Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Avoid Over-Priced Websites, Illegitimate Search Engine Ploys, and Unscrupulous Web Companies

Have you been burned by a web design, search engine optimization or marketing company lately?

Website design companies are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, their prices usually aren't so cheap. When your website is constructed, you expect that it will pay for itself with the business it brings you. Or at least, that is the way it's supposed to work.

More often, businesses are disappointed to learn that their website design, though it may look nice, does not yield much traffic. A pretty design is not enough to ensure success on the Web. Subsequently, the business owner begins the long journey down the winding path of trying to build traffic to their site. Almost as if on cue, search engine optimization and marketing companies (both firms and freelancers) descend like vultures to take advantage of the opportunity. With lofty promises and deceptively ambitious goals "guaranteeing" top placement, each website marketing solicitor takes turns having their way with the business owner until the business owner's money runs out. In the end, the business owner ends up feeling cheated and confused by failed, expensive marketing attempts and conflicting information from multiple sources. Jaded business owners may even develop the feeling that the Website market is a conspiracy against them.

Don't let this scenario happen to you. Refuse to be a victim!

Your website is a business tool. Think of it as a business-building "machine." Just like any other machine, there are many "moving parts" involved with a successful business website solution. Among other things, they include website design, domain names, hosting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, management & analysis tools, perhaps shopping cart integration, and more. If the parts all work together, your well-oiled machine runs efficiently and delivers great results. If any of the parts are "bad", your machine is broken and won't do what it is supposed to do.

Get the facts about all of the "moving parts" of your website before you spend money on it. A free consultation from a qualified website solution company is the best way to reduce stress, become informed, and devise an online business plan for your Web presence. Armed with the right information, you can make the right decisions for your business.

Your website solution does not necessarily have to be expensive to be effective, and price is not always a good indicator of quality. Plenty of website developers overprice sites to take advantage of unwary, non-techical business owners who make impulsive or uninformed decisions. As part of your consultation, be sure to review portfolios, obtain references, and have a "soup to nuts" solution outlined for you to review. If your website designer is worth their salt, they will explain all of the moving parts and relate them to how they affect the bottom line of your business.

If you think of your webite (and all of its "moving parts") as a vehicle to move your business forward in the right direction, your website solution provider (freelancer or company) is like your navigator to guide you along the way. You are the vehicle's owner. You don't need to know all of the details on how to build a car in order to drive it, but you do need some driving lessons in order to be safe. Whether you decide to drive the car yourself or hire a website specialist as your chauffeur, you'll want to get a good consumer education before you buy the vehicle of your choice.

Do your homework and find a website provider that you trust. Build a relationship with them in which they are your advocate for online business. The ideal relationship is one in which you feel comfortable picking up the phone to ask their advice, and they value you as a lifetime client, so they don't nickel and dime you every time you turn around. There is peace-of-mind and security in a relationship built on mutual trust, but be sure to thoroughly interview and screen the Web service candidates first to ensure they are qualified before you make a commitment. As with most services, referrals, testimonials, and work samples go a long way and the defensive rule of "Buyer Beware" applies.

Tom Elliott is the author of Website 411: Business Survival in an Internet Economy (available at http://www.website411book.com). The book gives business owners a clear sense of what to know (and costs) before buying a Web solution. Tom is an international Internet consultant and has developed Website Search Engine Optimization & Marketing courses to train Web professionals. He provides business consulting services to companies and organizations for success on the Internet.

Visit the Website 411 book site and www.webdrafter.com for more information.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Integrate Your Company Into Social Networking with WebDrafter.com

In an age when iPads and smartphones can be seen in the hands of virtually everyone, is your business on the leading edge of technology or is it being left in the dust? Being on the leading edge used to just mean that your results showed up on the first page of Google Search Results. That day is long gone. Today is the day of social media. Social media like Facebook and blogs have taken over for traditional email and product reviews. Currently, there are over 200,000,000 blogs on the web. On a weekly basis, Facebook has more internet traffic than Google! There are over 400 million active users on Facebook. comScore is a marketing research company that provides marketing about the Internet's largest companies. A staggering two-thirds of comScore's U.S. Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook. There is an average of 500 billion minutes per month spent on Facebook globally. That's a lot of time spent on one website. Webdrafter.com is fully prepared to help usher you into a new era of prosperity using social media. Webdrafter.com can provide custom blogs and Facebook integration as well as integrating your company into the social network of your choice. Looking to join the Twitter revolution? Webdrafter.com does that too!

"We don't have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it." - Erik Qualman


For further information visit www.webdrafter.com today to see sample sites and request more information.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Retail Spending up on the Web

Did you know...

Consumers are feeling positive about making purchases, and they're flocking to the Web to do it! comScore's latest research reports that online retail spending is up 10% this quarter over the same period last year! With a total nearing $34 billion, "smaller retailers are finally beginning to see positive growth once again," according to the firm!

For further information on websites visit www.webdrafter.com.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Understanding Small Business Needs

Few organizations have a more acute understanding of the needs of small businesses than the Better Business Bureau. So when their experts start touting the value of a Web presence, it's time for entrepreneurs to listen up! The BBB recently published an article asking "How badly does your business need a website?"

BBB CEO Jim Hegarty has an answer! He says, "A website is practically a necessity for attracting new customers in today's marketplace, but many small business owners haven't made the time or found the resources to create one," adding that "...a website might just be the key to surviving and even thriving in this tough economy."

For small business operators on the fence about investing in a site, the BBB poses four critical questions:
Can potential customers find you online? "If you can't find your business among the top results, neither can potential customers," according to the BBB.

"Does your competition have a website?" It's more than likely that your prospects' local and national competitors do have professional Web sites.

How's your online reputation? Your Web solution is the ultimate way for a business to control its online reputation! Even if your prospect's business has sustained a little negative feedback on the Web, the BBB points out that "you can mitigate the damage to your business' reputation by countering with your own website."

"Could you expand your sales online?"

So I'm guessing that the question that needs to be asked again is…. How badly does your business need a website?

For further information on websites visit www.webdrafter.com.