Planning for Future Web Presence

As a small business just entering the online world, it is sometimes out of our reach to do everything we need to in order to have a marketable image and gain visibility. Many of us prefer to take on projects in steps anyhow. With proper planning, this approach works well for those wanting to make the financial burden of online marketing more affordable!

One of the first steps (and most important) for your business' online livelihood is having a website. Not only does this give you a place for your customers to learn more about you, but it gives you a point of credibility as a legitimate business. (Two very important things!)

It's been my experience with companies I've worked with that often the cost of websites AND establishing visibility are just too much money for the typical small business. At least all in one chunk. What ends up happening most of the time is a staged project with the first part being a website development and the next piece a visibility project.

Designing your site to help you control costs and ease of use later on is a huge advantage if you can manage it. One of the biggest problems in this area is Flash. This web development platform is absolutely wonderful for creating outstanding images, videos, etc. However, it is a nightmare when trying to add/change any online aspect.

Flash sites are typically more expensive to begin with, and they are practically invisible to the search engines (remember google and the like can't index images... which is what a flash site is composed of).

That's not to say there aren't ways of making Flash sites visible to the search engines. There certainly are plenty of ways to do that, but be prepared to open the billfold if Flash is what you want. It's more expensive to develop, edit, optimize, etc.

My advice to those wanting to get the most out of their website is to develop first in HTML. You can always add Flash components to those pages. Save your fancy Flash development for when your bringing in the big bucks!

What to expect from an SEO Services Provider

SEO marketig typically delivers a much higher rate of success than any other advertising medium. It's also more cost effective. So how can your company else take advantage of search engine optimization?

SEO enables you to reach a larger audience than any other medium including radio, sign-age, print ads and even television. It is also much less expensive in the long run than those same mediums. You should not have to subscribe to the services of an SEO provider. It's a fee for a service and once that service is complete, everything should continue to work.

It's like hiring a plumber. If you have a leaky pipe, you pay for a plumber's services once and the leak is fixed (for a good while anyway). You don't pay him $400/month to keep your pipe from leaking.

How can we say SEO is better than the other methods of advertising? Because it's measurable. With a good website statistics package you should be able to tell where your visitors are coming from, what they're doing on your website, and when they're leaving. You have no idea who's seeing your ads in other forms of advertising.

SEO also responds well to other forms of internet marketing. If you've got an e-newsletter, a blog or a social network marketing campaign, your SEO results typically increase dramatically.

So what does it cost? You should expect a good SEO package to start at around $5,000. Anything too far below that and I would question the results you'll get. That might seem expensive, but when considering a marketing cost, I always try to think like this: "How much is a client worth to me, and how much am I willing to pay to acquire a client?" AND "What if I could potentially reach thousands of interested clients per day?"

Why SEO?

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is recommended to any business wanting to dramatically increase their business from the internet or gain more internet visibility. There are six (probably more) important things to emphasize when talking about the possibilities of SEO and what it can do for your business:

1. SEO appeals to a much larger audience than any other medium.
2. SEO is much less expensive over time than almost any other medium such as radio, television, or print ads.
3. SEO typically delivers higher success rates than other forms of advertising mediums.
4. SEO is a measurable tool... not a guessable tool.
5. Your websites optimized pages will perform for years.
6. SEO works well in conjunction with other online marketing strategies such as directory listings, inbound links, additional web pages, end-user software, online PR, e-newsletters, and social network marketing.
   

As you can see, SEO can be a powerful marketing tool at a very efficient cost. You must, however, take the time to do it right. The proper method of optimizing your website requires hours of keyword research, market identification and developing focused content with the proper use of keywords.

To learn more about SEO and other forms of internet marketing visit www.eye4image.com

Welcome Fellow Marketeers!

Welcome! This blog was created for those who are curious about internet marketing and what it can do to help a growing company really take off!

If you want to know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), blogs, e-newsletters, RSS, social network marketing and much more, then you've come to the right place!

The internet is a place where millions of people gather everyday to conduct business, gather information, shop and just hang out. It is the ultimate advertising space enabling you to reach a virtually unlimited amount of potential clients and customers!

Ask any marketing expert and they'll tell you the internet is the way to grow your business. Gone are the days of buying 30-second radio spots and 50-word advertisements in newspapers or magazines. Don't let the world pass your business by... get on board with online marketing!

If you are interested in internet marketing for your business feel free to post your questions here or visit www.eye4image.com.