Are you a small business owner looking to setup a website? Maybe you own a freelance writer, an newsagency, or work as a art gallery from home? Whatever type of business you have, if you are wondering in what way you can use the Internet to boost your business profile and gain more customers, then read this article prior to going out and spending money on a website designer to put together a site for you.
Whilst it may not be your core business, it’s worthwhile to educate yourself a little first before you spend any $$. This article will give you a grip on the basics of web marketing before you hire someone to put together a website for your business so that you are not flying blind. It will also guide you about some things you can do yourself, which you may choose to do on your own to save you the cost of outsourcing.
Web 2.0 Content Sites
Another way to get the word out about your business without having to create a website, is to put together a free page on one of the many Web 2.0 content sites such as Squidoo and Hubpages. The following is an example Squidoo lens detailing the Success University story.
These are even easier to setup than a blog as they don’t require any technical knowledge whatsoever, leaving you to concentrate on your content and saying what you want to say to your target audience. Pages on Web 2.0 sites also often appear towards the top of the search engine results pages, further boosting the means by which greater numbers of people can discover your business.
Social Networking Sites
MySpace, Lincked In and Facebook are amongst the three most trafficked social networking sites. As with Hubpages and Squidoo, social networking sites are also based on pre-coded templates and styles, removing the need to have any knowledge of html and enabling you to save the money you would have otherwise invested with a web design company and invest that somewhere else.
A Word About Blogs
If you have the inclination to provide regular updates and news relating to your business, you could consider establishing a blog in lieu of a website. A blog works like a diary. Each entry has a date and time stamp. Here is a blog about finance as an example. See how each post is dated and note the optional Corner Peel Away Script in the top right hand corner of the page. You don’t need to know any html or programming to use a blog.
Once your blog is installed, you just login to a control panel, write out what you want to say into a box, and click the publish button.
Blogs can be quite simple to setup. You might even try your hand at creating one yourself. You can get very affordable cPanel webhosting nowadays starting from $4.95 per month. cPanel hosting includes a system called Fantastico, which allows you to install a blog with just a handful of mouse clicks. A good webhosting company should be able to assist you to install your blog as well, even if you are a novice. After all, they want your business.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Having now installed either a blog, or setup a Social Networking or Web2.0 page, the next thing is to make sure that your page obtains a high profile in the search engine results, and therefore sending greater traffic and increasing the number of people who become aware of your business. This is where Search Engine Optimization, comes into play. Don’t be scared! You can get a handle on search engine optimization by borrowing a book from your local library or spending a bit of time researching it online.
There are a tonne of free websites containing search engine optimization information, in addition to paid membership websites such as Portal Feeder who can allocate you a mentor to assist you in your search engine optimization knowledge and site creation endeavours. There are some really simple things you can do that will heighten the profile of your site and send visitors to it.
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