Small Business Advice: Where to Start with Your Online Advertising

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The most obvious place to start is with a website. This is your first step because wherever you advertise online you need a place on the internet where people can find you. You will learn all about websites in the next section which will help you to understand what a website is, what your business needs and how to get one without breaking the bank.

Your website is your brochure on the web but how do people find you?

Customers find you on the web by:

Entering a term in a search engine relevant to your business and your website comes up in the results (more information on this in the Part 5)
Knowing your website address from your offline advertising such as business cards, newspaper or yellow pages ads or referral from another person.
Clicking on a link in an online advertisement you have placed such as an ad in online classifieds, an Ezine, an email or a newsletter.
Clicking on your website link on another website that you asked to share a link with.

You Have a Website Now. What’s Next?

Whether you are marketing a new business or have been in business for a while you need a Marketing Plan. You need to set a budget and use a mix of online and offline media as a part of your small business advertising. Your goal with your marketing plan is to get your website address out there so people can find it on the web. You can do your marketing plan yourself or have a professional do it for you.

Who do you Trust to Assist You with your Online Advertising?

This is where you really need small business help because the Internet is full of people offering you all kinds of marketing services. I have to say that 95% are not worth investing in. In the offline world, word of mouth has always been a good way to find a person or business that can do a good job for you. It is the same on the Internet. You will find recommendations on this website or you can do your own research through the search engines to find if a company is reputable. You can’t hide bad customer service on the internet. News travels fast.

It is a good idea to check:

Does the company have a professional website?
Are they easy to contact?
Can you talk to a real person on the phone?
Do they have their contact details on their website?
Do they list a legitimate physical address?
Are there prices comparable to other companies offering a similar product?
Can you contact previous customers to see if they were happy with the service?

Small Business advice is so important in the area of online marketing especially if the medium is new to you. Educate yourself with the information on my website so you can make the right choices for your business.

Next: Part 4a Business Websites

Part 4 About Websites

Part 4a Business Websites

Whether you use your website as a simple one page site with your contact details or as a marketing tool to sell goods and services online, a web presence is a smart business move.

Part 4b How to Build a Website

The whole process of building a website should be easy, affordable and hassle free. Until recently creating a website for yourself was not an option unless you had the time to study to be a web designer, learn web graphics and the HTML language required to build a website.

Part 4c Small Business Web Development

Websites can cost any where from $100 to many thousands of dollars depending what you want and need. Some web design companies then charge a monthly fee to maintain your website plus a monthly hosting fee.

Marketing Terms

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