Most of the local business owners, who I know, still don't have
a web presence -for a combination of reasons. Many business
owners are from my age group and don't feel comfortable setting
up a website. So, they pay somebody else to do it or it never
gets done. There are a multitude of reasons to avoid launching
your business on the web, and all of them are "lame excuses."
As I travel around town, I get to hear all the excuses. "I'm too
old," "Our business isn't the Internet type," and "I don't know
HTML." You can tell everybody else those excuses, but do you
want to grow your business or not? The vast majority of small
businesses fail, and the Internet is the cheapest form of
advertising available.
If haven't launched a website or Blog, you are delaying business
marketing progress for nothing. Take a computer class, learn
from your kids, or learn from your grandchildren, but start as
soon as possible. Perhaps, your grandchild can earn some money
teaching you how to make even more money.
Blogs are easy to start with, since you don't need to have any
HTML knowledge. You can also go to Blogger, and get a free Blog.
It might take you 10 to 15 minutes to set up and start posting
information right away.
Some website hosts work like that too, but let's assume you have
a site of some kind. Did you know your website host might have a
Blog feature built in, at no extra charge? If you have this
feature, you can easily build a commercial Blog.
For a small business, with a website and commercial Blog, you
should be able to establish your natural search engine rankings.
Sometimes, these are called "organic rankings" and you don't
have to pay a penny for them. It may take a few months or more
to establish yourself, and you should make regular posts.
For optimum results, your regular posts can be daily, a few
times per week, or once a week. More postings are much better
and will have significant impact on your rankings. Search
engines love frequent posts, such as those found in Blogs.
Instead of worrying about Google algorithms, and SEO(search
engine optimization) theories, go back to the basics and boost
your rankings with content. Most of us have heard, "Content is
King," and it is totally true.
So what do you say about your business? Tell your established
customers and prospects about your service and products. Explain
what your unique selling proposition (USP) is. This is what
makes you different from similar businesses in your town.
When you have new products, or are looking for feedback about
new product development, a Blog is extremely useful. Your
customers and prospects can leave you feedback, so marketing
research is very easy.
Lastly, don't shy away from a "gold mine." Free advertising is
too valuable to ignore. Blogs are the advertising bargain of the
decade and possibly, of the 21st century.
© Copyright 2005 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
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