InterneteCommerce

SEO Popularity:Third Ingredient for Longterm SEO Visibility

CommunityTeam — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:27:00 GMT

Maximizing your SEO visibility and SEO rankings will help your website reach the right audience at the right moment. Find expert advice and information to help increase your site's SEO popularity.

SEO Popularity: The Third Ingredient for Long-Term SEO Visibility

by icrossingSEO
The previous two articles, SEO Fundamentals and SEO Marketing Strategy, focused on the controllable aspects of SEO - eliminating technical obstacles, and using relevant keywords to achieve SEO visibility and engage a wider audience with your business.

SEO popularity, the third and final component to maximize SEO visibility and rankings for your business, addresses the external tactics to drive traffic and conversions to your website.

Linking
The primary method search engines utilize to find websites is from following links from other relevant, on-topic sites. Quality links from other websites can play a significant role in the SEO visibility of your web page(s).

When acquiring external links, it's important to focus on deeper areas of your site instead of your homepage - category, sub-category and product pages are ideal. This can improve the SEO popularity of those pages and ultimately improve their SEO rankings. Improved search rankings for deeper pages can also lead to a shorter conversion path and improved online sales.

Where should I find relevant sites to solicit links? A great place to start locating links to your product pages is your business partners - wholesalers, manufacturers and other suppliers. Not only can this improve the SEO popularity, it can lead to greater sales of those products, which creates a win-win opportunity for you and your business partners.

Moreover, web directories can be useful sources for inbound links, due to the fact that they are trusted sources of information for consumers and search engines. Directories such as Best of the Web, Business.com, Yahoo! Directory and DMOZ are high-quality, trusted directories to which every business should submit their listing. When submitting a business listing to a directory, be sure to include your web page's targeted keyword(s) in the link text and description.

Although some directories require a nominal fee to review your business listing - which is an acceptable practice - it is never recommended that you pay for links. Google, Yahoo! and other search engines publically state that buying links from sites can lead to the buyer's site being removed from their indexes.

Social Media

In addition to actively soliciting links, there are other tactics that can improve SEO popularity and rankings virally. Allowing consumers to post comments and links about your site via social media sites such as Digg, Facebook, Delicious and Twitter can greatly increase exposure for your business, lead to viral traffic and links, as well as improved SEO visibility. Consumers will have the ability to post negative comments about your business, so it's recommended to research this option carefully.

Publishing content via articles and blogs can also create additional consumer reach and can lead to greater SEO popularity. Publishing this information via RSS and email marketing are excellent, cost-effective ways to ensure your consumers receive this information. Please note: To maintain consumer interest, this type of consumer engagement requires publishing information frequently - and on regular schedules.

Sitemap Feeds

If your site has a significant amount of "unchangeable" obstacles, sitemap feeds can be an alternative method to help search engines find and index your site's content. Not to be confused with a web page sitemap, a sitemap feed is an XML file of your site's URLs that can be submitted to search engines. Google, Yahoo!, MSN Live and Ask use the same sitemap feed protocol via Sitemaps.org.

Removing obstacles and enabling search engines to crawl your site naturally is preferred over sitemap feeds. Sitemaps are highly recommended for mobile sites due to the limited amount of inbound link opportunities.

Integrated Marketing Channels

Integrating all marketing channels into a cohesive message can help create long-term SEO popularity.

It's important to understand that your other marketing campaigns drive search behavior. Defining targeted keywords as the core of your overall marketing strategy and integrating them into all marketing channels, such as paid search, banner/display ads, email marketing, social and offline marketing, can help ensure that your business is visible for all residual searches from other marketing campaigns, such as TV and print.

In conclusion, a comprehensive SEO marketing strategy addresses all technical issues, clearly defines and integrates targeted keywords, and ensures other relevant sites and marketing outlets speak to your business.

About the Author: Richard Chavez is an SEO Manager at iCrossing, a leading digital marketing agency, who develops search strategies for Fortune 500 clients in the financial services, publishing, CPG and pharmaceutical sectors. He is also a frequent search-industry conference speaker.

The Only Article You Will Ever Need To Read on SEO

SBOCTeam — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:44:00 GMT

by ZekeLL

Do you think that SEO is rocket science? What if I gave you a step-by-step plan that has worked for us and our clients time and time again? What if it was so easy than even a computer-idiot could do it?

This is going to be a long article so I will break it into parts and post one part every day.

Today we will talk about the very first step of SEO, keyword research.

Step 1: Coming up with a list of possible keywords
Let's say you sell furniture online. Some of the keywords that I could think of are: wood table, metal dresser, kitchen furniture set. Make this list a lot longer. Add as many keywords as you can think of.

Step 2: Use a keyword research tool to get even more keywords
I love WordTracker and even the free version provides priceless information. When I enter "furniture" on WordTracker I get a lot of suggestions: dorm furniture, patio furniture, storage furniture, office furniture. This will give you a lot of keywords you didn't think of before.

Step 3: Check search volume
You can use WordTracker (http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/) or/and Google Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) to find out how many searches your keywords have. You don't want to waste your time optimizing your website for keywords that are searched for once a month.

Step 4: Check competition
After you've found relevant keywords with a good search volume you have to make sure that they are relatively easy to rank for. The less competition, the better. You can go to Google and type "allintitle:patio furniture" (without the quotes) and it will tell you how many websites are competing for that same term.

At this point you should have 5-10 keywords that are highly relevant to your business, have a lot of monthly searches, and are not too competitive. For some markets this is a very easy task. For others, such as financial services and real estate, coming up with the right keywords can be a daunting task.

If this is the case, break down the market into micro-markets. For example, if you own a national chain of car dealerships, ranking for the term "cars" will be extremely hard. But by breaking down the market into locations, car brands, and models, it will be a lot easier. Take a look at how it should be done:

Toyota Prius Cleveland Ohio
Ford Focus Denver Colorado

Zeke Camusio is a serial entrepreneur. The Outsourcing Company, his 6th endeavor, is a creative web design and Internet marketing agency with offices in Aspen, CO and New York.

Zeke writes Let's Do It!, one of the most prestigious and popular entrepreneurship and Internet marketing blog. Check it out: www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog.

Applied SEO Marketing Strategy to Engage Consumers

SBOCTeam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:11:00 GMT

by icrossingseo

SEO relevancy, the second component of an SEO marketing strategy, focuses on defining keywords and applying them to your site. Find out how keyword relevancy and understanding the Keyword Consumer Decision Process can help you connect with customers.

SEO Relevancy
Applied SEO marketing strategy to engage consumers with your business

The main components of any successful SEO campaign can be broken into three parts; Crawlability, Relevancy and Popularity.

The previous article, SEO Fundamentals, focused on the technical aspects of SEO - providing an overview of the major obstacles that affect web site crawlability.

The second major component, SEO relevancy, focuses on the applied SEO marketing strategy of your web site. This critical stage is where keywords are defined and applied to your web pages.

Keyword Relevancy

Keywords provide the greatest insight into consumer behavior. The consumer is telling the world exactly what they are looking for by the search terms they use.

Researching keywords relevant to your website is the most critical component of SEO. This is where you will determine which search terms are critical for your business.

Keyword Consumer Decision Process

When researching keywords, it's important to consider your entire site structure and choose only keywords or phrases that are most relevant to each page. During this time it's tempting to use the same popular keyword on every page of your site, but it's a temptation that should be avoided. Instead, apply individual keywords as they would flow through the Keyword Consumer Decision Process (see graphic).

General Interest: Keywords in this stage are usually most relevant for a home page or major category pages. Search terms typically have high search demand and tend to convert at a lower rate. Keyword example: Cookware
Research: Keyword relevancy at this level is most applicable to category and sub-category pages. Although search demand will decrease at this stage in the keyword consumer decision process, they will convert at a higher rate. Keyword example: Frying pans
Conversion: While search demand is at its lowest during this phase, conversion is at its highest. Product-level pages are the most common at this stage. Keyword example: 10-inch non-stick frying pan

Applying Your SEO Marketing Strategy

To achieve the highest-possible search-rank position, targeted keywords must be visible on the page and should represent each page's overall theme. When consumers visit your web site from search engines, the page must speak to keywords they searched. The following page elements are crucial for keyword integration:

Page title: A short phrase that describes the overall theme of the page. This is the main link from a search engine results page (SERP). Keywords should be integrated into the title and should be part of a compelling marketing message that entices users to click-thru. Page title example: Shop for Gourmet Cookware from Rita's Kitchen Store

Meta description: Displayed in the SERPs, a meta description provides a detailed description of the page theme. While it is not visible on the page, meta descriptions are visible in the page's HTML code. Meta description example: Rita's Kitchen Store offers gourmet cookware at low prices. Choose from a wide selection of cookware from your favorite brands. Free shipping is available on all orders over $100.

Page content: Applying keywords to the visible page elements is critical. Integrating targeted keywords into page headers, paragraph content, page links, etc. will help consumers and search engines understand that the page is about the targeted keywords. This helps ensure that your web site is relevant to a particular keyword and, over time, higher keyword rankings in search engines should reflect this.

Note: You should use no more than two to three keywords/keyword phrases on each page. To help you gauge keyword relevancy, use tools like Wordtracker, Keyword Discover or Google AdWords Keyword Tool when developing your SEO marketing strategy.

Crawlability and relevancy are the primary controllable factors of SEO. Eliminating technical obstacles and applying relevant keywords to your web site can create strong search engine visibility and engage a wider audience with your business.

The next article in this SEO Fundamentals series will cover popularity - the third phase of any successful SEO marketing strategy.

Put SEO Fundamentals to Work for Your Business

SBOCTeam — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:09:00 GMT

Many obstacles can reduce web site crawability - and impact your chances of achieving a coveted spot on a search engine results page. Learn the SEO fundamentals from an industry expert and put his SEO best practices to work for you.

SEO Fundamentals
Improving Web Site Crawlability

By icrossingseo

Over the years, the growth in search engine usage has become increasingly popular. Consumers use search engines to do everything from research investments to buy shoes. With this in mind, ensuring your business has good visibility in search engines should be a critical element of your marketing mix.

The practice of search engine optimization (SEO) is concerned with maximizing the visibility of your business by ensuring its web pages appear frequently and prominently in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

The goal of this marketing channel, and therefore the SEO best practices outlined in this article, is to create an environment where all businesses, both large and small, can achieve top rankings in SERPs on leading search engines for search terms that are relevant to their business.

Search engines assign weights to various elements on a page and use algorithms to determine the value of each element - and thus how pages will rank in the SERPs. These algorithms vary by search engine and are regularly modified, so there is no "silver bullet" to getting a page-one rankings. Instead, it's best to follow the engines' SEO best practices - and your own good judgment - in developing and maintaining your web site - and ultimately your brand.

This series of articles describes SEO fundamentals and is designed to help you not only understand how various elements of your web site are evaluated by the engines, but learn to optimize your web site in three specific areas (crawlability, relevancy, and popularity) for improved visibility.

Web Site Crawlability

To achieve visibility, search engines must be able to find the content of your site. Using programs known as "spiders, bots or crawlers," they are able to "read" both the on-page content and take cues from a site's programming language. These crawlers follow a very simple process; read content and follow links (e.g. crawling).

To achieve top rankings, it's imperative that spiders are granted access all the salient points of your web site. The following are some common factors that would prohibit a search engine spider from crawling your site and ultimately reducing visibility of your business on the web. Duplicate Content

Duplicate content exists when two or more URLs display the same content. Search engines often become confused as to which URL is the correct source. Many times a search engine will reduce rankings for web sites with duplicate content.

Flash

Although Flash technology creates a rich visual experience for visitors, it can prohibit spiders from effectively reading the content on the page. That's because content in a Flash file is broken into several components that is not visible in the HTML code of the page.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a useful technology that drives drop-down menus, enables add-to-cart functions and more. Search engines historically have ignored JavaScript code on web pages. This is not to say that JavaScript shouldn't be used, but using it in a way that won't prevent a spider from crawling the pertinent on-page content is important. Placing JavaScript in external files or in CSS navigation are both excellent ways to minimize obstacles created by on-page JavaScript.

User-action and cookie requirements

To gain an understanding of user-behavior, adhere to legal requirements and other reasons, many web sites require cookies and user-actions to declare location, age requirements, etc. This is common for regulated industries (financial services, pharmaceutical, energy, etc.). The issue this presents is that a spider is not able to crawl past this point. If the entry page to a site contains this type of obstacle, the search engine may be prohibited from indexing all the relevant content.

Another critical component of web site crawlability is the internal linking structure. Because search engine spiders only read content and follow links, it's important to develop an easy-to-follow internal linking structure that will enable all visitors to navigate your site and find all the critical points easily and quickly. SEO best practices suggest creating an easy-to-follow navigation and internal sitemap page to facilitate better crawling and provide a better user experience.

Once all web site crawlability issues have been solved, your site will be ready for optimization. The next article in this SEO Fundamentals series will cover relevancy - the second phase of any SEO program.

About the Author: Richard Chavez is an SEO Manager at iCrossing, a leading digital marketing agency, whodevelops search strategies for Fortune 500 clients in the financial services, publishing, CPG and pharmaceutical sectors.

Get Noticed

SBOCTeam — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:37:00 GMT

Search engine optimization is the most effective way to make sure your web site gets the visitors it needs

By Chris Freeburn

There's no avoiding the Internet these days. Even the smallest businesses need some sort of web presence to compete in today's marketplace. But while creating and maintaining a web site - or even a web storefront - has become easy enough for the average small business owner to handle with the help of the right Internet Service Provider (ISP) or web hosting company, many fledgling ecommerce entrepreneurs soon discover that it's one thing to get your company on the web, and quite another to draw customers to your website.

"Steering web traffic to your site requires some thought and planning," says New York-based computer and network consultant Kevin Freeman. "First, you need to understand how people actually find web sites on the World Wide Web." Freeman says that most website traffic is generated by search engines like Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Ask and the now household name, Google. "People begin looking for a product or service by throwing the product name or a few descriptive phrases into a search engine and seeing what comes up," he explains. Most of the time, for any product or service search, the first results the search engine returns will be ecommerce websites. Depending on the product or service, there may be hundreds or thousands of such online vendors willing to sell their products to the first consumer who clicks through to their site.

That means that in order for your website to stand out among the legion of possibilities that any of the major search engines are apt to turn up, you need to try and get your website somewhere near the top of the listings. "People are much more likely to click on the first dozen or so sites the search engine provides them," Freeman says. Any shopping decision they make will likely be made on one of those websites. If your site is the eightieth or hundredth site listed, potential consumers are much less likely to ever click on your link.

So, to improve your website's chance of landing relatively close to the top in any search engine's listings, here are a few tips.

Keywords
Develop strong keywords and key phrases that accurately describe your business and repeat these words and phrases all over your website. Search engines deploy specialized programs called spiders that "crawl" through the web, scanning millions of web sites a day, and indexing them based on certain criteria, including words and phrases that appear often on their web pages. If your business caters to a specific city or region, make sure the name of your area of operation appears repeatedly too. Putting your keywords near the top of your websites' pages is important, since search engine indexing programs give priority to content at the top of the page. Search engine giant Google offers a free online tool that helps web site builders determine which keywords to use on their website (*adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal*).

Getting Meta
Meta tags are short bits of text that are encoded into a web page in the HTML language that computers use to create and read documents on the web. Meta tags provide a description of the web page's content that can usually only be seen by search engines. In the early days of the web, most meta tags consisted solely of keywords and phrases; however, since the beginning of the decade most search engines have moved away from simple meta tag keywords for indexing since the method is considered unreliable and open to misuse by spamming websites. Many search engines now favor Meta tag descriptions. A meta tag description is a short piece of text describing - as concisely and accurately as possible - the web page's content. Meta tag descriptions should be no longer than 200 characters of plain text.

You can enter meta tag information in the HTML framework of your web pages using any one of several available website creation programs. In the event that your web-hosting company (which maintains your website on its servers) has created your website for you, simply inquire what meta tags have been added into the website's pages and add any descriptive meta tags you think are necessary.

Update Your Site Often
A number of search engines periodically re-index websites in their directories based on the number of changes they notice when they scan the websites. A frequently updated website will be considered more "current" than one less often updated and will receive a higher ranking in the search engines results.

Keep It Easy
It should be easy for customers to view your website. It should also be easy for the spider programs that search engines use to scan websites. Some of today's flashier website display technologies, like JavaScript and Macromedia Flash, may add visual interest to your website, but only if potential customers have the correct plug-ins for these subprograms already installed in their web browsers. "Nothing will stop a potential customer from looking at your website faster than getting an error message saying they need to install something in order to view it," Freeman says. Worse, search engine spiders usually scan websites in text format, which means that they are unable to read data contained in JavaScript or Flash. If they can't read it, it doesn't get indexed.

Additionally, some search engine spiders have trouble reading websites that use frames. Frames are a way to divide a webpage so that multiple documents can be displayed simultaneously. Search engines including Excite, Hotbot, and Alta Vista will not fully index frame-laden websites, thus reducing your website's chances of appearing on their search results.

In order to see if search engine spiders can fully read your website, you can examine it they way they see it - in text format - using a free text-based web browser like Lynx (http://lynx.isc.org/).

Submitting Your Site
In addition to loading your site with keywords and adjusting your HTML meta tags, you can also submit your website directly to search engines for their consideration. All of the major search engines provide a submissions process for website owners, which usually involves filling out and submitting an online form in which you provide your website's URL and various kinds of descriptive information. Resubmitting your website on a periodic basis - say, every few months - can help increase your ranking. There are also a number of web-businesses that promise to submit your website to a variety of search engines for free, or for a price. Paid web engine submission services can cover a larger number of search engines via an automated process.

Paying for Attention
Many search engines - who are always looking for revenue, just like everyone else - will offer preferential search results positions to websites that pay for it. Depending on the search engine, there are several levels of placement offered, with increasing fees for better search results placement.

Get Linked
Among the things search engine spiders take into consideration when indexing websites is the number of times a particular website is linked to by other websites, especially high-traffic websites. In short, the more people, organizations or other businesses who link to your website on their websites, the higher your ranking will be with search engines. You can increase you website's number of incoming links through a variety of methods. Involve your business in local civic or charitable events. The websites for these organizations or events will likely list your business as a contributor or sponsor and provide a link to your website. Make sure your business's website is listed in professional or industry organization online directories or the local chamber of commerce website. Locate other businesses - presumably non-competing businesses - with which you can trade links, or try a site like LinkExchange (www.linkexchanged.com/) that will help you find websites willing to link to your own.

Chris Freeburn is an associate editor/writer for Priority magazine.

Web Hosting Checklist

SBOCTeam — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:26:00 GMT

Basic questions to ask when choosing a web hosting service for your business:

1. How much storage space does the web host provide?

2. How much bandwidth is provided during the rental period?

3. What is the cost for bandwidth in excess of the allotted amount?

4. What level of security does the web host offer for information stored on your web site?

5. What operating system does the web host use and will it work with my company's system?

6. Does the web host provide your web site with a unique domain name appropriate to your business?

7. How many email accounts are provided?

8. Does the web host offer spam filtering and auto reply functions on the provided email accounts?

9. What is the guaranteed uptime for the web site?

10. What will the web host offer you if the uptime guarantee is not met?

Selling on the Web

SBOCTeam — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:08:00 GMT

It has never been easier to build an online store and sell your products on the Internet. Is it time you took the plunge?
By Morin Bishop

No matter what your company's products or services, it's increasingly clear that you need some sort of Web presence, if only to raise consumer recognition of your business. But what if you want to actually sell your products online? In the early years of the Internet, website creation was in the hands of software writers who understood HTML, the software language used to place content on the World Wide Web, the popular user interface that runs on the Internet (the two terms are popularly used, erroneously, to mean the same thing). Fortunately, today a myriad of services exist to get your business online and ready for e-commerce with an absolute minimum of difficulty and fuss. If you know how to work a web browser, you can begin selling your products online.

Importance of E-Commerce
A 2005 survey commissioned by web hosting giant 1&1 found that 94 percent of small business owners that maintained a website credited it with increased sales and market presence. "Our findings indicate that, more than ever, the vast potential of the Internet is definitely within reach for SMBs," says Andreas Gauger, Chairman of 1&1. "These are businesses with anywhere from two or three to 100 employees, and they're reaping the rewards of the Internet just as much as their larger corporate competitors. Clearly, you don't need a massive IT budget or advanced technical resources to have a sophisticated and productive web presence. Those SMBs that still aren't online are truly missing out on taking their business to another level."

Building Your Own Online Store
Opening an online store for your products is surprisingly easy. There are a large number of web hosting companies, firms that create and operate web sites from their servers for a monthly or periodic fee. Working with a web hosting company eliminates the technical hassles of purchasing your own Internet server, connecting it to the Internet and keeping it in working order. All of the larger web hosting firms, most of which cater to small businesses, allow you to create your own web site, using off-the-shelf software readily available at popular software vendors, like CompUSA, or by using their own web site creation software. If you choose the latter option, the hosting company will walk you through the construction of your website by asking you what you'd like to see appear on it. According to Kevin Kilroy, chairman of web hosting firm Dotster, his company's website creation process is simple. "We provide the small business owner with direct contact to a human being who takes him or her through the design process." Kilroy says that Dotster listens to what the small business owner wants and suggests additional options based on the business's type of operations and then creates a variety of sample web sites that are sent to the small business owner for alteration or approval. "The whole process can be done with a phone call or two and can take as little as 24 hours," Kilroy says. Adding the ability to sell products through your site then becomes a simple matter of selecting an e-commerce option. Hosting companies like Dotster, Yahoo, Blue Host, IX Web Hosting, GoDaddy, and iPower will configure your online storefront for you, adding whatever products and services, as well as billing and shipping options, you want.

Payment Options
If you want to sell your products online, you'll need to be able to receive at least some of the major electronic payment options, which include credit card payments and electronic bank transfers. You can easily equip your online store with electronic payment processing services from a number of companies, including VeriSign, Authorize.Net , CyberSource and Payment Online..

The eBay Option
Perhaps your don't want to set up your own website, but you'd still like to sell your products online. eBay may be your answer. Though best known for its auction-style sales, eBay permits vendors to sell their merchandise in a variety of ways, including at fixed prices. eBay also permits vendors to create "storefronts" on its site and provides various advertising options to steer bidders and browsers to your products. You will have to register with eBay and agree to their restrictions and fees, which have risen recently, but more than half a million small businesses and individuals have made eBay their primary source of income.

Morin Bishop is editor-in-chief of Priority magazine

Your Web Presence

akgold — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:52:00 GMT

You may not believe that the Internet is critical to your success, but if you’re not on the Web, you’re ignoring a vast pool of potential customers
By Reed Richardson

It’s increasingly clear that the Internet is reshaping the face of commerce both in the US and internationally. Small businesses are not only not immune from the effects of the Internet, they are often in the forefront of making the Internet work to their advantage. However, many small business owners remain hesitant to create an Internet presence for their companies or to expand what they already have, because they fear the technical issues involved.

We offer the following questions for small business owners to consider when evaluating their firm’s Internet presence in 2007.

Does my small business really need a web site?
According to most experts the answer is a resounding yes. No matter what size your business is, or what industry you’re in—even if you never plan to handle any transactions online—the value of a web site as a marketing tool vastly outweighs the cost of creating and maintaining the site.

In the U.S., recent Pew surveys found that 73 percent of American adults currently use the Internet, with almost 42 percent of American households now possessing broadband (high speed) Internet access. Mary Madden, a researcher at the Pew Internet and American Life Project, notes that 32 percent of adults say the Internet has profoundly changed the way they shop and gather information. “Many people begin their shopping with a visit to Google or another search portal,” she says. “More and more people look at online phone directories before they pull out the Yellow Pages.” And, of course, Internet use by young people, especially teenagers, is even higher than that of adults. Today’s children and teens will become tomorrow’s consumers, likely to consider the Internet an integral part of seeking out product information, locating businesses, and even purchasing products or services. This means that if your business doesn’t have a presence on the Internet, you may end up overlooked by potential consumers, including many from outside the geographical area in which you normally operate and advertise.

How difficult is it to create a web site?
Getting your business onto the Internet is surprisingly easy. There are a large number of web hosting companies, firms that create and operate web sites from their servers for a monthly or periodic fee. Working with a web hosting company eliminates the technical hassles of purchasing your own Internet server, connecting it to the Internet, and keeping it in working order.

These firms will handle the otherwise technical aspects of obtaining a domain name (Internet address) for your company’s site, putting together email accounts, and establishing the site architecture. Most web hosting companies will walk you through the construction of your web site by asking you what you’d like to see appear on it. According to Kevin Kilroy, chairman of web hosting firm Dotster (dotster.com), Dotster’s web site creation process is simple: “We provide the small business owner with direct contact with a human being who takes him or her through the design process.” Kilroy says that Dotster listens to what the small business owner wants and suggests additional options based on the business’s type of operations, and then creates a variety of sample web sites that are sent to the small business owner for alteration or approval. “The whole process can be done with a phone call or two and can take as little as 24 hours,” Kilroy says

Do I need to have an e-commerce web site?
While e-commerce— buying and selling merchandise online—is a major buzzword, and surely a growing trend, not all businesses are suited for e-commerce, and not all need e-commerce capabilities to have a successful web presence. Professional organizations, for example, may benefit from having a web site that simply outlines the services offered and the professionals available, gives office hours, and lists contact information. A service-oriented firm, on the other hand, might offer a way for online visitors to schedule an appointment. Businesses that do sell products, on the other hand, can make use of the e-commerce options provided by web hosting companies, which include secured online transactions, billing and shipping notification, and customer feedback.

What should I consider when selecting a web hosting company?
First and foremost, you want a financially stable company with a reliable track record. If the web host’s servers crash or the company goes bankrupt, your site will go down as well. So start by seeking out firms with a track record, who are willing to refer you to satisfied clients. Larger firms like 1&1, Dotster, Yahoo, and iPower have created a permanent presence in the industry. Ebay, through its ProStores group (prostores.com), now offers an affordable but robust ecommerce package for small business customers as well.

A web host’s email package is a vital consideration. Most web hosts will offer a certain number of email accounts at the web site’s domain name. The more email options the better. Does the web host offer an auto-respond function? Can emails be forwarded to your other email accounts? Are the web site’s email accounts accessible on the web? Can you access them with your current office software? It’s a good idea to get more email accounts than you think you will need. That way, if your company hires new people, they can be added without having to renegotiate your web hosting agreement.

Since most small business owners don’t have the technical knowledge to create their own web site, it’s important to choose a company that will help you build your site. Make sure to ask exactly how much assistance the web host will offer you when putting up the web site in the first place.

Keeping a web site current is important, the web host should make it easy for you to add or delete information, or change the site’s appearance whenever necessary. Be sure to inquire about how you can change your web site once it’s up and running.

You will also want to know how much bandwidth your web site will be given. Bandwidth (or data transfer) is the amount of data that can be transferred between your web site and anyone who accesses it. Every time someone goes to your web site and looks at your web page, a certain amount of data is exchanged between the servers holding your site and the computer of the user who views it. You want to make certain that your monthly fee includes enough bandwidth to permit normal traffic on your web site. Normally bandwidth use in excess of the specified amount results in extra charges. Be very skeptical of web hosting companies that claim to offer “unlimited bandwidth” and ask for specific numbers. Most good web hosts also allow you to keep track of your web site’s usage. Make sure that the web host lets you see statistics showing how many people are visiting the site, where they come from, and what they are looking at on the site. Such statistics useful in evaluating what elements of your web site are attracting consumers, and what your geographical reach may be.

Since your web site will be stored on the web hosting company’s servers, you will be purchasing a certain amount of storage space. If your site is basically an advertisement of your business, offering just information will be information about what you do and how to contact you—basically, a billboard on the Internet—then you will need very little space indeed, say five megabytes (MB) or less. If, on the other hand, you intend to conduct some sort of ecommerce on your web site, you will need more space to store photos, graphics and data. Few small business web sites, however, need more than 100MB of storage space.

What information should I put on my web site?
Since your web site may be the first exposure a consumer has to your business, you want to keep your website as professional as possible while making it absolutely clear exactly what your business does. “Generally speaking, there should be an ‘About Us’ section that will tell visitors what it is that you do, the history of your company, and why you are qualified to provide whatever service you do,” says Dotster’s Kilroy. “That’s a minimum.” Kilroy also suggests a Frequently Asked Questions section or “FAQ” which answers general questions about your company and its policies. Equally important is providing contact information. “You wouldn’t believe the number of company web sites that tell you everything about the company, but leave no easy way to contact them,” says management consultant Peggy Morrow. “It’s very frustrating for potential consumers.
And frustrating people that may want to do business won’t win you any new clients.” So make sure that your web site at least features your business address and telephone or fax numbers. Email is another great option, which provides web site visitors the chance to communicate directly from the site. If you offer email contact information on your site, make certain you have someone check the incoming email at regularly. “Unanswered email— just like an unreturned phone call—is a surefire way of irritating a customer,” Morrow warns.

How often should my business’s web site be updated?
Internet users have become accustomed to up-to-the-minute news and information, so it’s a good idea to keep your web site as current as possible. Not every web site needs to be updated every day, but you want to make certain that all the information you have on it is accurate. When aspects of your business change, make sure that your web site reflects those changes as soon as possible. This includes people who join or leave the company, changes in client-relevant company policies, events sponsored by your firm, or even vacation dates. Even if your business isn’t a whirlwind of change, it’s probably a good thing to alter your web site’s appearance every so often, or add company news and information that can be updated weekly or monthly. “We are in a world where everything continues to move forward, “says Dotster’s Kilroy. “So to remain static is to become less attractive.”

Marketing Online: The Techniques That Work Best

akgold — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:02:00 GMT

The Internet levels the playing field and makes it possible for small businesses to compete with large corporations. If you are new to the world of online advertising, here are some tips on how to get started:
By Reed Richardson

Paid Search
Paid Search allows an advertiser to pay for placement of a site listing or ad within or near a search engine's results. For instance, if your company sells tires, and you want people on sites like Yahoo!® and Google™ searching for the word "tire" to more easily find you, you can pay to have a link to your company's site prominently displayed whenever someone searches for the word "tire."

This is an efficient way to use your advertising budget because you only pay when someone clicks on your link or ad. The cost-per-click (CPC) rate varies and is determined by how often users search for the word, how often they click, and how much competition there is among advertisers to be associated with the word.

Paid Search allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your advertising in real time. You can track: how many people are seeing your ad, how many are clicking through, and what the exact cost is to you. Hint: Using a less general term, like "laptop" instead of "computer," sometimes costs less and is more effective.

Email Marketing
While "spam" is a huge problem that can reduce the effectiveness of email, consider that in the fourth quarter of 2004 the number of orders per email message delivered was 0.35 percent. This was an all-time high, and much higher than the previous record of 0.30 percent (according to a 2004 DoubleClick study). That means there is, on average, one sale for every 300 email solicitations sent.

One of the reasons for this improvement is that marketers have learned the key is to target a specialized list of recipients, rather than mailing to as many people as possible. That's because the effectiveness of your email is largely dependent upon the quality of your list.

For example, if you own a dog grooming business, you might acquire a list of people in your area who have dogs enrolled in obedience schools, or people who buy high-end dog supplies. Any list you use should be an "opt-in" list, where the people have given the list provider permission to send commercial messages. Recipients should also have the option of having their names removed from the list.

With email marketing, you will generally pay a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) rate, which is based on the number of impressions made over a period of time. Or, a cost-per-action (CPA) rate that is based on the number of actions made in response to your message. An action can be defined as a sale, a new customer, or simply a click.

Local Listings
People are searching online for local business information with increasing frequency, creating new opportunities for small businesses to connect with customers. According to a recent research study, 54% of search users have substituted local Internet searches for the phone book, with local Web search growing faster than general Web search.5 Numerous services have sprouted up to meet this growing demand, including the local products of major search engines like Yahoo! and Google, traditional yellow page providers such as SuperPages, and smaller local Web sites specific to a city or region.

One way to increase your visibility to local searchers is by listing your business with one or more of these local search sites. Creating a listing helps ensure your business information is displayed in the results when people are searching in your area. For example, if you sell lamps, you could create a listing under “lighting” and “housewares” to help ensure people searching in those categories see your business in the results. Creating a listing also helps ensure that potential customers receive up-to-date information about your business, which is especially important if you’ve recently moved or changed your phone number.

Most local search services enable you to create a free listing that includes basic contact information (e.g., phone number, address, and hours of operation). For a fee, some guarantee more prominent placement within search results or allow you to provide additional information (e.g., tagline, logo, coupons) to help potential customers notice your listing.

Web Site
It's a no-brainer that the Internet can help you increase your sales and profitability, which in turn can increase the value of your business. According to Forrester Research, e-commerce sales hit more than $75 billion last year.

You should also know that of the more than 300 million people worldwide online today, more than 85 million are in the United States. There are more than 1 billion Web pages in existence. These facts mean you could tap into an amazing opportunity.

A Web site can be a very effective means of reaching new and existing customers and expanding your geographic presence. Breaking down geographic barriers is a good thing for any business owner.

A Web site provides company exposure that customers can access at any time. Hence, a professional Web site is an important first step in tapping the power of the Web. You may wish to hire a consultant to help you with the marketing of your Web site. Simple tactics such as utilizing search engine optimization tools — making sure your Web site appears toward the top of a list when someone conducts a search — can significantly increase the hit rate on your site.

Many larger firms initially gauge the credibility of smaller firms as a business partner by the professionalism of the smaller firm's Web site. Additionally, a Web site offers the ability to capture the information of existing and potential customers, which bolsters the efforts of your sales team.

Reed Richardson is an Associate Editor/Writer for Business 24/7 Magazine.