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Web
4 Business Ezine
Issue 001
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How
do I get my business on the internet?
by
Ivana Katz
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, asthey 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:
1.
Make money - Set up an on-line store or get
paid for advertising from other companies
2. Save money on advertising - Instead
of paying for large ads, simply advertise your website
3. Be flexible in your message - Change the
content as your business changes.
No need to re-print expensive brochures.
4. Exposure to new customers - You will
reach more local clients as well as interstate and global markets
5. Having more professional image - Keep up with
the times and your competitors
6. Save time - Don't spend hours on the
phone, direct customers to your website
7. 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?
Step
1 - 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:
info@web4business.com.au
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.
Step
2 - 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
Step
3 - 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.
Step
4 - 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 w-w-w-dot-qikphone-dot-com-dot-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.
Step
5 - 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.
Step 6 - 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.
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Till next time ...
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au
Because every business deserves to
have a successful website.
Tel: 61 2 9907 7777
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