Building Business Websites

Lesson 4: There's No Place Like Home

Tomb of the Unknown Web Site

It is all well and good to build a site, find a host, and post your site to the Internet. But if a site falls in the forest, does it still make a noise? That is to say, there's no reason to have a small business site unless people come to see it.

If you already have your products in a catalog and a customer base from that catalog, then you're one step ahead of the marketing curve. All you need to do is publish your site information in the catalog itself, and you're likely good to go.

If you're starting a brand new business and no one has heard of you, then you've got your work cut out. One thing that you'll want to have happen for sure is to have search engines do what's known as "crawl" your site. This means, that when someone is in Google or Yahoo and they type in a specific search word, then Google or Yahoo returns your business in the top 10 or so sites. I was planning on writing an entire section about how to get search engines to crawl your site, but in my research for this course, I found a great article that explains everything in clear, concise language. Plus, I couldn't write it better without severe copyright infringement, so I'm simply linking to it. Click here to read Paul Boutin's excellent article entitled "Search Engine Optimization Free!"

Now, if you actually have some money to spend, you can create banner ads and buy space on many Web sites. I'm not a big fan of the banner ad, but it's how some of my favorite sites pay for their existence. It might be a better idea to take that money and register your small business with Yahoo. To register in Yahoo's business listings, you pay an annual fee of $299.00. For an additional $25 per month you can be listed in Yahoo's business directory and be given special "sponsor" status, with your business listed above the rest. All of the major search engines also provide comparable, or even better, services, and here are links to just a few:

• Google
• Lycos
• Hotbot
• Netscape/AOL

If you have a mail order catalog, Google now makes a catalog listing available on its site. Best of all, there is no charge for this service. Here's how Google tells you to set this up:

Add Google to your catalog mailing list! To create the most useful and comprehensive catalog search service we need to include your publication. Please add us to your subscriber list, using this address:
Google Catalogs
171 Main St. #280A
Los Altos, CA 94022
Once you have added us to your mailing list, please send an email to catalog-vendors@google.com notifying us. You should see your catalog on the site within a few days after it arrives in our mailbox. There is absolutely no charge to be included in Google Catalog Search.

Another trick of the trade involves the old fashioned barter system. Let's say for example that Silly Soap wanted to expand their visibility without spending any money. Sounds impossible? Not really. The Silly Soap executives offered several services and products for free to other local businesses, including ad space on their site, in exchange for referrals. They targeted pet stores, local toy stores, local kids clothing stores, supermarkets, and environmental groups.

For my own business, I found that providing pro bono services is not only a great marketing strategy, but it also helps my philanthropic pursuits.

One favorite tactic I use for my business is the "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" partnering strategy. I have partnered with 2 other local businesses whose services are similar, but not the same as mine, and we share referrals.

I would NOT recommend marketing with e-mail. No one likes to get Spam (that awful unsolicited e-mail we all get in our mailboxes). The ONLY way you should ever send an e-mail to the customer is if he or she ASKS for it. Let them be the ones to decide whether they want an e-mail of your sale or discounted prices. Let them decide if they want to reach customer service via a Web form. Let them tell you if they want to be included in your mailing list. Otherwise, Spam acts just like telephone solicitation-it only serves to tick people off.

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