Starting a Website
Since moving back to Alabama I have noticed that there are lots of businesses that do not have websites. In today’s world of the internet that is almost appalling. With the low cost of having a website and creating one is very easy. In today’s world of working and living online not having a website is preventing visibility to internet using customers.
Example:
My favorite local restaurant, Campbells Field, located miles from anything that resembles modern civilization. I even tried looking them up in the phone book and could not find them. This quaint little restaurant has excellent food and for cheap and situated next a great view of a local working airport. They have T-shirts and sponsor local little league baseball teams. They have a marketing plan that is based solely on word of mouth. Over the past few years I have put reviews and resources out to help promote them out of the kindness of my heart for the community.
The fact they don’t have a website or being listed in the phone book is hurting their growth.
In my opinion every business needs a website at least helping promote themselves locally. No matter the business having a website is simple. With the abundance of hosting providers that provide free domains and hosting for only $3.99 a month. Once you sign up they even give you automated tools to build a website. With about 30 minutes of work you can have a webpage that will bring you business that will pay for the cost within a few customers.
The host I use 1and1.com has several plans that are economical and are great for a first website. You don’t need a fancy designer or expensive web team. Most of these services make it “so easy even a caveman can do it.” Click the banners or use the domain search form to see if your company name is available. Even if you don’t want to create a webpage it is wise to purchase your companies domain name. You don’t want someone using your name.
5 free Domains with Select Hosting Plans. Get yours
Here is a recommendation to all small business owners no matter what you do. Buy your domain name setup a few page website no matter what it looks like. Put information about your services and how to contact you. A link back to my website will help raise the style, class, and look for your website.
One thing to remember though about having a website is a direct reflection on your business. So take that extra step create the website. If you feel that it is necessary barter with an employee, family memeber, friend to help you. The idea is to save on cost until it proves to you that you will get a return on your investment. The more time and money you spend on the design, development, and promotion of the website will get you a larger return on investment.
Promoting your new website can be time consuming but with all the social media outlets it has become easier. If you don’t promote it then don’t expect a large return on your investment. Having a page with links to it means it will promote itself naturally and require little input from you.
So Purchase your web address set it up on a basic hosting plan that has automated web building tools and you will be on your way into the future. Check out 1and1.com as they have the entry level plans I recommend.
If you have questions about setting up your first webpage don’t hesitate to contact me.
New Design
I have decided that the blue and neon theme of before was enough. I have switched to another. I am not 1 hundred percent behind this one either. What do you think?
Give me some feedback. This came off the shelf template from a free service. I preserved all the links if you want to go hunting for them.
Tell me what you think.
Its raining its pooring
If you have been keeping track you know that I am in the process of moving. It was raining today and I was less than motivated to get on the road again. Thank goodness I decided not to go because of the storms that swept through the middle of my route. Tomorrow is the big day that my journey begins.
Last night and today I launched a new website, when I should have been packing. The site is still under construction and will be fleshed out in the next few weeks to come. The site will be owned and operated as part of SEO by Chris showcasing Birmingham, AL Search Engine Optimization Service. More information will be coming soon about the status of the new venture.
In tradition with the last few post about my journey here is a music video I found on Google Video Search.
Goodbye New York from yizzle on Vimeo.
Catholics use online marketing
Even the sacred life leads to online marketing. Does that mean I can do holy work and be a Madison Ave. marketer? I was reading the New York TImes this morning on my commute, as I do everyday, and found an article that caught my eye. In a discussion with a friend a couple weeks ago, we were discussing the priesthood and how their membership was dropping off. So I read, to have some interesting point to bring into the discussion. Instead I found something I wasn’t looking for, the Catholic Church using the internet to recruit priest. www.nypriest.com
The story isn’t about internet marketing as much as it is about recruiting to the Priesthood. If you want to read the article, go here.
After reading the article I had to see their website. I somewhat expected a Microsoft Word Style website from 1995 (not much better than mine). At first click I found a very powerful Flash Page. Somebody really did a great job on creating their website. It is neat, clean, and well laid out. One thing that surprised me - it didn’t look very “Churchy.” A good bit of thought went into it and it paid off.
As to the NYPriest.com SEO… There are very few Search Engine friendly elements and though they have a solid page rank could do considerably better. It looks like they have a $1million marketing plan without a complete online marketing campaign.
Your Brand - Online Marketing
What is branding? Answers.com defines branding as: A trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or a manufacturer. Branding your business and maintaining your image is important.
A traditional example of branding and image is pizza places. Most everyone has gotten fliers from the pizza place dot matrix neon pink flier that is hard to read. Then there are the fliers from the big chain places printed on a smooth high quality paper, with vibrant earth tones, and a picture of delicious looking pizza. Both places carry the same exact product with the same exact prices. Now which one are you most likely to buy? The one on the smooth nice paper. You spend a lot of time. energy, and money on your product don’t let it fall because of a bad image.
So how does branding apply to SEO and online advertising? If you don’t have a good web-site design you are giving good traffic to your competitors. No matter your SEO power, no matter how good your product, if you website is hard to read and unusable, no online plan is going to give you a maximum return on your investment. If your website is poorly designed or not usable you might as well stick with the neon pink flier.
Online branding is as important to your image as the cleanliness of your store front. Protect your online brand with a clean up-to-date style.
. 19 Feb 08 | Branding, Business, Marketing, New-Design, Online Marketing, Search Engine Advertising | Read on | Comments (0)
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