Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

So, you're ready to bring your small business to the Internet. It's time to create your online presence — your Web address, your corporate e-mail address, your business Web site; in other words, your marketing face in the online world.

Lots of businesses have walked this path already. Here are 10 common mistakes (but not the only ones) many companies have made, but that you can avoid.

1. No-name nobody's: Many small businesses choose to set up shop in the online world with a Web site name or URL on Geocities, Angelfire, Tripod or MSN, rather than having their own Web address. Which company would you feel more comfortable buying from — www.members.tripod.com/loudinismagicshop or www.loudini.com? (The latter is a real Web site, specializing in magic accessories.) I don't think I'm the only online shopper who feels reassured by "real" business Web addresses. I've recently bought several gifts from an online company with a "no name" URL, and I'm wondering if the products will really arrive. A strong, easily recognized Web address is affordable for even the smallest business.
   
   The same is true for e-mail addresses. If you are running a small business, it's a great idea to set up an e-mail address that uses your business Web address. When you send messages to potential clients, to your bank or to suppliers, joesmith@coffeespark.com (not a real site) looks far more professional than joesmith@aol.com. Bypass deadly sin No. 1: Make your Web presence a professional one by finding a good Web address for your business and using it for both your Web site and business e-mail.
    

2. Slow pages: Many small-business Web sites load far too slowly. We've checked out small-business Web sites that it took more than five minutes to load one web page. Most sites aren't that bad, but if your Web pages take more than 20 seconds to load over a 28.8K modem, you run the risk of losing visitors to your site. Photos and graphics with large file sizes are usually the problem when a page loads slowly. Use Photoshop or other programs to reduce the file size of individual graphics and photos on your Web site to no more than 10K.
    

3. Pictures : You wouldn't send out a marketing brochure that's all words and no pictures. So why do so many companies create Web pages without graphics or photos of any sort? If a single picture paints a thousand words, use a judicious number of them on your Web site to communicate volumes. Photos of your store or office, your products, your employees — these images make your business feel "real" to online visitors. Images give you a tangible presence and let visitors get a sense of the kind of business you run in Menlo Park, Calif., uses high-quality photos of actual projects and of the business team to convey a clear image.
   Mind you, using pictures doesn't contradict deadly sin No. 2. It's important to use photos on your site, but it's equally important that the file sizes are small enough to load quickly on your Web page. The other key is to use only high-quality photos, which often requires a professional photographer. Again, you wouldn't send out a marketing brochure filled with cheesy photos, would you? Because it's likely to be seen by many more people than most paper brochures, your Web site should be the best marketing brochure your business has ever created.
    

4. The "if I build it, they will come" delusion: One of the most common mistakes small businesses make is to assume that if there's a business Web site, customers will suddenly start flocking to it. That's like believing a car doesn't need an engine to drive to the store. Don't wait to start marketing your firm online. As soon as you are happy with your Web site, get going with the basics of online marketing. We recommend at least four marketing efforts when you launch a Web site.
   
   Be proactive in listing on search engines. Over 80% of your visitors will come to your site via search engines. It is the single most important area to key into.
   
   Start an affiliate program to encourage and reward other businesses for sending you online customers but don't take just anyone think reputation.
   
   Start collecting visitors' e-mail addresses on Day One, so that you can get them back to your Web site by either offering a special or some information they would like. But make sure you clearly state exactly how their e-mail information will be used. Respect your visitor's privacy and enforce your integrity.
   
   Market your website through newsletters that match your products and services. Become involved with forums and newsgroups that match your business. Stay away from using e-mail marketing firms unless they are highly recommended and trusted. You don't want to be band by your ISP or hosting provider for SPAM.
   
   Using these steps, you can set up an online marketing effort that will help ensure that customers come to visit the new Web site you just built.
    

5. Phone less in cyberspace: Don't forget to put your phone number prominently on your Web site. Many small-business executives have said the way their Web site is most frequently used is a customer looking at it while calling the company. Customers will refer to something on the Web site, but they actually buy products or order services on the phone.
   
   Unless you are working out of your home, it's also a good idea to put your mailing address on the site. It adds to the comfort level of knowing you are a "real" business.
    

6. A barrage of banners: Joining a banner exchange can help bring traffic to your Web site, but putting two, three or four banners on a page, along with buttons for Amazon, Netscape and five or six other affiliate programs just makes your site look busy and cheap. You'd never find a large-company Web site with multiple banners on a page (OK, don't send us examples . . . we're sure some big company makes this mistake, but don't follow their lead).
   
   If you join affiliate programs such as Amazon.com's, you'll probably find that you get much better results if you provide links to specific products in context, rather than a generic button to those companies' home pages. For example, if you run a Web site selling Raggedy Ann dolls, why not show a selection of books about the history of rag dolls and link to Amazon.com so that customers can buy them? You actually get a larger percentage of the sale from Amazon this way. And you provide a service that makes sense for your business, rather than another distracting button on your Web site.
    

7. Disappearing acts: We are floored by how many small-business Web sites are here today, gone tomorrow, and back again next Tuesday.  It may sound obvious to say that it's incredibly important that your Web site is up and running when customers go looking for it, but the disappearing act is a mistake that many small businesses make.
   
   How to make sure your site is up? Either assign an employee to check the site several times a day, or use a hosting service that guarantees your uptime.
    

8. Antique information: You'll want to keep the information on your Web site current. We've seen small businesses that have forgotten to update phone numbers, showed daily specials that were months old or offered online coupons that expired weeks earlier. You've got to maintain your Web site to keep it current. Make sure someone on your staff is responsible for the Web site's information and checks and updates it routinely or hire an as needed web master. Remember just because someone has built a website doesn't make him/her a web master but they be all you need to update and maintain a web site.
    

9. Background noise: For some reason, many small-business Web sites use busy background wallpaper. You'll find gray embossed company logos, wild patterns and other distracting background designs on many small-business sites. People think the designs add interest and panache to the sites, but all it does is interfere with the messages. Stick with a basic color for the site background, one that is consistent with your site's image. A white background doesn't have to be boring. And for everyone's sake don't but your favorite tunes on your website just because you think it's cool doesn't mean the next person will and your going to lose people.
    

10. You do what? : The next deadly sin is to have a Web site that doesn't quickly convey the kind of business you are in and the products and services you offer to customers. Sounds like another no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at how many small business Web sites leave you looking at them for minutes while pondering, "What do these folks do?"
    
    The front or home page of your Web site should include a short statement of your business mission. Consider augmenting that statement with a photo or graphic that makes it clear what you do.

7 Search Engine Mistakes NOT to Make

Since search engines will drive 80% of your online business these are important to you.
There are many more than 7 but here are the top 7 mistakes as we see them.

1. Not having proper content.
   Content is KING. Many people just fill a page with keywords or keyword phrases falsely thinking this is going to help their rankings. Search engines have come along way baby from the old days, which was just a few years ago. Now they see pages filled with keywords and keyword phrases as an attempt to spam their search engine, which they do not take kindly too. You should build the content for the people viewing it. Search engines read your page exactly the way a person would. Use up to two not more of the same keywords or phrases that people will use to find your website but make sure it makes sense to your website. The idea of making a page short an sweet doesn't cut it either. The more good meaningful text the better. You need to have at least 200 words for each page. And remember each page matters to all of the major search engines.
    

2. Using Flash or Frames to build your website.
   Yes, it looks good. But no, search engines can't all read them. It's complicated enough for a search engine to spyder a website in HTML let alone read Flash and work through frames. Now, it's not a problem using small amounts of Flash in a website but not for the body text or the navigation bars.
    

3. Text in graphics.
   Many designers and novice use text graphics or navigation buttons so they can use that special font that is oh! so cool. But search engines don't have eyes and they can't tell what the graphic says. Your best off using plain text or at least use the <alt> tag for your graphics description.
    

4. Proper navigation and page names
   Since most search engines follow the navigation links from the index page it's important to have it structured to easily search your website. Most website use what's called a tree set up. Everything starts at an index page, the trunk, then branches out to a primary subject, then each primary subject branches to secondary subjects and so on. It's important to have a link to each primary subject through out the website this gives the search engine easy access without having to return to the index (home) page. Google along with others include the page name as part of the search. So to add to your ranking it's important to name each page for a keyword or keyword phrase. Don't leave it Home or Page2.
    

5. Trying to Optimize for several keywords/keyword phrases in the Home Page.
   Because of how search engines now read pages it's important to only optimize each page for one keyword phrase. Also, don't use a single keyword use a keyword phrase that is descriptive of what your trying to sell the more words in the phrase the better.
   Example:
   Your selling Woodstock Mountain Bikes. If you choose just to use "bikes" for your keyword you'll be going against 22,200,000 pages on bikes. If you choose the keyword phrase "mountain bikes" you'd only be up against 5,530,000 pages on mountain bikes. Now, if you choose the keyword phrase "Woodstock mountain bikes" your only up against 73,700 pages and have a very good chance of being in the top 10.
   The other advantage is that the people coming to you website page are more likely to buy because you have exactly what they where searching for.
    

6. Improper links
   Asking people to link to your website just to get links is fruitless. Search engines have learned that this is how websites cheat to get a better ranking and they've taken steps to correct this. They look for links that are relevant to the website. They look for one way links (those that do not link back to the website the link came from). They look for links from what's known as link farms which in their eyes is a no no. If your website needs inbound links try Google Optimizing they do a free co-op anchor text inbound linking program and they can also help you to optimize your website for Google.
    

7. Search Engine Submissions
   There are two major myths about this:
   
   First, you'll be listed immediately after they spyder your website. Nothing could be further from the truth unless your willing to pay a good penny for them to do so and that takes at least 72 hours. Even Google, who doesn't charge and who use to list you quickly, takes 3 months or more. If you want to get listed quickly with them have a website that's already listed link to your website and you'll be in their listing within 4 days for free.
   
   Second, and this one really burns many people, "You need to submit your website every month to get a better ranking."
   You don't need to submit your website to any of the major search engines more than once. Anyone telling you differently run away holding your wallet tightly. Repeated submissions to the major search engines does one thing, it will help you get barred for Spamming. If you've ever been scammed or defrauded visit Ed's Bandwagon we've talked with Ed and his trying to be the Ralph Nader of the Internet.
   
   It's important to submit to Directories also; but here be very careful on what part of the directory your submitting your website too and be prepared to write a description of website that can't be edited later if they except it into that category. Directories can take over a year to get listed in even if you dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's.

If you have questions or insights please feel free to contact us using our form.