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How a Small Business Owner Can Use Web Site Marketing

In just a few years, the Internet has become a powerful marketing tool for businesses large and small. You can undoubtedly name the giant online bookstores that help readers and researchers find the right volume with a few clicks. But these Goliaths of the book world are only the tip of the iceberg. Ask a major search engine to give you a list of “bookstores” and you will soon have a list of more than a thousand establishments, from those at major universities to specialty stores on Main Streets around the world.

You have probably considered the possibility of establishing a Web site to promote your own company’s goods or services. Unless you possess higher-than-average computer literacy, creating a website can be a confusing prospect. You may be wondering: how do I start, where do I find technical help, and what are the costs?

You may choose to find technical help locally in the Yellow Pages or through your business contacts. Or you can work with one of the large companies that specialize in website development. In your initial discussions, you find out how they will go about executing the key steps in establishing and maintaining your website, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. The last factor is dependent on the number of pages and the graphics you will use.

How it works: Appropriately enough, one of the best ways to work with these experts is via the Internet. Some companies will conduct the whole creative process online.

You will decide on the number of pages during the initial design consultation. A small business website can comprise from five to 20 pages with up to 35 graphic images.

You will provide the essential messages you want the site to convey. At the same time you will gather up all of the graphic material about your business that you already have on hand – artwork, photos, logos, illustrations and catalogues. All of these items may be scanned or saved on disk, and then sent to the designer. If your site will need original computer graphics, that will add to the cost. The time involved can vary, depending on the complexity of your site and the vendor’s production schedule.

Your domain name: Before you can invite the public to your website, you have to get an address. Known as a universal resource locater, or URL, your site’s address will be easier for people to find if it incorporates your business name – a so-called vanity domain name.

There are special locations on the Internet where you can register your name for a fee. Rely on your technical consultant for advice on this procedure.

Attracting visitors to the site: Your URL is as important as your street address, and getting the word out to your customers and prospects can attract traffic to your site. Most website designers will, for an additional fee, submit your domain name to the leading search engines. Also, they will monitor and report on activity on your site.

You will want to develop a plan for promoting your Web address, too. You can include it in your advertising and communications to customers and prospects and on your business card with other contact information.

One way to proceed: American Express offers a connection to a website aggregator (and an exclusive discount) to its small business customers. Details and more information about marketing on the Web can be found on the company’s OPEN Small Business Network website.

August 8, 2002

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