Online Marketing: Understanding the Way of the Web

In order to be successful marketing any product or service online, you need to first understand how the flow of the web works, where traffic comes from, and how to reach your target audiences at those places (where it really counts). If you've been making your way around the web for the past few years, then I'm sure you've heard of terms like "SEO," "optimization," "search engine ranking," "page rank," "linking..." The list really goes on and on. But what does all of that mean to you, and how will any of it help you reach your most important goal, of getting targeted and quality visitors to your website to purchase your wares?

There are so many different directions to go in, so bear with me. We'll start at the very beginning, before we even worry about promoting what you're selling! So, you've been officially granted business status, and one of the first thing's you're encouraged to do is go out and get a website, right? Well, whoever gave you that advice knew what they were talking about, but it's not as simple as just "getting a website." There are a lot of components that will cause that site to sink or swim, and surprisingly, you have control over a good bit of them! So we'll start with design, and go from there.

For the professional that's less web- or tech-savvy, your main option becomes hiring an "experienced" designer to create and maintain a website for you. Unfortunately, this is where most professionals make the biggest mistake. There are experienced designers out there who charge hundreds or even thousands to create a website to your specifications. The problem is, are you really getting what you paid for? Let me explain. Being in web design myself, I know quite a few designers who are brilliant on the design aspect, but falter or fail completely when it comes to the more technical aspects of building and maintaining a website (i.e. all the fancy flash in the world won't help your site rank any higher in search engines, or bring you any more traffic). The design is really all they can do, which leaves you hanging and forces you to hire yet another firm to tie up the loose ends, like optimizing your site so that it can be properly and regularly included in search engines. In a nutshell, you're left spending thousands on a half-done job, and all because of a few questions you didn't know to ask.

So what are these questions? Well, it's simple. I'm a web designer, and I know how to make sites look good, and function properly when internet users visit them. But I'm also a small business owner, and I know how important it is that a steady flow of targeted visitors makes it to my site. I've heard all about search engine optimization (and you will too, before we're done) and I know that my site has to be properly optimized in order for the search engines to find me and include my site in their search results. So having the best of both worlds, I've taking the time to learn the in's and outs of both design and optimization, so that my sites not only look good, but perform well and are easy for potential customers to find. A web designer who thinks along those lines is what you need. I just feel that search engine optimization is one of those things that goes along with designing a website. So one of the main things you should be asking when hiring a designer is whether they handle search engine optimization also. Knowing this (and being able to get all of your services from one provider) will save you tons of money short-term and in the long-run. If you get a no, then you should be looking elsewhere. A pretty site will do nothing for your business if no one comes to visit!

You should also be asking some of the following questions, like:

• How long it will take them to complete the entire project
• If they charge for continued maintenance, hosting or tech support
• If updates or re-designs are included in the services you're purchasing (and if so, how many)
• If they will be submitting your site to search engines once completed
• How often they'll be submitting your website to search engines
• How will they be submitting your site (hand-submission, organic submission or software-based submission)
• Exactly which search engines will they be submitting to
• What their refund policies and stipulations are

All of these questions can help you find a better designer to work with. Of course, the more they provide, the better your chances of getting a good-quality website that is both designed and optimized well. Your business needs this to move on to the next level of online marketing. Without it, you're doomed before you even begin.

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