How Do I Get My Business On The Internet?
by Ivana Katz
Published on this site: June 10th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
This is one of the most frequently asked questions by small business
owners. They are feeling the pressure from their customers and competitors,
yet for many business people it is a daunting task, as they don't
understand the whole process.
In fact, many people are even asking the question whether they
should have a website. Whether you are a consultant, florist, designer,
builder, architect or a doctor, consider the many advantages a website
provides:
- Make money – Set up an on-line store or get paid
for advertising from other companies
- Save money on advertising – Instead of paying for
large ads, simply advertise your website
- Be flexible in your message – Change the content
as your business changes. No need to re-print expensive brochures.
- Exposure to new customers – You will reach more
local clients as well as interstate and global markets
- Having more professional image – Keep up with the
times and your competitors
- Save time – Don’t spend hours on the phone,
direct customers to your website
- Keep your business open 24/7 – Provide customers
information when THEY need it. If you don’t, someone else
will.
So what does it really take to get your website set up?
- Register Your Domain Name OR Not.
The big question is whether you need to register a domain
name or not. The simple answer is NO, but a better answer
is YES it is a good idea.
What Is a Domain Name?
The purpose of a domain name is similar to that of a street
address or telephone number. The domain name directs customers
to you on the Internet. The domain by itself is not your
email or web address. The domain does form the base from
which these addresses are derived.
For example:
Company Name: Websites 4 Small Business
Domain Name: web4business.com.au
Web Address: www.web4business.com.au
Email Address: [email protected]
Do I Need to Register a Domain Name to Have a Website?
NO, you don't need to have your own domain name. Your website
can be created and hosted without it. Your website address
will look something like this:
www.web4business.com.au/JBCleaning
OR
www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning
The only advantage of not registering a domain name is that
you will save yourself A$70 per year (it costs approx A$140
for 2 years to register a '.com.au' domain name).
The Disadvantages of NOT Having Your Domain Name Include:
1. If you decide to change your Webhosting company
or if that company goes out of business, you will lose your
website address. Your website can be transferred to a new
company, but your address will change. And that means re-printing
stationery and re-doing all your advertising, notifying
all your customers etc.
2. Website addresses that contain information other
than your company name are long and hard to remember and
do not appear as professional. Compare these two and see
which one you are more likely to remember:
www.ozemail.com.au/~JBCleaning
OR
www.JBCleaning.com.au
So it is a good idea to register a domain name, even if
it is just to protect yourself for the future. Say for example,
your business name is JB Cleaning and you decide not to
register your domain name for now.
Along comes Joe Bloggs who opens his own cleaning business
and registers JBCleaning.com.au domain name. After a year
you decide you want to have your own domain name, but since
Joe Bloggs already owns it, you won't be able to register
it. Not to mention your customers who know your business
as JB Cleaning may visit his website, thinking it's your
web address and instead hire Joe Bloggs Cleaning. Plan your
website.
- Planning Your Website Is a Two Part Process:
a. Decide on the website design (colour schemes,
buttons, special effects etc). This is your website designer's
job. However, you may have a preference for a certain colour
or look. To help you choose a design, you may wish to check
out other people's websites or work with your web designer's
pre-set templates.
b. The content. There are many items you may wish
to include on your website. The most common ones include:
1 Product/Service Details
2. Contact Information
3. Pricing
4. Testimonials
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Response Form, such as "Join Mailing List"
7. On-line Magazine or Newsletter
8. Resources & Articles
9. Guarantee
10. Survey
11. Events Calender
12. Search My Website Form
13. Refund Policy
14. Privacy Policy
15. About Us Information
16. Site Map
17. Copyright information
18. Useful Links
19. Media Information
20. On-line store
21. News
22. Directions to Your Bricks & Mortar Premises
- Choose a Web Hosting Company.
What is a Web hosting Company?
A Web host is a company that provides server space for your
website. You can think of a web host as a commercial building.
The web host provides space for your website just as a commercial
building provides space for your shop or office. You can
build your own building and you can host your own website,
but because of the cost and expertise required it is easier
to rent the space.
Which Company Should I Choose?
Web hosting companies are not created equal so you need
to take a number of things into account when selecting one.
A proven track record, experience and reliability form the
foundation of any successful business partnership.
Some of the issues you should consider when choosing a webhosting
company include:
1. Support - Does it provide comprehensive
Technical Support 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
2. Reliability - Does it have multiple large-scale links
to the internet to provide a fail-safe path to your customers
from anywhere in the world?
3. Security - Does it have a robust security system
that minimises risk of web site intrusion?
4. State-of-the-art - Does the company utilises
leading edge technology and is supported by a large-scale
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system.
5. Scalability - Does the product range and
services offered allow your business to grow without impediment
by making it easy to upgrade and add components to existing
product levels
- Getting People to Your Site.
The marketing of your website is important if you want to
draw visitors to your site. If you don't promote your website
no-one will ever see it. There are a number of different
ways of advertising your website. The best strategy is one,
which integrates your existing promotion methods with your
website.
1. Office Stationery - Including your web
address and email address on your stationery is probably
the easiest way to draw attention to your site. It's cost
effective and gets your Internet presence out there in the
market place.
2. Business Cards - When printing business
cards you should include the individual's email address
and main address of your website.
3. Radio Advertising
Radio Advertising should include your web address. Don't
include the http://, try "Visit us on the internet
at www.qikphone.com.au".
If your budget is limited, you may wish to consider community
radios.
4. Email and Mail-Outs
Let your current customers know the details of your website.
You can either send them an email or a letter/postcard.
Keep your website's content up-to-date and they will keep
coming back!
5. Print Media
Print advertising should include a generic email address
for the company and include your website address. Normally
positioned at the bottom right or bottom centre of your
advertisement.
6. Search Engines & Directories
People looking for your website who don't know the URL are
most likely to use an on-line search engine to look for
your organisation or the kind of products and services you
offer. There are over 300 major search engines and directories,
but you should concentrate on the larger, more commonly
used ones. These include: Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Anzwers,
Inktomi, Infoseek, Lycos, Excite, HotBot, MSN, Dogpile,
AllTheWeb etc.
7. Links from other websites
A good way to attract visitors to your site is through the
use of hyperlinks placed on other sites. If you know of
another site which has a list of links and you think your
website would be a good addition, let the website owner
know. You might also offer to provide a link from your site
back to the other site. This will encourage the webmaster
to include your site. You should also seek out partners
for trading links including vendors, suppliers and providers
of complimentary products.
8. Link Exchange
Another way to getting a link is through a system called
Link Exchange, a free public service designed to help websites
advertise each other. With Link Exchange, you agree to display
advertising banners for other Link Exchange members and
they agree to display banners for you. The System is automatic,
you simply add a piece of HTML code to your web page and
Link Exchange will display an advertisement for another
website. The disadvantage with Link Exchange is that you
don't get any control as to where your banner ad appears
or the type of banner ads that will appear on your website.
It is not possible to guarantee that a competitor of yours
may have their banner ad displayed on your site.
9. Paid Banner Advertising/Affiliate Marketing
Programs
Various sites give you the opportunity to purchase banner
advertising on their site. Some sites will charge you a
flat monthly fee while other sites will charge you based
on the number of people who see your ad.
- Monitor Your Site's Statistics
Your website's statistics should show who visits your website,
where in the world they come from, how they are finding
your site and what pages are being viewed. Knowing your
customers is the first step in effective marketing. Most
webhosting companies will provide access to this information
free of charge.
- Maintaining Your Website
It is important to update your website regularly to keep
your customers interested. One of the great advantages of
having a website is that you can change its content virtually
overnight at minimal cost (unlike re-printing brochures
and flyers).
This is just a brief overview of the process involved in
getting your website up and running. In future articles
we will cover each step in more detail.
Ivana Katz is a website designer and an associate member
of Referralware/Coaching to Profits, a company dedicated to teaching
entrepreneurs how to reach business success through a series of
easy to follow steps and hands on support. Learn how to crawl, walk
and run in the on-line business world. Find out more: http://www.businesssuccess101.com
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