view web sites as something for bigger, more established names. Others feel that their customer base doesn’t go online or would rather get their information in a more traditional manner. Or is it the old refrain that technology is just “too expensive”? Answers like these are the myths that keep businesses from being as successful as they could be and from seeing the type of revenue that they’ve always hoped for.

 

The truth is that having a web site actually works in favor of small business owners. Web sites provide a chance to level the playing field and eliminate factors like location and budget. A professionally designed web site gives a business of any size a corporate look and feel. And nearly 70% of the world goes online. That’s a figure that has universal appeal from the biggest corporation down to home-based businesses. Not only is the cost of a web site less than the cost of advertising on the radio or cable TV, the internet provides your potential customers with 24/7 access to your products and services.

 

So once you’ve decided to get a site, what do you do? Here are some helpful tips to get your web traffic moving:

• Hire a Pro- You wouldn’t hand-write your business cards or storefront signs, so don’t leave your web site design to chance. Having a web design company develop your site can save you time and insure that your site is both attractive and easy to navigate.
• Start your engines- Your search engines that is… Search sites like Google and Yahoo rely on keywords about your business to prioritize online search results. ‘Search Engine Marketing’ (SEM) allows you to market your business via these search engines. Proper marketing will insure that you receive a higher “rank”, meaning that your business will appear closer to the top of a user’s results page.
• Find the right words- Making sure that your site is utilizing the proper keywords is known as ‘Search Engine Optimization’ (SEO). If you elect to use a professional web designer, they’ll make sure that your site is using the best combination of keywords and phrases so that you’re appearing as close to the top of the search results as possible.
• Set a mouse trap- Another SEM option is Pay-Per-Click. Search engines will list you at the top of their results for certain search word combos. In exchange, you pay a small fee to the search engine company every time that your link is accessed through their results. Think of it paying for pre-qualified leads.

 

The average web site viewing time when someone is searching online is 30 seconds. By using any or all of these tools you’ll be making the most of your first virtual impression.