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Web Site

© Bert Markgraf

Initially your small business is going to have to focus on your local market. Unless your business is in something like long distance telecommunications, teleconferencing, travel or the Internet, it will be less expensive for you to find your customers in your town, your city or your state/province. Your own web site in these circumstances has a number of functions but bringing in a lot of new customers isn't one of them. Once you've covered your local market and are ready for new challenges, you can try to market around the world through the Internet but don't bet the business on such an initiative just yet. Here's a few things to watch for:

1. I know you've spent a fortune on your logo and, really, it looks great and is a real asset to your business — but display it in a file bigger than 10 KB and you're annoying your prospective customers. They don't want to wait for your logo to load. Spend their time loading useful information — mainly text. Make sure the home page loads in ten seconds or less.

2. Don't forget, most of the people who have come to your page have been looking for you. They've found you through a directory or other link and they're searching for what you do. If you're selling blue widgets, get on with it. Give them a short description, the price and the opportunity to order. Put the details further back.

3. Pursue a consistent marketing strategy. If your business name is Crazy Edgar and you're selling on price, a flashing red dollar figure with a pink and green colour scheme might be appropriate. If you're selling on service, highlight the people involved. If you're selling on quality, emphasize references and qualifications. Make your printed material and your web site look the same. Better still, design your web site so that it can be printed out as your handouts.

4. Finally, you've got to promote your site. This is such a many-faceted job I've got a great guide for you. Try The Web Site Marketing Primer. It's published by Submit-It which is itself a great tool for getting listed in directories. It covers the basics to get you thinking in the right directions and, in the index at the left of the page, it has a link to a list of directories where you can list your URL.

Get a counter and watch your hits rise. Then fine tune your site to get orders from some of these visitors.