Websites 4 Small Business - Website design and promotion of small businesses

How to Use Social Media for SEO – A SPN Exclusive Article | SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

2011-05-28T16:23:00.000+10:00

How to Use Social Media for SEO

There are numerous benefits to engaging in social media marketing. Some are tangible (number of Likes, Fans and followers) and some are not (enhanced customer service, brand recognition and developing lasting relationships). You may not fully “get” social media, but you can’t deny that it is important and should be included in your overall marketing campaign. Social media is here to stay, and it is up to you to make sure your company uses it to their best advantage.

Read more

Ivana
Websites 4 Small Business

New hacked site notifications in search results

2010-12-18T07:46:00.000+11:00

Today we’ve added a new notification to our search results that helps people know when a site may have been hacked. We’ve provided notices for malware for years, which also involve a separate warning page. Now we’re expanding the search results notifications to help people avoid sites that may have been compromised and altered by a third party, typically for spam. When a user visits a site, we want her to be confident the information on that site comes from the original publisher.

Read more ...

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Are You Social Media Challenged? | SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

2010-12-09T05:45:00.000+11:00

Remember that kid from high school, you know the one who really didn't know how to socialize with others. He may have been home-schooled or secluded for the first 16 years of his/her life and as a result was socially challenged? You know what I mean? They would make inappropriate comments, add irrelevant content to a conversation, or just try to impress you with how smart they were by using grammar most people in college would not understand let alone a bunch of high school kids. We often refer to these types of people as, "socially challenged." The question I have for you is: Are you socially challenged in your social media marketing?
Read more

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Getting to the Top of Search Engines with Pay Per Click Marketing

2010-11-29T16:21:00.000+11:00

Getting to the Top of Search Engines with Pay Per Click Marketing

For most small businesses, getting to the top of the Search Engines, such as Google, and Yahoo is next to impossible without using the services of a Search Engine Optimization company. Although a very worthwhile exercise, Search Engine Optimisation can be quite costly.

The GREAT news is that you can get your website to the top of search engines, using Pay Per Click advertising.

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is when an advertiser (you) pays for each qualified click that sends a search engine user to the advertiser's web page. PPC requires you to bid on keywords or phrases that relate to your business. The best known pay per click service is Google AdWords.

Generally you can bid from as little as a few cents per visitor. However, the more you bid the higher up in the search engine your advertisement will appear. Pay per click is a great way to deliver targeted and qualified visitors to your website at a very reasonable price.

Read more

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

The Power of Joint Venture Marketing

2010-11-21T06:27:00.004+11:00

The Power of Joint Venture Marketing

Joint ventures are one of the most powerful internet marketing tools you can use. They really consist of a number of different methods, such as link swaps, giveaway events, or whole joint business ventures.

What is Joint Venture Marketing?

Joint venture marketing is where two or more website owners or online business owners combine forces in some way to get more traffic to their websites, more customers for their business and to make more money.

These joint ventures can be as simple as swapping links with another webmaster so that you display their link and they display yours to get more traffic; or they can be as complex as whole combined business ventures where you partner together on starting an online business.

Read more ...

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

ActivePro » Blog Archive » Place Important Content Above The Fold To Increase Conversions

2010-09-30T07:24:00.000+10:00

ActivePro » Blog Archive » Place Important Content Above The Fold To Increase Conversions

There are many ways to improve the conversion rate of your website. Copywriting, images, design and offers are all important, but one of the most basic steps is to ensure your important content is placed “above the fold”.

What Does “Above the Fold” Mean?

This term simply refers the portions of a webpage that can be visible without scrolling. This is seen as the most important real estate on any web page as other content can be missed if a customer decides to leave the current page for any reason.

The term originates from newspapers – where important stories are placed on front side of folded papers to entice people to buy them.

Read more

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

Articles - How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for your Business

2010-07-21T06:46:00.000+10:00

Articles - How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for your Business

So what’s a new entrepreneur to do?

It’s simple!!! Write articles.

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free and some publications even pay for your contributions. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

Read complete article ...

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

www.web4business.com.au

The Incredible Importance of Testimonials by Ivana Katz

2010-06-22T05:54:00.001+10:00

Testimonials are product/service reviews and comments from happy customers and are one of the best ways to build your credibility and to show potential customers that you are trustworthy, reliable and an expert in your field.

Your website visitors are not stupid and the majority will leave your site as soon as they feel you are trying to do the 'hard sell'. No matter what promises YOU make, your customers will believe others far more than you (unless, of course, you have already established yourself as an authority on a subject or have a solid relationship with them.)

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

SEO News: 6 Things You Can Do Today to Drive Traffic to Your Website

2010-06-18T08:09:00.000+10:00

SEO News: 6 Things You Can Do Today to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Website (and business) marketing is not a one off exercise. Whether you have a brand new website or one that you've had for a while, you need to continue promoting it in order to bring you more visitors.

You need to constantly work on it, fine-tune it, discard methods that are not working and implement new ones.

The following 6 methods are simple to implement and can be done for free by you today.

1. Email Marketing

Your first step should be to send an email to your existing clients announcing the existence of your website. You should also ask your customers to forward your email onto their friends, family and colleagues.

If you are starting a new business and don't have any customers yet, send an email to people you know who may be interested in your offer.

Remember to email your clients every time you make changes, add new offers or features to your website to remind them to come back.

The next step could be to send your announcement to an opt-in email list. Opt-in email lists contain people or businesses who have requested to receive information about certain topic(s). There are many companies who can provide you with these lists.

Under no circumstance should you EVER send unsolicited email (spam) to people you either don't know or who have not requested to receive your information.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

www.web4business.com.au

Join us on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/Websites4SmallBusiness

Stop Wasting Money Driving Traffic to Your Website!

2010-06-03T15:48:00.000+10:00

Many new online entrepreneurs waste thousands of dollars promoting their shiny new websites, only to be disappointed by the results. They are so excited about finally having arrived on the internet, they want to announce it to the world! And who can blame them.

If you are blushing right now because you have thrown away a lot of money promoting your website without getting the results you were hoping, read on ... all is not lost.

Read complete article ...

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

4 Ways to Make Money with your Website by Ivana Katz

2010-05-31T13:40:00.001+10:00

You are most likely aware that you can earn money through your website by selling your products and/or services via an online store. But, did you know there are ways for you to easily sell other people's products without actually having to carry their stock? And the news gets even better ... you can also earn money from allowing people to advertise on your website.

If you are starting a business, but are not sure what products to sell or if you are having problems sourcing products, this may be the solution for you. And if you already have a website, there is no reason why you can't add to that revenue by adding extra income streams.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

What are Joint Venture Giveaway Events

2010-05-28T13:13:00.002+10:00

Joint Venture Giveaway Events

What are Joint Venture Giveaway Events?

As you may know I am really into joint venturing. I believe that this is the way forward in today's economy. One of the most exciting new internet trends to emerge recently are Giveaway events, and they are gaining popularity really fast.

Mostly they are free, but you can pay a little to get more exposure. They are designed to help you grow your list. If you are interested at all in expanding your list, I would really recommend joining one. This is one that is starting in a couple of days and runs for the next two weeks. It's the right time of year and getting into all of these joint venture giveaway events and getting your products in could build you an email list much larger than you might think right now.
Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

How can I optimize my site on a small budget?

2010-05-25T06:25:00.000+10:00

Great video if you are looking to optimise your small business website
for search engines on a small budget.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Promote your business via social media

2010-05-21T07:06:00.001+10:00

What is Social Media?

Wikipedia describes Social Media as an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few... Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Getting to the top of search engines through one way linking: GoArticles.com

2010-05-16T05:43:00.000+10:00

Getting to the top of search engines through one way linking: GoArticles.com

One way links are links that point to your site from others, but which are not linked to from your website. Google and many other search engines include link popularity as part of the way they evaluate and rank websites. Links are seen as a positive "vote" towards the quality of the website. As such, the more links from other relevant websites to yours, the better.

Here are some of the ways to get one way links pointing to your website.

1. Articles

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

So what exactly is an article???

Read complete article

18 ways to prove credibility of your business online

2010-05-12T17:31:00.000+10:00

18 ways to prove credibility of your business online

Most first time entrepreneurs make a huge mistake by concentrating all their efforts on driving visitors to their website, but fail to prove credibility of their business. Think about your own online experience and what you look for in a business whose services/products you wish to order.

Unfortunately many people are still afraid to shop on the internet because they've heard horror stories from their friends and colleagues who have lost money in various online scams. And we know how fast news of bad service travels!

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

Meanings of Frequently Used Terms on the Internet

2010-05-10T07:06:00.000+10:00

Meanings of Frequently Used Terms on the Internet

If you've been on the internet for a while, you've no doubt come across new words, whose meaning may have baffled you. It's difficult to keep up with the latest computer and internet lingo, but here are a few of the new commonly used terms on the internet today.

Affiliate Program

This is a program where a person (an affiliate) is paid a commission to advertise a particular product, service or web site. The affiliate is given a special link to refer customers to the target web site. The company pays commission based on hits and/or sales from these links. The amount of commission paid varies. Most programs pay for sales; some programs pay for clicks on their site. Some programs even pay for finding new affiliates.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

www.web4business.com.au

What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?

2010-05-08T07:31:00.000+10:00

Are you feeling overwhelmed by what marketing strategies to implement? Read on ... this is a great article, which addresses what most small business owners are feeling.

What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?

Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be playing catch up when it comes to their marketing.

Last week when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good job with her marketing, she replied “Oh, but I have so much to do!” in an apologetic tone.

So I asked her, “What is it that you have to do?”

“Well,” she said, “I need to redo my website, write a new brochure, update my Facebook page, and call clients whom I haven’t seen for a while.

“I’m also wondering, do I need to get a Twitter account and do I need to have a blog AND a website?”

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

8 SEO Myths Debunked

2010-05-07T10:02:00.000+10:00

8 SEO Myths Debunked

One of my favorite pastimes is debunking SEO myths – and there are many! I could probably come up with 100 SEO-related ideas or actions that people think are helpful, but which in reality won’t provide them with more targeted traffic to their websites.

Here are some of the more prevalent myths I hear and see bandied about in SEO articles, at SEO conferences, in SEO blogs and on SEO forums:

SEO Myth #1: You Need Special Search Engine Pages.

While it’s not as prevalent as it used to be, we still get calls from companies who want us to create some sort of “SEO landing pages.” While landing pages often make sense for paid search campaigns such as Google AdWords, they’re unnecessary for organic SEO campaigns. Well, I shouldn’t say that they’re unnecessary – it’s just that your SEO landing pages shouldn’t be something outside of your site. They should already exist as an integral part of it. If those aren’t currently bringing you search engine traffic, it doesn’t mean you need to add new pages, it means you have to optimize your existing ones better.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

SEO Tips: Get More Traffic with These 10 Important Inbound Links

2010-05-06T04:11:00.000+10:00

Don’t overlook your inbound linking strategy as you think about search engine optimization for your site. An inbound link is a hyperlink back to your site from another web site. The one constant and reliable strategy in search engine optimization is that sites with a variety of high quality backlinks rank higher in the search engine results pages.

Why are these links to your site important? They can can…

bring potential customers to your site when they click on the link
increase the number of visitors to your web site
dramatically improve your search engine rankings

Even though there are software packages on the market that help automate the linking process, use them sparingly, if at all. The only way to succeed in linking strategies is (aside from creating useful content that will encourage inbound links) by manually creating the links. That’s a hard fact to swallow, given how I like to automate as much of my marketing as I can.

Here are the 10 most important inbound links you must have to your site:

Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Dummies Guide To Facebook Marketing

2010-05-05T05:24:00.001+10:00

Dummies Guide To Facebook Marketing

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4 years, you would know how popular and widely used Facebook is today.

Just a few short years ago, you had to encourage all your family and friends to join this social networking website (just after others convinced you to join). Nowadays, it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t got a Facebook account.

At last count, there were over 350 million users on Facebook and this number is continuing to grow. It overtook MySpace as the number 1 social networking website on the planet last year and is just behind Google when it comes to online traffic. You are then able to understand how important Facebook marketing has become for all websites.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz

Websites 4 Small Business

FREE and Powerful Way to Promote Your Website Through Link Exchange

2010-05-04T13:35:00.001+10:00

FREE and Powerful Way to Promote Your Website Through Link Exchange

What is a Link Exchange?

Link exchange is an extremely powerful marketing strategy whereby a website owner exchanges links and banners with websites that have similar content.

Why should I exchange links?

There are several reasons that you should exchange links with other businesses.

Results in search engines are determined by the material you have presented on your site and by other off-page factors such as how many other sites link to your website. The more links you have pointing to your site from relevant websites, the higher your site will rank.

Exchanging links will drive valuable targeted traffic to your website when visitors follow a link from your link partners.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

10 Easy Ways to Increase Sales

2010-05-03T06:37:00.001+10:00

SiteProNews: 10 Easy Ways to Increase Sales

One of the most common questions asked by internet business owners is “How can I increase sales?” Many articles, ebooks and reports have been written on this subject and trying to absorb that information just tends to make us more confused than ever! Below are some easy, innovative ideas to increase sales that anybody can implement into their online marketing strategies.

Read full article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Most Common Blogging Mistakes You Need to Avoid

2010-04-30T09:40:00.001+10:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Most Common Blogging Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Promoting an online business can be easy if you know the tools and techniques to use. One effective way used by internet marketers is blogging. How can you make your online marketing through blogs more effective? Below are ten blogging mistakes you should know to help you avoid committing them:

1) Not being committed

If blogging is just your past time, then you can get away with blogging whenever you feel like it. But if you’re blogging is part of your online marketing technique, commitment is important. See to it that you give time to blogging on a regular basis.

Read complete article

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » 18 Effective Search Engine Optimization Techniques

2010-04-29T13:38:00.001+10:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » 18 Effective Search Engine Optimization Techniques

Proper Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO, has quickly become a popular topic of conversation among website owners and entrepreneurs. The difference between having a successful website, and hosting a flop, is often the difference between whether or not you’ve incorporated proper keywords and phrases into your webpages....

To read complete article, click here

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Essential Information to include on your website - Part 2

2010-04-27T08:39:00.003+10:00

Wondering what information to include on your website to make it successful?
Here is part 2 of this series.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Website design - Essential information to include on your website - Part 1

2010-04-24T07:48:00.007+10:00

Wondering what pages to include on your website and why? Here is a video that explains important information that should be included on your site.

For more information about website design and website marketing, visit Websites 4 Small Business

How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website

2009-03-07T14:21:00.002+11:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website :

One of the most effective ways of increasing visibility online is via social media websites yet it is a tricky venture to say the least. There are hundreds of social media sites out there, each with a particular type of audience. Rather than joining every single social media site and submitting content as a freshly new member, consider lurking for a while, joining in discussions, and adding value to the community.

Would you jump into the middle of a group of people and start promoting your business in real life? Probably not and it’s the same way in social media yet newbies seem to think that it’s okay to do that. First search for social media sites that you think are a good fit. Become a member and start interacting with others. Comment and vote on other stories and study what type of stories tend to be popular on each site you visit. Try to be an active member of a social media community for at least a few months before attempting to submit your own content and making it viral.

Continue reading SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website

For more information about website design, small business promotion and marketing, visit www.web4business.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Traffic Building Strategies That Work

2009-02-13T21:53:00.001+11:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Traffic Building Strategies That Work

I was up at a friends place the other day and he mentioned somewhat casually that he was closing his store down and moving to another location. Since he had operated at that location for about ten years, I was surprised by this revelation. When I asked him the reasons for his relocation he replied quickly, “Bill, if you want to make money in this business, you’ve got to go where the traffic is” While this statement may seem somewhat simplistic, it’s good sound advice regardless of what type of business you’re operating.

It’s no different in the world of Cyberspace because without sufficient website traffic, your chances of success are slim and none. While there are numerous methods of building web traffic, the reality is that it takes time and effort to build a web presence and steady traffic. While many traffic building strategies cost money, the good news is that many site traffic builders are free. Some excellent ways to increase traffic that are low cost and even free are; reciprocal linking, traffic exchanges, writing articles and posting to forums.

Continue Reading Traffic Building Strategies That Work

For more information about website design and website promotion, visit Websites 4 Small Business

Ivana Katz
www.web4business.com.au

Website Promotion: Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

2009-01-31T09:08:00.001+11:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

Free lead generation is a very cost effective way to promote any online business. Social networking sites are some of the best ways to generate free leads. Some of the ways I personally use them to promote my online business is by using Social networking sites and making multiple profiles on them. Then when you have your profile accounts set up you need to pimp them to make them look professional and do not try to sell your products directly on your profiles. Instead make yourself interesting and someone who arouses curiosity so when you start sending friend request people will come to your profile and take a look. This is where you can start to get them to your website because these social networking sites allow you to have links on your profiles.

Continue reading Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

For more information about running a small business and website promotion, visit www.web4business.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

2009-01-30T10:56:00.001+11:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

If you are not using Twitter effectively, you are missing out on a serious opportunity for promoting your business. For those that do not already know, Twitter is an online service, designed to let family, friends and workers chat and stay in touch. Twitter famously asks the question; “what are you doing?”

As well as being a great place to socialise, twitter can be an amazing tool for promoting your business, but only if you know how to work it… here is a mini guide to working with Twitter. The first few tips are about how to get started on Twitter, and then we move on to how to get followers. Finally, we look at what to do with the followers when you have them. We assume you guys and gals are capable of actually registering for an account at twitter.com yourselves. ...

Continue reading A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

For more information about running a small business and website design & promotion, visit, www.web4business.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes

2009-01-29T11:57:00.001+11:00

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes

With so much talk about social media these days, everyone is jumping on board and trying it out. We are seeing some common mistakes out there and I thought it was important to address these mistakes to help eradicate them in the future.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve - we all went through it (and I met some great people that helped me, and that I helped along the way) but the key is to learn up front to minimize errors!
So, here we go…

Mistake One: Completely Ignoring Social Media

Believe it or not there are still some people out there that are ignoring social media. They may be unsure of how to participate or maybe they just don’t have time to get involved. No matter what the reason, this is a big mistake. Social media continues to grow in popularity and in importance to internet users - the exact users you are trying to reach.

Continue reading Social Media Mistakes

For more information about website design and website promotion, visit http://www.web4business.com.au/

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Website Design - A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

2009-01-27T16:36:00.001+11:00

SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

Imagine meeting someone new ... they have a beautiful face, lovely hair, stunning smile, drop dead gorgeous body and are dressed in designer clothes. Naturally you are attracted to their striking appearance, so you start talking to them. After a few minutes you realize this person has no personality, only talks about himself/herself and has no interest in finding out about you. Any attempt on your part to speak gets shut down and if you do manage to ask a question their answer is usually 'Yes, but ... let's get back to me'.

How long do you think you would stay and chat to this person? Do you think you would want to become friends? Probably not.

Continue reading SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

For more information about running a small business and website design, visit www.web4business.com.au

How to Use Video to Improve Google Ranking & Conversions | WebProNews

2009-01-20T19:28:00.001+11:00

How to Use Video to Improve Google Ranking & Conversions | WebProNews

Online video is consuming the web as we know it whether you like it or not. Some prefer text content over video in most cases, and that's ok too. I don't think text is going anywhere, but demand for video is on the rise from both consumers, and businesses looking to stay on top of their marketing. Just like not all text is great, not all video is great, but when done well, I think you will find that it offers plenty of reward.

Continue reading How to Use Video to Improve Google Ranking & Conversions | WebProNews

For more information about website promotion, visit www.web4business.com.au

Internet Marketing - SEO - Debunking the Top 10 Search Engine Myths

2009-01-15T11:02:00.002+11:00

Internet Marketing - SEO - Debunking the Top 10 Search Engine Myths

We've all done it at some point in our professional lives. We search a keyword that describes our business only to scratch our head as to how our competitor's website shows up on the top of the list instead of ours. If you've gone one step further and read about Search Engine Optimization, then surely you have come across the conflicting information online.

One article tells you to do one thing while another tells you to do the opposite. Which one should you believe?

Continue reading Internet Marketing - SEO - Debunking the Top 10 Search Engine Myths

For more information about small business marketing, visit www.web4business.com.au

Do Your Customers Trust You?

2009-01-12T18:54:00.002+11:00

Do Your Customers Trust You? WebProNews

Making a purchase online, especially a substantial one, can be a nerve-wracking process for a consumer. The primary problem, aside from price, is trust. Shoppers negotiate their relationship with the vendor in much the same way they negotiate relationships with any stranger: by seeking information.

What an online vendor lacks (and what becomes a disadvantage) is one-on-one interaction with the customer. As such, the customer must put forth additional effort to find out about a product for sale. Making this task easier can make all the difference in closing a sale.

According to GetElastic, an online retailer should strive to answer these customer questions ahead of time to reduce purchase anxiety ....

Continue reading "Do Your Customers Trust You? WebProNews"

For more information about running a small business and website design, visit:
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Website Design - Frequently Asked Questions About Websites

2009-01-12T11:17:00.001+11:00

Website design article - Frequently Asked Questions About Websites

For many entrepreneurs, getting a website designed is a very scary and overwhelming task. Most people don’t know where to start, what questions to ask and they don’t understand the process. So if you are thinking of getting a website designed, here are answers to some frequently asked questions, which you may have wanted to ask:

1. What is a domain name?

A domain name is like a street address or telephone number. The domain name points visitors to you on the Internet. The domain by itself is not your email or web address. The domain name, however, forms the base from which these addresses are derived.

For example:

Company Name: Websites 4 Small Business
Domain Name: web4business.com.au
Web Address: http://www.web4business.com.au/
Email Address: info@web4business.com.au

2. Do I need to register a domain name to have a website?

The simple answer is NO. You do not 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 few dollars. The disadvantages of NOT having your domain name include ...

Continue reading Frequently Asked Questions About Websites

For more information about running a small business and website design, go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Website Design - Enhance your website with free google gadgets

2009-01-10T09:24:00.001+11:00

Website Design - Enhance your website with free google gadgets

If you are wanting to add a bit of ooomph to your website without having to spend thousands of dollars on developing your own applications, you can take advantage of Google’s Free Gadgets.

What are Google Gadgets?

Google Gadgets are visually appealing mini applications such as clocks, weather globes, media players etc that add interactivity to your website.

There are several thousand free gadgets available in the following categories:

News
Tools
Communication
Fun & Games
Finance
Sports
Lifestyle
Technology ...

Read more of the article - Website Design - Enhance your website with free google gadgets

For more information about website design and running a small business, visit
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Website Design - Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

2009-01-08T11:00:00.001+11:00

Articles - Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

It was Friday night and I was enjoying a quiet dinner at home, when suddenly CRACK! – part of my tooth broke off!!!!! “Damn” I thought, “Now what?” I immediately went online to see if I could find a dentist that is open on Saturday morning. So I searched and searched.

The good news was there were plenty of dentists in my area … the bad news was that I couldn’t find whether they were open on Saturdays. After looking through various websites for about an hour, I narrowed it down to three dentists, who were open on the weekend. But in the end there was no competition as only one of the dentists had a professional looking website! ...

Read more on Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

For more information about website design, go to
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Website Marketing - Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

2009-01-06T11:15:00.001+11:00

Articles - Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

I admit I stuck my head in the sand when I first heard about Blogs. It was just too hard (so I thought) - another new technology to master and I wasn’t even sure of the benefits, so I ignored them for a while.

Then I attended a marketing seminar where a whole session was devoted to Blogs - how simple they were to set up and use and what unbelievable benefits they provided for a business. And the best part – most of them are free!!!!

So what exactly is a blog?

A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily or weekly using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

Read more about Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

For information about creating a website for your small business, go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Small Business Finance - How to Use Other People's Money

2009-01-03T13:19:00.002+11:00

Small Business Finance - How to Use Other People's Money

How to Use Other People's Money for Your Business

'Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.' - P.T. Barnum

John Ray, the famous 17th century author, was known to have written the aphorism, 'Money begets money.'

In the business world, I'm sure you've also heard the saying, 'You've got to have money to make money.'

There are countless sources of cash, but by far, the best one to utilize for your business is ... other people's money.

Perhaps one of the greatest 'secrets' of the richest people in the world is summed up in those 3 words: Other People's Money - OPM for short.

Articles - How to Use Other People's Money

For information about running your small business, visit
Websites 4 Small Business

Business Marketing - How To Write Press Releases That Get Published

2009-01-01T16:37:00.001+11:00

Business Marketing - How To Write Press Releases That Get Published

Do you want to know the secret of writing a news release that will get published? Here it is:

My secret for publicity success, developed from rigorous self assessment, after having sent out over a million faxed news releases on behalf of over 2,000 clients:

'Tell me a story, give me a local news angle, touch my heart (make me laugh or cry), hit me in my pocketbook, make my stomach turn over, or grab my gonads.'

Do this as many times as possible in a one page news release in 30 seconds or less and you will succeed in getting publicity.

A few years ago I spoke at the National Public Relations Society meetings in Omaha. I found out that most publicists at most big PR firms don't have a real clue about how to write a news release to get news coverage. They write corporate fluff.

Rarely do you see them create something that makes an editor drop what he’s doing and pick up the phone and call. And yet this is what you want an editor to do.

Read more on Business Marketing - How To Write Press Releases That Get Published

For more information about website design and small business, go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Search Engine Optimisation

2008-12-31T16:16:00.001+11:00

Articles - A Down and Dirty Guide to Search Engine Optimisation

A Down and Dirty Guide to Search Engine Optimisation and Positioning

I've been asked here to sum up what everyone should know about search engine positioning.

First, two caveats:

1) Search Engine Positioning is only a tiny part of the big Internet Marketing picture. It takes time and there are other things that will pay off far more in the long run.

2) This is a gross simplification of the whole process.

With that said, let's dive in.
1. This discussion will focus on spider engines. That is, an engine that goes to your site and indexes you based on what it finds. Directories are a whole 'nother ball game (which we will address in another article). Good examples of spiders are: Infoseek, Excite, and AltaVista.

Read more about Search Engine Optimisation

Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Free Website Promotion

2008-12-29T09:33:00.001+11:00

Free Website Promotion - How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for your Business:
by Ivana Katz

Having worked with a large number of small business owners, one common mistake I see over and over again is the obscene amounts of money they throw away on advertising. Many of them believe the more money they spend, the more business it will bring. WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

So what’s a new entrepreneur to do?
It’s simple!!! Write articles.

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free and some publications even pay for your contributions. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

Read more about Free Website Promotion

Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 30

2008-12-27T09:05:00.004+11:00

30. Joint Ventures

A joint venture is an agreement in which two or more businesses work on a project for a set period of time. Joint ventures can be long-term or short-term. With joint venture you can:

(a) Build long lasting business relationships.
(b) Increase your credibility by teaming up with other reputable, branded businesses.
(c) Get free or discounted products and services.
(d) Set up most joint venture deals with little or no money.
(e) Gain new leads and customers.
(f) Offer your customers new products and services.
(g) Get rid of your extra inventory.
(h) Find and create new distribution channels for your products.

To learn more about Joint Ventures, visit:

www.howtowritehypnoticjointventureproposals.com

There are many excellent ebooks on internet marketing. I would strongly recommend you pick up at least one or two and start reading. For a list of some great electronic books and tools, which are available for instant download, visit:

http://www.web4business.com.au/BusinessTools.htm

Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 29

2008-05-15T10:33:00.003+10:00

29. Viral marketing

On the Internet, viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect. One example of successful viral marketing is Hotmail, a company, now owned by Microsoft. Their strategy is simple:

(a) Give away free e-mail addresses and services,

(b) Attach a simple tag at the bottom of every free message sent out: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com" and,

(c) Then stand back while people e-mail to their own network of friends and associates,

(d) Who see the message,

(e) Sign up for their own free e-mail service, and then

(f) Propel the message still wider to their own ever-increasing circles of friends and associates.

Some viral marketing strategies work better than others. Below are basic elements you should try to include in your strategy.

(a) Give away products or servicesMost viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. Free e-mail services, free information, free "cool" buttons, free software programs etc

(b) Provide for effortless transfer to othersThe medium that carries your marketing message must be easy to transfer and replicate: e-mail, website, graphic, software download. From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. Short is better.

(c) Scale easily from small to very largeTo spread like wildfire the transmission method must be rapidly scalable from small to very large. Ensure you have enough resources, such as mail servers and staff that will be able to handle the increase in business.

(d) Exploit common motivations and behaviorsClever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations such as greed, the desire to be cool, hunger to be popular, loved, and understood.

(e) Utilize existing communication networksEach person has a network of 8 to 12 people in their close network of friends, family, and associates. A person's broader network may consist of hundreds or thousands of people. People on the Internet develop networks of relationships, too. They collect e-mail addresses and favourite website URLs. Affiliate programs exploit such networks, as do permission e-mail lists. Learn to place your message into existing communications between people, and you rapidly multiply its dispersion.

(f) Take advantage of others' resourcesThe most creative viral marketing plans use others' resources to get the word out. For example, affiliate programs place text or graphic links on others' websites, authors give away free articles, news release can be picked up by a large number of publications as they form the basis of articles seen by hundreds of thousands of readers.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 28

2008-03-03T13:29:00.006+11:00

28. eBay

If you sell products (as opposed to services) in your business, one of the best marketing tools you can use is eBay. eBay is a community where individuals and businesses can buy and sell a vast range of new and used items at fair market prices.

The main reasons why you should sell on eBay include:
- You can sell little or lot of practically anything from antiques to cars.
- Gain access to the millions of eBay buyers worldwide.
- Feel safe with policies and protections of the Community.
- Sell as an individual, small business, enterprise, and more!

For more information visit: www.ebay.com for selling globally or www.ebay.com.au for selling within Australia.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 27

2008-02-24T13:26:00.005+11:00

27. Word of mouth / Testimonials

Word-of-mouth marketing truly is one of the best ways to promote your business. The three most important things you can do to start the process of increasing your business through word-of-mouth include:

(a) Diversify your networks by becoming visible and active in the community. Participate in various networking groups and/or professional associations.

(b) Set up a contact list of businesses that are complementary and non-competitive to you. For example: a lawyer, an accountant, a financial planner and a banker. All of them have clients with overlapping similar needs. They can all work with and refer each other easily. Another good example is a florist, a photographer, a travel agent and a jeweler. A referral for one of them becomes a referral for all of them.

(c) Building your business through word-of-mouth is about cultivating relationships with people who get to know you and trust you. People do business with people they have confidence in. It's not what you know, or whom you know, it's how well you know them that counts. If you go into this process understanding this one key point, you will have a better opportunity to build your business through word-of-mouth.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 26

2008-02-17T06:59:00.003+11:00

26. Postcards

If looking to target potential customers, don’t overlook postcard marketing. Postcards achieve almost a 100% readership, while being simple to use and inexpensive.

Postcards:
- keep your name in front of customers - generate a high return on investment - are flexible, informative and creative - have high impact and low cost

Postcards can be used to:
- generate website traffic and sales leads - promote new specials or company awareness - announce new products, websites, store locations - thank customers - use as a discount offer /coupon

Repetition is the key to effective marketing efforts and postcards offer an inexpensive way of doing it.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 25

2008-02-15T19:35:00.003+11:00

25. Print advertising

Writing the Copy

When it comes to print advertising, you have to get to the point—fast. Your headlines should motivate readers to want to read on to learn more about your product, price and offer. Effective headlines address a pressing customer need or desire. The reality is that people care more about themselves—and what you can do for them—than about your business. You'll get a much higher response rate when your headline quickly answers the question, "What's in it for me?"
In the body of your copy, offer an incentive for the reader to call you or come to your store. You may want to offer a discount or a free giveaway

Placing the Ad

Newspaper ads are very effective for businesses that market their products and services locally. Not only can you reach a large number of people in a specific metropolitan location, but you can also target prospects via their interests (in the sports, lifestyle and business sections, for example).
Advertising costs depend on a number of factors, including the size of the ad, where it's placed, the day it runs and so on. Call and request a media kit from the newspaper or magazine so you can determine what advertising steps you can take that will fit with your marketing budget.
Consider placing print advertisements in local publications, national publications, industry publications, target market specific publications, yellow pages, local directories, special catalogues

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 24

2008-02-11T09:53:00.000+11:00

24. Radio advertising

You may have shied away from radio advertising, thinking the cost would be well over your budget and it may very well be if you were to advertise on commercial radio stations. But have you considered community radio stations? There are hundreds of them around and the great thing is that they will reach your local market. For community radio stations in your area, visit your local yellow pages or search on the internet.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 23

2008-02-04T11:25:00.000+11:00

23. Media Releases

Having a story written about you and your business will not only bring you lots of new customers (at no cost to you), but will also provide you massive credibility. Stories about you in the media are far more believable, powerful and attractive than any ads you could possibly run. People will trust and respect you instantly.

A media release (also called press or news releases) should provide enough details to be informative, but it should leave out just enough information to be tantalizing that the media person calls you to find out more.

Your media release should feature the following:

(a) The Headline This is 90% of your release. Your headline will do almost all of the work in attracting attention to you.

(b) The Summary This is the first part of the media release and should tell your story briefly.

(c) Credentials & Quotations Insert quotes from other people and include the person’s credentials

(d) Call to Action What do you want the person reading this release to do? You want them to call you for an interview. So provide your contact details and write a very brief outline of why you would be an interesting person to interview.

For more information about writing media releases visit:
PRWeb - Tell your company story to thousands!
Press Release - www.pressrelease.com.au
Elance - www.elance.com
PRNewswire - www.prnewswire.com
NewsBureau - www.newsbureau.com

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Interesting reading

2008-01-06T11:32:00.001+11:00

I like to spend my Christmas break catching up on reading and learning about new marketing techniques and ways to improve my business. This year I've come across some fabulous material. Nothing gives me a greater buzz (except for spending a day shopping ;) than when I learn something new - either something that will save me time, make me money or both. I've picked up some great tips and I will be posting them here over the upcoming months, but today I wanted to share an informative interview with Michael Cheney from AdSense Videos which I came across recently. Happy reading!!!

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business

Interview with Michael Cheney from AdSense-Videos.com

Q. So what made you get started with AdSense?
A. I was looking for a way to monetize some of my websites. AdSense is such an easy thing to get started with the eye for it would be a great way to start earning more money without actually putting into much more effort. I think as soon as you see the first earnings coming into your account you get addicted to AdSense. I know is what happened to me and since then I've just spent time working out how to earn more and more each day.

Q. How much do you make with AdSense?
A. Some days I can earn close to $1000 and others it's less than that. But it all comes down to how much time and effort you devote to creating a quality site that people like visiting. AdSense is not what my business is based on by any means - but it is a great way to earn revenue almost on autopilot.

Q. What is the biggest mistake people making with AdSense?
A. Probably the biggest mistake people make is thinking the AdSense earnings are easy to achieve. It is very easy to get started but as I learned it takes a lot of effort to increase your earnings. I got really downhearted whenever I would log in to my account to see that I had only made a few dollars. And that's when I decided to spend months and months of my time learning everything I could about
AdSense.

I basically buried myself away and devoured every single piece of AdSense information I could find. I ran thousands of AdSense tests and started to see a dramatic effect on my click through ratio and therefore on my earnings.

This is why I'd decided to record the videos - because I knew that it would help people who were in my position to also increase their earnings. I've read an absolute ton of AdSense e-book's but they take so long to go through and always seem to keep information back.

With AdSense Videos I knew that I had to tell the story exactly as it is and actually show people and lead them by the hand through the exact techniques that I use to generate large earnings from AdSense.

Q. In your videos you show people how to increase their AdSense earnings - can you
give us a taster of this advice?
A. I don't want to give away my biggest secrets as you can understand! But some of the more basic things that you can do to increase your revenues include using ads that blend in rather than stand
out from your content. Flat out the worst thing you can do with an AdSense ad is make it look like the standard Google ad. What you need to realise is that you will get more clicks if your ad
actually appears part of your site rather than something that's just been dropped into the page.

Q. What would you recommend that someone do right now to increase their AdSense
earnings?
A. I've created a totally free AdSense minicourse that people can go through to learn some of my techniques. It takes you through the four cornerstone principles that I've used to build up my AdSense empire. You can check it out, as well as all the AdSense Videos, by clicking here

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 22

2007-12-17T14:15:00.001+11:00

22. Publishing an Ezine or Newsletter

Whether you are the CEO of a multi-national corporate network or a stay-in-your-pyjamas entrepreneur, one of your primary business objectives should be to develop long-term relationships with everyone you communicate with – website visitors, prospects, customers, employees, suppliers, service providers etc. And one of the best methods of building strong relationships is through your own Ezine (electronic magazine) or Newsletter.

If you've been marketing on the Internet, then you know it may take several contacts with a prospective customer before closing a sale. What better way to make those contacts, without spamming... In addition, you can eventually make a nice income selling sponsor advertising and classified ads.

To publish an effective Ezine will take some time to develop and there are thousands of resources on the internet that will help you – simply go to your favourite search engine and type in “ezine publishing” or “ezine publishing articles”.

In the meantime, here are some tips to get you started.

(a) Give your readers quality content - not rehashed or well-worn articles that have been published hundreds of times already.

(b) Write your own articles whenever possible or hire a ghost writer to help you. Talk to your readers as you would normally talk. Be yourself and let your sense of humour and uniqueness show through in your writing.

(b) Ensure the ezine has been properly edited, you have checked your spelling, grammar and formatting. Ensure all the links are working

(c) Personalise each issue for your subscriber. If your email software allows it, include a field so that your ezine is addressed to your subscriber by their firstname.

(d) Don’t publish too many ads or too many affiliate links

(e) Ask for feedback to help you improve your ezine

(f) Stick to publishing a text ezine rather than HTML.

(g) Publish your ezine regularly and on time.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Highly recommended reading.

2007-12-17T14:06:00.000+11:00

What do women want? Money, power, platinum credit cards. No longer are women finanially controlled by men anymore. The world is our bank and we just have to gain the skills to source that money!! Suze Orman teaches women a lot about learning to make their bank balance grow and grow. While you might have to sneak into overdraft to buy the book....you'll soon be far far from scraping the bottom of the piggybank!

To order this book in Australia, click here
To order this book in USA, click here

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 21

2007-12-01T07:33:00.000+11:00

21. Ezine Advertising

One of the best, cheapest and most targeted way to promote your product or service is through ezines (electronic magazines). Ezine ads reach people who want what you have to offer. As Ezines are generally based on a theme or particular interest and their subscribers have requested to receive them, you can be sure that they are going to be read.

Prices for advertisements vary depending on the popularity of the ezine and the actual location of your ad. Top position ads generally cost more than those found mid-way or at the bottom. Most ezine publishers will also send solo ads (advertisements about your product/service) to their subscribers. However, this is generally more costly.

To get the most of your ad, ensure you develop a killer title or headline and that the ad is straight to the point.

The best way to get started advertising in ezines would be to contact the editors of various ezines and check their rates, publication dates and number of subscribers – go to www.ezine-dir.com or www.go-ezines.com for a comprehensive listing of ezines.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

Highly recommended video to watch!

2007-11-30T19:21:00.002+11:00

Nitro Marketing just released the first video in a series of 5 trainings based on their Nitro Blueprint System.

Video #1 is called "The New Path Video" and is available for immediate viewing.

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/video.o/Web4Business

Watch these 5 free Nitro Blueprint videos and get 10 simple steps that creates your own full-time online income while LOVING what you do.

In these 5 videos over the next 5 days, Nitro is going to give you The Big Picture of an online business system, including not only what to do, but also WHY to do it - and just as important - how to properly THINK about your business. (The missing piece that you never hear any of the "Gurus" talking about - the Internet Business Success Mindset)

You'll see PROOF that this 10 step system works.

(The Nitro Blueprint System has been 29 months in the making based on over 8 years of REAL Internet business experience)

And you will also learn:

- The simple 10 step 90-day plan to having a lucrative online business, even if you are starting from scratch.

- How to have a business you LOVE doing.

- How to have a business that lasts for the long term.

- How to eliminate procrastionation, take focused action, and start gettng immediate results.

- The Experience Factor, Core Activity Principle, the Tile Path Theory, and The Empty Box Principle.

- They will walk you through all 10 steps that Nitro uses for every site they launch, every site they rennovate, every business they start, and every client they take on.

Special Bonus #1: The amazing true story how a green-as-the-grass newbie with no desire to "do internet business" used the Nitro Blueprint system to create $22,748 in 3 weeks, from scratch. (in a totally unrelated niche market)

Special Bonus #2: Free participation in the Nitro Blueprint Videos "Biggest Takeaways" Contest where you will be able to win cool Nitro prizes just for sharing your biggest takeaways from the videos. (including 5 DVD's given away of the private Nitro Quattro Sales Funnel)

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/video.o/Web4Business

To your success,
Ivana Katz
http://www.web4business.com.au/

PS: When you get in on Day 1 video today, you will make sure and get all 5 videos that cover all 10 Steps of the Nitro Blueprint System as they are released over the next 5 days:

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/video.o/Web4Business

Airing Dirty Laundry ...

2007-11-29T14:18:00.001+11:00

There's an elephant in the room that nobody is talking about. And it's beginning to stink so badly that someone has finally spoken up about it.

Yes, Nitro Marketing is airing out the "dirty laundry" of Internet Marketing in a controversial & revealing new report called:

"The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report"

Why are hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to start, launch, and grow an online business - with all of the information available showing you how to do that - still frustrated,
confused, overwhelmed, and no closer to the success you desire than when you started?

(And even worse - further in debt and totally discouraged from continuing after your dream.)

Well, they are exposing exactly what the problems are and it's all revealed this special report that was just published for you which will give you some real answers, expose the real truth to
what is going on, and more importantly give you some real help you can depend on in:

"The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report"

Why Following 'The Gurus' Is Leaving You Frustrated, Overwhelmed, Confused, Struggling And Broke:

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

Chapter 1:
Why People are Frustrated, Overwhelmed, Confused Struggling and Broke... Despite the Glamorous Promises Being Made to You.

Chapter 2:
The Get Rich Quick Myth – BUSTED!

Chapter 3:
The Bamboozler In Hiding

Chapter 4:
The "House Of Cards" Are Not Playing With A Full Deck

Chapter 5:
What To Look For In A True System To Follow? (And what not to touch with a ten-foot pole)

Chapter 6:
Real Value, Real Results – Given To You For Free

Chapter 7:
Does It Really Work?

Download "The Internet Marketing Dirty Laundry Report" and get the truth at:
http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

To your success,
Ivana Katz
http://www.web4business.com.au/

PS: Watch out for the Bamboozler in hiding. Nitro exposes him for what he is in this report.
Some people will find what is revealed to be shocking, others will nod their head and say that makes sense...and most will do both!
http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

PPS: You'll also see an explanation of life of a typical product in this marketplace. Warning: you may be seriously disgusted.

http://www.NitroBlueprint.com/dl.o/Web4Business

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 20

2007-11-17T07:03:00.002+11:00

20. Webrings

One of the more interesting ways to add some targeted traffic to your site is to join webrings. A webring allows visitors to surf through sites that are related in one way or another. They are free of charge to the owners, members and visitors.

Webrings deliver targeted traffic day after day and once they are set up they tend to stay set up with little further maintenance

Each webring is created and maintained by a person known as a ringmaster. This person accepts site submissions and validates that the site meets the topic of the webring. For more information visit: www.webring.org

Till next time ...
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 19

2007-10-31T06:50:00.001+11:00

Articles

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

The best articles are “tips” or expert pieces. People are looking for guidance and will purchase from the experts who show them how to solve their problems.

Your article should include the following elements:

(a) The Headline

This should be attention grabbing and use power words and phrases, such as “How to …” “10 Ways that …”, “Do you want to …”

(b) Lead Paragraph

The first couple of sentences should tell your readers why they should read the whole articles. Show them the benefits they will gain or the pain that they will avoid by reading the article.

(c) Body Copy

This is where you inform the reader how to do something that will enrich their business or personal lives. Use short sentences and provide step-by-step directions that they can easily follow.

(d) Conclusion

At the end you will want to summarise the topics you covered and briefly review the main points. Since you have helped your readers they will most likely want to know more. This is your chance to make your sell by making them an offer with a call to action.

(e) Resource Box

The resource box should supply the reader with the following information:
- Your name - Company name - Contact information - Website details - How to order your product, etc

If writing an article seems too daunting for you initially, you can hire a ghost writer to do this for you – generally at a very reasonable price. If you need someone to help you with this, you may wish to check out:
www.elance.com

Once your article is written you will need to submit it to various publications on-line and off-line. For a listing of Australian printed publications, including the editor’s details, you may wish to buy “The Australian Writer’s Marketplace”, available from most bookshops.

For a listing of on-line magazines (e-zines), visit: www.ezine-dir.com. You can then contact the editor of each magazine and offer them your article.

If you don’t have a lot of time to submit your articles manually, you may wish to consider using article submission services by companies such as:

Submit Your Article – www.submityourarticle.com orThe Phantom Writers – www.thephantomwriters.com

For a small fee they will submit your article to thousands of publications.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

Get Free Business Cards

2007-10-23T14:02:00.000+10:00

Whilst recently looking for useful resources for small businesses, I came across this great offer of Free Business Cards.

To get your free business cards, click here

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 18

2007-08-07T14:19:00.001+10:00

18. Visitor Exchanges

There are many websites popping up on the net that are known as Traffic Exchange, Click Exchange, Visitor Exchange or Surf For Hits programs. People become members of these sites with the goal of generating free traffic to their site.

The way it works is quite clever.

You visit another member's website and in exchange someone visits the website of your choice. Most of these programs work on a 2:1 ratio. This means that for every two sites that you visit, someone else in that same Start Page program will visit your site.

Simple concept, isn't it?The great thing about these programs is that you will receive all of this traffic to your website, without having to spend a dime!

One of the biggest benefits from these programs is the ability to develop a downline of people that will generate 1,000's upon 1,000's of click thru visits to your site over time! In other words, you receive credits for the credits they chalk up for themselves!

For more information go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/FreeVisitors.htm

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 17

2007-06-19T15:57:00.000+10:00

17. Pay per click (PPC)

Pay per click advertising is when an advertiser (you) pays for each qualified click that sends a search engine user to the advertiser’s web page. PPC requires you to bid on keywords or phrases that relate to your business. The best known pay per click services are Google AdWords and Overture.

Generally you can bid from as little as a few cents per visitor. However, the more you bid the higher up in the search engine your advertisement will appear. Pay per click is a great way to deliver targeted and qualified visitors to your website at a very reasonable price.

It is a good idea to experiment with different PPC search engines to find the one that works best for you. In addition, you will need spend time testing your keywords and ads.
For more information check out:

Google Adwords - https://adwords.google.com
Overture – www.overture.com

If this is all too hard, you can employ the services of a company such as Sponsored Linx www.sponsoredlinx.com.au and they will organise the campaign for you. In fact, they promise that they can get you on the 1st page of Google when someone searches for your company's keywords within 24hrs.

If you mention the following promotional code, you will receive a 5% discount.web4business868

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
http://www.web4business.com.au/

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 16

2007-06-12T06:37:00.000+10:00

16. Office Stationery & Merchandising Materials

It is extremely important that your website is included on ALL your office stationery so that customers can see it over and over again. That way they are more likely to remember it. If you’ve just had your letterheads printed, you can always add your website address on your wordprocessor, when printing your correspondence. For brochures, business cards etc, consider having small labels printed up. Your office stationery should include not only your website address, but also your email. Consider adding your details to:

- Letterheads
- Business Cards
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Labels
- Packaging
- Merchandise bags
- Catalogs
- Invoices
- Fax headers
- Display units

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 15

2007-06-05T18:27:00.001+10:00

15. Newsgroups

A newsgroup is a message board on the internet where users come to discuss topics of mutual interest. As a user you can start a thread (topic), post messages and respond to other postings. There are tens of thousands of Newsgroups on every possible subject. The best way to find a suitable newsgroup is to use Google Search. Go to www.google.com. Then click on the “Groups” tag. Run a search using a keyword related to your on-line business that you would like to promote from the groups search page. For really worthwhile information use moderated groups.

You can use Newsgroups for conducting market surveys, get new clients, promote your site, get answers to your questions, make friends.

The idea of newsgroups is to make a valuable contribution and by doing so promoting your business. Please do not post commercials, ads or press releases and never post unrelated messages as this will be considered spamming.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 14

2007-05-29T08:12:00.000+10:00

14. Bonuses

We all love freebies and your customers are no exception. Ideally you should pile on the bonuses to get people excited. Sometimes they will buy the main product only to get the bonuses.

The easiest and least expensive are informational products – reports, articles, ebooks. You can find literally thousands of these on the internet. Simply go to your search engine and find one that would appeal to your target audience. For example, if you sell wedding cakes, you may wish to give away ebooks or reports on planning a wedding. If you sell children’s clothing, you may wish to give away tips on parenting or ebook which features activities to do with your children.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 13

2007-05-11T12:18:00.000+10:00

13. Autoresponders

Email autoresponders work like a fax-on-demand system. If you send an email to an autoresponder address, you’ll get back a pre-written message. Autoresponders have come a long way in the last couple of years. Not only are you able to send HTML messages with graphics, but you can set up a whole sequence of autoresponder messages going out on any day or at any time you choose.

Once you set up your email messages, everything gets done automatically. As soon as a prospect sends an email to your autoresponder, the system keeps working over and over again, like a tireless robot making sure no prospect ever slips through the cracks. Most autoresponders systems now handle your whole mailing list, so you are not having to manually manage your prospects.

Because the vast majority of customers will not buy from you on their first visit to your website, it is extremely important that you have an automated way to follow up with them several times to entice them back. You can use autoresponders to cross-promote various products and services your business offers.

Follow these tips and you can’t go wrong:

1. Make time sensitive offers in your email follow up.

2. Build extra incentives into each follow up, until your prospect can’t resist any more. Offer free reports, free ebooks, freeware programs, mini-courses etc

3. Include a survey as part of your autoresponder sequence, so you can find out what your customers like about your messages, what they dislike and what other information they want.

Some great autoresponders include:
GetResponse
www.aweber.com

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 12

2007-05-05T07:18:00.001+10:00

12. Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs also known as reseller programs are an agreement in which a website owner displays an ad for another company in exchange for a commission on the resulting sales and/or leads.

There are two ways you can start your own affiliate program.

1. You can have a service bureau take care of nearly everything for you. They’ll handle the recruiting and administrative functions like sending out payments, tracking, reporting etc. A good example of a service bureau is Commission Junction – www.cj.com

2. Set up an affiliate program yourself, using on-line services. Some you may wish to check out include:

www.synergyx.com
www.marketerschoice.com
www.assoctrac.com

Tips for setting up successful affiliate programs:

1. Should be free to join.

2. Offer real time statistics so that affiliates can check their sales and commission without having to contact you.

3. You should provide your affiliates with proven tools they can use to sell your products (eg. Sales letters, endorsement letters, banners, ezine articles, ezine ads)

4. Technical support 24/7

5. Stay in touch with your affiliates to keep them motivated

6. Give your affiliates the highest commission you can.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 11

2007-05-04T18:47:00.000+10:00

11. Domain Name

Your domain name represents one of the most important decisions you have to make in going online. 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 most popular domain names in Australia are “.com.au” and “.com”.

Ideally your domain name should be rich in keywords (words relating to your business) to ensure on-line success, especially with search engines.

If for example, you are a florist based in Sydney, it would be preferable for you to have one of the following domain names:

www.sydneyflorist.com.au
www.florist.com.au
www.sydneyflowers.com.au

You will, however, find that generic names such as the above are already taken. In that case, register something like:

www.cindysflowers.com.au
www.sydneyflowersandgifts.com.au

If your business name is for example “Jim & Sons”, ensure you include a description of what you actually do, eg.

www.jimandsonscarpetcleaning.com.au or
www.jimscarpetcleaning.com.au

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 10

2007-04-26T14:16:00.001+10:00

10. Classified Ads

Classified ads are one of the most inexpensive ways to advertise your products or service. Unfortunately many people misuse classified ads. They try to sell a product directly from the ad.

The best way to use a classified ad is as a two step process.

1. You place a classified ad in your local newspaper/magazine. The ad should be simple and straight to the point. It should then direct readers to call a phone number of your answering machine.

2. Your customer will dial the number where they will hear a powerful sales message and at the end customers are directed to send an order to the address you give on the tape or they can leave their contact details.

An example of such classified ad would be:

“Double your mail order business’ profits. Incredible recorded message tells secrets. Call 1234 5678 24hours or visit www.yourcompany.com”

People read classified ads for a purpose. They are specifically looking for products, services and information that appeals to them.

The selection of words you use is the most important aspect of classified ad copy. You need to choose precisely but don’t skimp on words to save the cost in the ad.

The best way to prepare copy is to first write about your products/services at length. List all the major benefits and features. Choose a powerful heading that points out the most significant aspect of your product. Follow up with a few words or details and finish with a request to contact for more information.

For more information about writing effective classified ads, you may wish to download a free copy of “Classified Ads Secrets” Ebook from: http://www.web4business.com.au/ClassifiedAdSecrets.htm

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 9

2007-04-21T06:14:00.000+10:00

9. Trade shows

Trade shows are a very powerful marketing medium because they generally take place at a single location, have short runs (usually one to three days), and bring together thousands of exhibitors and potential customers.

Common reasons for exhibiting include: Generating sales leads and actual sales at the show, enhancing your image and visibility, reaching a specific audience, personally meeting your customers, competitors and suppliers, prospecting for new customers, introducing new products and services, demonstrating your product in ways not possible using other marketing channels, recruiting distributors or dealers, educating your target audience.

There are probably several trade shows in your industry worth visiting, and a select few worthy of a company booth. Start by researching which shows to attend. Identify the locations and dates of all the trade shows related to your industry. Request media kits on each show, which should tell you about its size, target market and typical exhibitors. If your direct competitors are likely to exhibit, your company may be conspicuous if absent.

It's a good idea to exhibit at least once a year just to get your name out there, especially if you're an early stage startup looking for publicity — or funding.

Once the show space specifics have been established, then you can move on to deciding what to take and how you can ‘show your stuff’.

The following are just a few ideas to help you get ready for that all important trade show.

a) If the trade show display table you have does not include a tablecloth, be sure to get one that complements your display and represents your company’s image and colour

b) Erect a stand-alone presentation board. On the board, you can show how clients can benefit by using your products/services. Be creative and make it stand out. Include pictures, if possible, and be sure your company name and logo are more than obvious.

c) Arrange your trade show display table in levels. Put the larger items at the rear, shorter items in front of those, and even shorter items in front of those.

d) Develop a PowerPoint presentation to display on your table. You can make it on your desktop computer and transfer it to a laptop, which you can rent or borrow if you don’t already have one. Your visitors will find this visually appealing and it will draw in their attention.

e) Have plenty of trade show giveaways, such as business cards, brochures, pens, magnets, and anything else that has your company name and/or logo on it.

f) Offer something a little different as a trade show giveaway… FOOD. Package your food in a way that will allow you to have your company contact information on it.

g) Offer Gift Certificates for some of your services as a trade show giveaway.

h) Have a draw for a prize. Offer a prize that in some way complements your business if possible, and appeals to anyone. Have visitors and entrants sign a guestbook, fill in a ticket, or drop their business cards into a fish bowl or gift bag. The great thing about this trade show giveaway is that you can then use this information at a later date to make a follow up contact.

i) Have a portfolio of your work available as part of your trade show display. Print off some of your best projects, put them into plastic sheet protectors, and arrange them in a binder.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 8

2007-04-21T06:02:00.000+10:00

8. Giveaways

Offering free giveaways to prospects and clients is a powerful business building strategy that can result in a flood of new and repeat customers. If your business is service orientated, you can “give away” a free consultation. Your prospects will get to test your business risk-free. Hopefully they will get “hooked” on your service and won’t be able to live without it.

By providing someone with a “favour”, people generally feel a natural obligation to return the favour by giving you repeat business.

For product based businesses, you may consider a “buy 1 get 1 free” or “buy one and get second one at a discount” or give something totally unrelated, for example ”Buy a pair of children’s shoes and receive a colouring book for free”.

Think about what you can offer free-of-charge that your prospects would consider valuable and that you can give at a low cost to you.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 7

2007-04-18T16:24:00.000+10:00

7. Feedback and testimonials

When you come across a great product or service on or off the internet, send an email to the business owner telling him/her how the product/service helped you. Like you, most business owners appreciate receiving positive feedback and they will most likely feature your testimonial on their website and place a link back to your site! You may even suggest it to the owner by saying something like “you have my permission to feature this testimonial in your promotional material and/or on your website”.

For more great info, go to ....

The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on The Internet

Learn the little-known secrets to starting, growing, and promoting a wildly profitable e-business!"

If you want to learn EXACTLY how to...

- Easily build a website in less than a few hours even if you have ZERO web design experience...

- Make 100% NET PROFIT selling the most lucrative, no-brainer product to sell on the Internet...

- Attract subscribers to your e-zine or newsletter like crazy -- even on websites that get almost NO traffic...

- Increase online sales by up to 714% or more using secret one-minute salescopy tricks...

- Score a top ranking in the search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo!, AltaVista, ODP, AllTheWeb, Ask.com, to name a few...Use blogs to drive massive amounts of targeted traffic to your website for FREE......

Plus a TON more step-by-step Internet marketing strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are already using to start and grow profitable Internet businesses

More info

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 6

2007-04-08T17:56:00.000+10:00

6. Email Signature

Every email you send should have an email "signature." This is text that is automatically attached to the bottom of your email message. This text can be used to publicise your business. You can include your name, business name, email address, street or postal address, website details, phone number, fax number, company slogan, description of your company and its products/services. You can set up different signatures for different purposes.

To set up your signature using Outlook Express:

Step 1: Select Tools > Options from the menu bar.

Step 2: Click "Signatures".

Step 3: Make sure that you select "Add signatures to all outgoing messages" - within the "Signature settings" section. It is up to you whether you would like your signature to appear in "replies" and "forwards"

Step 4: Click "New" (you can change the name from "Signature #1" by clicking "Rename") - within "Signature" section:

Step 5: Type in the text that you would like to appear at the end of your email messages - in "Edit signature" section:

Step 6: If you're happy with this, click "Apply" and "OK".

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 5

2007-03-28T04:28:00.000+10:00

5. Banner Advertising

Banners are graphics, which are linked to a website. You can create your own banner and either exchange it with someone, so that you display their banner on your site and in return they display your banner on their site. Whenever someone clicks on the banner, they are taken directly to the advertised website.

To save time, you can join a Banner Exchange programs, such as:
http://www.linkbuddies.com
http://www.showyoursite.com
http://www.yesnexus.com

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 4

2007-03-12T10:36:00.000+11:00

4. Link Exchanges

Find websites whose business complements yours and add their website to your links/resource page. Then contact the company and ask for a reciprocal link. For example if you are a wedding dress designer, you could contact businesses that sell wedding cakes, jewellery, flowers and also venues, celebrants etc.

By doing this your website will become a valuable resource for your visitors, as it will provide information they need. They may return to your site over and over to find more information.

On the other hand, you will have visitors coming to your website when they following a link from your link partners.

Results in search engines are determined by the material you have presented on your site and by other off-page factors such as how many other sites link to your site. The more links you have pointing to your site from relevant websites, the higher your site will rank.

If you need help with this task, you can employ the services of a Link Exchange Company. They are generally inexpensive and can save you hours of time. Some of these include:

http://www.linkexchanged.com/
http://www.powerlinks.com
http://www.links-pal.com/

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 3

2007-03-09T16:21:00.001+11:00

3. Search Engines & Directories

A search engine is a searchable database of websites collected by a computer program (called a crawler, robot or spider). When you enter a keyword, the search engine looks for keywords in its database, and any relevant records are displayed. Currently there are thousands of search engines and directories on the internet. Some of the main ones include:
Google - www.google.com
Altavista - www.altavista.com
Yahoo - www.yahoo.com
Excite - www.excite.com
AllSearchEngines - www.allsearchengines.com
Northern Light - www.northernlight.com
DogPile - www.dogpile.com
AllTheWeb - www.alltheweb.com
Lycos - www.lycos.com

When submitting your website to the search engines, you can either do it manually by going to the search engine website and adding your URL (website address) or you can employ the services of a Search Engine Submission company, who will do it for you.
www.submitexpress.com
www.wpromote.com
www.website-submission.com

Search engines try to list sites that contain good content, so you need keywords and phrases on your pages that best describe your service and products. For example, if you are a florist, use the words such as florist, online florist, virtual florist, wedding florist, florist in Sydney, florist on line, flowers, floral, bouquets, floral arrangements etc as many times as possible to ensure high search engine ranking. To find out what keywords your customers may be searching on ask your family and friends or go to:http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/http://www.wordtracker.com

Once you decide on the keywords, use them in
(a) Your website’s domain name
(b) The title of your page - This is displayed in the top bar of your browser window
(c) The heading of your home page
(d) The first paragraph of your home page
(e) Meta tags - Keywords, page title, description
(f) Titles of your graphics

Whilst it is important to use keywords as much as possible, it is also important you use them only if they are relevant and do not sound awkward. If you spam your keywords you may be penalised or even banned by some search engines.

If this all seems too overwhelming, you can employ the services of a Search engine optimization company, who will make your website’s content more search engine friendly to make it rank higher. www.melbourneit.com.au (for VIP treatment - advise you are our customer - partner ID 5597)www.websight.net.au
www.bmcoptimise.com.au
www.e-channel.com.au

For a comprehensive listing of search engines, go to:
http://www.web4business.com.au/ResourcesListSearchEngines.htm

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 2

2007-03-06T06:34:00.000+11:00

2. Leads

There are many companies who will provide leads or prospects for your business. For a fee, they will display your advertisement (similar to a classified ad) and when someone clicks on it, they will be taken to your website. The great thing about these targeted leads is that you are only paying for the people who want to know about your business and products. If you work out the cost of a lead versus regular advertising, you will no doubt come out on top. Generally the cost per lead is between $0.50 - $1.00. If on the other hand you advertise in a newspaper or a magazine and pay $200 for the advertisement from which you get 20 enquiries, the cost per lead is $10.

Check out:
http://leadfactory.com/leads/
http://www.getresponse.com
http://www.prospectshop.com.au/

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 1

2007-03-03T07:27:00.000+11:00

You are very excited!! You have finally created your own website!! But the trouble is customers aren’t knocking on your website door. Why? What should you do?

The most probable answer is that your customers don’t know about your website.

Creating a website is like building a house. If you don’t tell your friends they won’t know you’ve built a house. Even if they do know you’ve been building it, if you don’t tell them your address they’ll never find you.

And the same goes for your website. There is no magic internet fairy who will knock on people’s door to announce your website’s arrival. The task is up to you. To get your website marketing off the ground you either need to spend time learning and doing it or spend money and get somebody else to do it.

There are hundreds of ways to promote your business. You can do it on line or off line or a combination of both. Much will depend on your budget and the time you have available. Choose as many options below as your time and budget allows. Test as many methods of marketing as you can and see what brings you best results. Website marketing is not a one off exercise. You need to constantly work on it, fine-tune it, discard methods that are not working and implement new ones.

1. Email Marketing

Your first step should be to send an email to your existing clients announcing the arrival of your website. In your message, you can even ask them to forward your email onto their friends, family and colleagues.

If you are starting a new business and don’t have any customers, send an email to people you know who may be interested in your offer.

The next step should be to send your announcement to an opt-in email list. Opt-in email lists contain people or businesses who have requested to receive information about a certain topic(s). There are many companies who can provide you with these lists. For more information visit:

www.prospectshop.com.au/email_lists.html
www.4webmarketing.biz/email.htm
www.ezemail.biz/list_power.html
www.ezemail.biz/list_consumer.html
www.webfirm.com.au/email-marketing-australia/

Under no circumstance should you EVER send unsolicited email (spam) to people you either don’t know or who have not requested to receive your information.

Next time we will look at getting leads for your business.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

Before submitting your website to Google ...

2007-03-02T20:48:00.001+11:00

Inclusion in Google's search results is free and easy; you don't even need to submit your site to Google. Google is a fully automated search engine that uses software known as "spiders" to crawl the web on a regular basis and find sites to add to our index. In fact, the vast majority of sites listed in our results aren't manually submitted for inclusion, but found and added automatically when our spiders crawl the web.Before you submit your website to Google, Google recommends you do the following:

* Make pages for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as "cloaking."

* Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, "Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"

* Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.

* Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our Terms of Service. Google does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Gold(tm) that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.

* Avoid hidden text or hidden links

* Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.

* Don't send automated queries to Google.

* Don't load pages with irrelevant words.

* Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.

* Don't create pages that install viruses, trojans, or other badware.

* Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.

* If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.

For more information visit: http://www.google.com/ or for Webmaster Guidelines, go to:

http://www.google.com.au/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Busines

http://www.web4business.com.au/

11 Reasons you need a website now!

2007-02-24T18:23:00.001+11:00

Whether you are an architect, florist, doctor, consultant or a builder, having your own website means:
1. Saving money on advertising.
2. Making money via an on-line store.
3. Being able to easily change the content.
4. Saving money on postage.
5. Gaining exposure to new local & global customers.
6. Having a more professional image.
7. Saving time by providing information about your business.
8. Automating your business.
9. Providing excellent customer service.
10. Staying ahead of the competition.
11. Promote your business on a shoestring budget.

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for your Business

2007-01-22T06:40:00.000+11:00

Having worked with a large number of small business owners, one common mistake I see over and over again is the obscene amounts of money they throw away on advertising. Many of them believe the more money they spend, the more business it will bring. WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

So what’s a new entrepreneur to do?

It’s simple!!! Write articles.

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free and some publications even pay for your contributions. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

So what exactly is an article???

An article is a short piece of information that aims to educate and inform people about something, which they may be interested in. They are usually between 500 and 3,500 words long and guess what....... you are reading one right now. That’s right, I have written this article because of my passion to share the idea that expensive advertising is probably not the best way to market yourself and get more business.

By writing and distributing these articles you are sharing information, which displays your expertise and gains you trust and credibility. No amount of advertising can gain you either trust or credibility.

So let’s look at this concept of writing and distributing articles as a form of free publicity.

The best articles are ‘tips’ or expert pieces. People are looking for guidance and will purchase from experts who show them how to solve their problems.

Structuring Your Article

Your article should include the following elements:

(a) The Headline

This should be attention grabbing and use power words and phrases, such as “How to …” “10 Ways that …”, “Do you want to …?”

(b) Lead Paragraph

The first couple of sentences tell your readers why they should read the whole article. Show them the benefits they will gain, or the pain that they will avoid, by reading the article.

(c) Body Copy

This is where you inform the reader how to do something that will enrich their business or personal lives. Use short sentences and provide step-by-step directions that they can easily follow.

(d) Conclusion

At the end you want to summarise the topics you’ve covered and briefly review the main points. Since you have helped your readers they will most likely want to know more. This is your chance to make your sell by making them an offer with a ‘call to action’ such as ‘mention this article and receive a 10% discount off orders placed before June 30th.”.

(e) Resource Box

A resource box provides the reader with information on your company and includes the following information:
- Your Name
- Company name
- Contact information
- Website details
- How to order your product, etc

Journalist, marketer and public relations specialist Belinda Crosbie has three top tips for clients writing their own articles:

1. What are the questions you hear most often from customers? Write an article to address these queries. Remember to provide valuable information; articles that sound like one big ad for your company rarely get published.

2. Write with the ‘st’ factor in mind. Tell readers about the latest, greatest, first, most, newest, quickest, best etc. Publications want fresh, new information, so where possible show them the ‘st’ factor with the ‘latest technique’, ‘newest technology’ or ‘10 best solutions for…’.

3. Edit, edit and edit again. As a professional writer, Belinda constantly re-writes and re-works her words. Ask someone to read your article and they’ll often spot errors you miss because they’re reading from a new perspective. If you want to double-check that your sentences make sense - read your article, sentence-by-sentence, from the bottom up. You’ll be amazed what you pick up when you’re not caught up in the flow of the story.

Topics to Target

There are thousands of problems people need solved, so the number of solution-focused topics is endless. If you’re stuck, here are some ideas to get you started.:

Florist
Flower Care Tips, Choosing Anniversary Flowers, Best Way To Buy Your Wedding Flowers, Choosing Centrepiece Flowers For Your Dinner Party, How to Press Fresh Flowers, How to Pick Perfect Flowers According to Occasions, etc.

Baby Related Products/Services
How To Settle Your Baby, Baby Shower Themes & Games, How to Baby Proof Your Home, Baby Sleep Routine, Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep All Night, Age Appropriate Toys, Gifts for 1/2/3/4 Year Olds, 20 Fun Silly Games to Play, etc.

Accountant
Tips For Getting The Best Home Loan, 10 Tips For Financing Your Business, Tips To Save You Money, Choosing Accounting Software, Bookkeeping Basics, How To Save Money On Bookkeeping, Setting Up Budgets, etc.

Hairdresser
Hair Care and Treatment, Hair Loss Prevention, Hair Drying Mistakes, Celebrity Hair Styles, What Hairstyle to Choose For Your Lifestyle, New Hair Trends, etc.

Restaurant
How To Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home, 10 Ways to Attract New Customers to Your Restaurant, Restaurant Décor Ideas, 5 Secret Recipes, 7 Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Choosing Restaurant Equipment, Making Healthy Food Choices when Dining In a Restaurant, etc.

Customer Service
How To Stay in Touch With Your Customers, How To Build Good Client Relationship, 7 Tips For Creating Customer Loyalty, Common Customer Service Mistakes, How To Get Back Lost Clients, Looking After Your Customer Service Staff, etc.

These are just some ideas – if you need help choosing topics for your business, please email me – ivana@web4business.com.au

If writing an article seems too daunting, you can hire a ghostwriter to do this for you – generally at a very reasonable price. A writer I highly recommend is Belinda Crosbie – www.lifebydesire.com/business.htm.

Getting Your Articles Published

Once your article is written you will need to submit it to various publications on-line and in printed publications. For a listing of Australian printed publications, including the editor’s details, you may wish to buy “The Australian Writer’s Marketplace”, available from most bookshops.

For a listing of on-line article directories, visit:
http://www.web4business.com.au/ResourcesListArticleDirectories.htm

If you don’t have a lot of time to submit your articles manually, you may wish to consider using article submission services by companies such as:

Submit Your Article – www.submityourarticle.com or
The Phantom Writers – www.thephantomwriters.com

For a small fee they will submit your article to thousands of on-line publications, also known as ezines.

Remember, article writing is far more powerful than any advertising you will do. It will prove to your customers you know your business and best of all, it won’t cost you a cent! So don’t be afraid to try it … what have you got to lose?

Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au

The Painful Truth About Getting Your Website To The Top of Search Engines

2006-11-08T19:06:00.000+11:00

“How do I get my website to come up on top of the search engines?” – That is one of the most frequently asked questions I get asked by clients.

The truth is, it’s not easy. With millions of websites on the internet right now and thousands being added each month, everyone is striving to do the same – to come up in the first spot (or on the first page).

In reality there are only 2 ways you can come up on top:

1. Set up a pay per click advertising campaign, such as Google Adwords
2. Optimise your website for keywords (also know as Search Engine Optimisation)

Keywords

Before you embark on either of these marketing methods, you need to understand about keywords.

Keywords or key phrases are the words that visitors type into a search engine to find a service or product. The best keywords are those that are commonly typed in by your potential customers, but which aren’t used much on your competitor’s websites.

In other words, if you optimize your pages for keywords your potential customers use a lot, but your competitors haven't thought of, you win.

But here's the catch...you'll never get to know which are the best keywords for your website simply by guessing.

There are many tools you can use to find what keywords people are using. One is called Overture and it is a free service. It shows you how many times people have searched for a particular term during a one month period.

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

This does not, however show you how many competing websites there are for that particular keyword.

If you are serious about finding the perfect keywords, I would recommend using a tool called Wordtracker – www.wordtracker.com. Although you do need to pay a few dollars for this service, it is far more sophisticated and gives you much more information than Overture.

Through a series of simple steps, Wordtracker identifies the best keywords to use on each page of your website.

Wordtracker's suggestions are based on over 300 million keywords and phrases that people have used over the previous 90 days. (In other words, there is no "guessing" when you use Wordtracker. Everything is based on the keywords millions of people have actually typed into search engines.)
Best of all, their competitive analysis tool enables you to find those "best keywords" - the ones your potential customers use, but which your competitors don't know about.

Once you have identified the best keywords, you can either run a pay per click marketing campaign or optimize your website for search engines.

Pay per Click

Pay per click advertising is when an advertiser (you) pays for each qualified click that sends a search engine user to your web page. PPC requires you to bid on keywords or phrases that relate to your business. The best known pay per click services are Google AdWords and Overture.

Generally you can bid from as little as a few cents per visitor. However, the more you bid the higher up in the search engine your advertisement will appear. Pay per click is a great way to deliver targeted and qualified visitors to your website at a very reasonable price.

It is a good idea to experiment with different PPC search engines to find the one that works best for you. In addition, you will need to spend time testing your keywords and ads.

There are hundreds of pay per click search engines. For more information check out:
Google Adwords - https://adwords.google.com
Yahoo - http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/
Pay per click search engines - http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/

Search Engine Optimisation

Search engines prefer to list sites that contain good content. In order to rank high you need to create a website that has maximum content and which uses lots of relevant keywords to your service and products. Remember to find out what keywords your customers may be searching on go to:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ OR
http://www.wordtracker.com

Once you decide on the keywords, use them in
(a) Your website’s domain name
(b) The title of your page - This is displayed in the top bar of your browser window
(c) The heading of your home page
(d) The first paragraph of your home page
(e) Meta tags - Keywords, page title, description
(f) Titles of your graphics
(g) Alternative (Alt) tags - These appear in place of images when the browser preferences are set for text only.

Whilst it is important to use keywords as much as possible, it is also important you use them only if they are relevant and do not sound awkward. If you spam your keywords you may be penalised or even banned by some search engines.

Another important thing to consider when trying to optimize your website for search engines is to have as many relevant links pointing back to your website from other complementary sites. This can be done through link exchanges or by writing articles/posts and submitting them to article directories or forums. Ensure you include your domain name at the end of each article/post.

If this all seems too overwhelming, you can employ the services of a Search engine optimization company, who will make your website’s content more search engine friendly. In fact, I highly recommend if you decide that Search Engine Marketing is one of the main ways you wish to promote your website, you do hire an expert. One company I can recommend is Melbourne IT – www.melbourneit.com.au.

Please remember, having your website listed at the top of the search engines is not the only way to promote your website. There are lots of other ways you can get visitors to your site for little or no money. You may wish to read my article: “30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget”
http://www.web4business.com.au/ArticlesIK30waystopromote.htm

------------
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of small and growing business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. You can download a free website plan by visiting http://www.web4business.com.au or contacting ivana@web4business.com.au

Watch Your Language! Please ...

2006-10-23T14:09:00.000+10:00

Last week I received an email, which read: "Yo bra, wassup? can you hook me up with da vinyls dat I heard up in da club, they’re da bomb" ...

This message had nothing to do with underwear (bra), plastic tupperware (vinyls) or even a threat to national security (bomb), but it was a request for records.

Whilst this slang MAY be understood by customers and staff in a record store, to the average person, it sounds like foreign language. And herein lies a lesson that needs to be learnt. When designing your website or any promotional material, make sure you use language that all your customers understand.

If you are a web designer, forget about impressing your customers by using big words such as URL, Search Engines, Domain Name, HTML, etc. To you it may be everyday language but to your potential customers they are jargon. Some may even be intimidated by it and rather than trying to work out what you mean, they will leave your website.

"But if I am a web designer, how do I write my copy without using these words?" The answer is simple. Use the words, but explain what they mean. You can either provide a simple explanation or include a Dictionary/Encyclopaedia link on your site, such as:

http://www.webopedia.com
http://whatis.techtarget.com/
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/computer
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/index.html

To find out whether the information contained on your website can easily be understood, show it to your grandmother or the owner of a small business, such as your local fruit shop, deli or laundromat. If you see a blank look on their faces, you may need to rework some of the copy. And don’t think just because you are working for mid size businesses or large corporations that the staff understand what you are talking about. Many executives will run a mile at the mention of the latest technology. So for their sakes and yours, keep it simple.

Whilst, the majority of newspapers and magazines write information so that it is understood by 10 year olds, giving your web copy to a young nephew for revision will not work. He will most likely understand the terms and may even teach you a thing or two, but he is not your potential customer (not yet).

Below is a list of words/phrases that you may use in everyday language, but which may baffle some of your customers. As an extra service for your customers, you may find it worthwhile to include these on your website:

Applet: A small but useful application often serving just a single purpose.

Compression: Technology for minimising the space a file occupies, to make it easier to store and faster to transmit.

Client: Describes the receiving computer, which calls information from a server or information storage computer. A client is anything that receives information - a desktop, notebook, handheld or even a mobile phone.

Cookie: An applet sent by a website to your computer to gather data about you, such as your log-on details and where you surfed immediately prior to coming to that site.

Cracker: Someone who taps into other people’s computers in order to steal information or do damage.

Cyberspace: Another word for the world of the internet.

Domain name: A domain name locates an entity on the net and has three parts:
(a) the www (the location of the host server),
(b) the organization identity and a suffix, which indicates the purpose of the entity, such as ".com" for a company or commercial enterprise, ".gov" for a government body, ".edu" for an education institution or ".org" for a non-profit body.
(c) other extensions identify the country in which the domain is located, such as ".au" or ".nz". Simple .com extensions signify that the domain was registered in the US.

Download: Bring information from the net to your computer

HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The code used to create web pages. HTML tells the user’s browser what the page should look like and how to present the content.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): used by a browser to seek web pages from a server.

Hyperlinks: Underlined links found in web pages that will transport you to a related page simply by clicking on them.

MP3: File format that will compress, store and play music

Metatag: Keywords which describe the content of a website, designed as hooks for a search engine to bring people to that website.

Netizen: A citizen of the net.

Off-line: Not connected to the internet.

On-line: Connected to the internet.

POP (Point of Presence): The ISP (Internet Service Provider) connection dial-in point.

POP-based Mail: Mail that is stored on the ISP’s server until you download it. You can keep a copy on your hard drive and view e-mails even when you’re not connected.

Search Engine: Software tool for helping you find useful, relevant information on-line.

Server: Computer that stores information and forwards it on request to the “client”.

Shareware: Software issued on try-before-you-buy basis.

TCP/IP: The protocol or set of instructions used to ferry traffic across the internet.

Upload: Send information from your computer to the internet.

USB (Universal Serial Bus): a new connection technology for adding peripherals, such as a printer to your computer.

URL (Universal Resource Locator): a website’s address.

Keep in mind, this rule does not only apply to web designers, but every other business. So if you are designing a website for a client and are confused by the terminology, you may want to bring it to their attention and help them rework the copy so ALL their customers understand it.

--------------------

About the Author: Ivana Katz, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of growing, small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. info@web4business.com.au - http://www.web4business.com.au

7 Easy Ways to Grow and Manage Your Customer List

2006-10-09T17:37:00.000+10:00

In order for your business to succeed on the internet, you need to convince your visitors that you are reliable, trustworthy and that you care about them. The best way to do this is to build a relationship with them. Provide your customers with lots of valuable information and they’ll never look at your competitor again!

But first things first. To start communicating with your potential customers on a regular basis, you need to know who they are. Most people are reluctant to give you more than their first name and email address, so initially that’s all you should be focussing on.

Collecting names and email addresses

There are several ways you can do this.

1. Subscribe form on your website

Include a “subscribe” form on your website, preferably on the homepage and on as many other pages as possible. Remember not all your visitors will come to your website via the homepage. Explain exactly what your visitors will receive and how often. You also need to assure them you will never sell their contact details.

2. Add a survey to your website.

Find out what people think about your products, services and your website. At the end of the survey ask for their name and email address, again reassuring them their details will remain confidential.

3. Run a contest.

Contests are a great way to collect details, as visitors will have to give you the right information in order to be notified if they’ve won.

4. Offer a giveaway.

The best things you can give away are free reports, ebooks or information that your customers will find helpful. If you don’t have anything to give away, you can easily find something on the internet. Visit the following websites:

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://www.planetpdf.com

5. Pop-ups or Hover Ads

These are the little windows that pop up, when you arrive on somebody’s website or when you are leaving. Unfortunately many people now have pop-up blockers on their computers, so you may find hover ads much more effective. For more information about hover ads, go to:

http://www.marketingtips.com/hover/

To find out more about pop-ups, visit:

http://www.nowsell.com/pop-ups/

6. Ask in your offline correspondence.

Next time you are sending a postcard, letter, invoice or any other correspondence to your customers, ask them for their email address. Explain why you would like it and even offer them a bonus, such as a free report.

7. Purchase Leads

There are many companies who will provide leads or prospects for your business. For a fee, they will display your advertisement (similar to a classified ad) and when someone clicks on it, they will be taken to your website, where they can be encouraged to subscribe to your newsletter. Alternatively, instead of advertising your website, advertise your autoresponder address. This way you will capture everyone’s email addresses. You can then set up your autoresponder to automatically deliver your promotion to people that request it.

The great thing about these targeted leads is that you are only paying for the people who want to know about your business and products. If you work out the cost of a lead versus regular advertising, you will no doubt come out on top. Generally the cost per lead is between $0.50 - $1.00. If on the other hand you advertise in a newspaper or a magazine and pay $200 for the advertisement from which you get 20 enquiries, the cost per lead is $10.

Check out:

http://leadfactory.com/leads/
www.getresponse.com

WARNING: NEVER, EVER BUY EMAIL ADDRESSES UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE THE SUBSCRIBERS HAVE REQUESTED TO RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM BUSINESSES SUCH AS YOURS.

Managing Your Email List

There are 2 ways to manage your mailing list – manually and automatically.

1. Manually.

Whenever you receive a customer email address you can add it to your email program, such Outlook Express. Most email programs allow you to create mailing lists.

If you use Outlook Express, you can use your Address Book, where you can create groups of contacts to make it easy to send e-mail to a set of people, such as business associates, prospects or customers. Any time you want to send e-mail to everyone in the group, just use the group name instead of entering each contact individually. Creating groups is also a good way to organize a large Address Book.

First, you need add your contacts

(a) On the Outlook Express toolbar, click Tools, and then click Address Book.

(b) In the Address Book, select the folder to which you want to add a contact.

(c) On the Address Book toolbar, click New, and then click New Contact.

(d) On the Name tab, type at least the first and last name of the contact. This is the display name.

(e) A display name is required for each contact. If you enter a first, middle, or last name, it will automatically appear in the Display box. You can change the display name by typing in a different name or by selecting from the drop-down list. The drop-down list will contain variations of the first, middle, and last name, as well as anything you typed in the Nickname box or the Company box on the Business tab. On each of the other tabs, add any information you would like to include.

Second, create Groups or mailing categories

You can create a single group name (or alias) to use when sending a message to several contacts at once. Simply create a group name and add individual contacts to the group. Then, just type the group name in the To box when you send e-mail.

(a) In the Address Book, select the folder in which you want to create a group. Click New on the toolbar, and then click New Group.

(b) The Properties dialog box opens. In the Group Name box, type the name of the group.

(c) There are several ways to add people to the group:

- To add a person from your Address Book list, click Select Members, and then click a name from the Address Book list.

- To add a person directly to the group without adding the name to your Address Book, type the person's name and e-mail address in the lower half of the Properties dialog box, and then click Add.

- To add a person to both the group and your Address Book, click New Contact and fill in the appropriate information.

You can also store your contacts in a table in Microsoft Word, in a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel or in a database, such as Microsoft Access. Then when you are ready to send out your message, you simply “merge” the addresses with your newsletter and send the result to your email program. This is slightly more complex, but allows you to easily personalise your newsletter.

The advantage of managing your mailing list manually is that it won’t cost you anything, except for your time.

The disadvantage is that you may have to spend a lot of time maintaining your mailing list – managing the subscriptions, unsubscriptions, bounced messages etc

2. Automatically

Web-based software

There are many online services that allow you to manage your mailing list automatically. They handle the subscriptions, unsubscriptions and bounced emails without you having to lift a finger. When you wish to send out a message, it’s as simple as typing your message and pressing a “Send” button.

One of the best services I’ve come across is GetResponse – www.getresponse.com GetResponse is a complete email marketing service. It provides you with unlimited autoresponders, follow-ups, messages, lists, broadcasts and email marketing campaigns, 150+ professionally designed HTML templates, powerful, cost-effective newsletter hosting, unparalleled email deliverability, click-through, sales and revenue tracking, top-notch support and training. The cost of this service is less than a dollar a day and saves you hours of work each week.

Other reputable services include:

Constant Contact - http://www.constantcontact.com

Email Manager Pro - http://www.email-manager-pro.com

Software on your computer

You can also purchase software that will help you send out personalised email. The software works similarly to the web-based software, but the main difference is that it is installed on your computer.

So if you find:

- sending e-mail campaigns and newsletters,

- replying to HUNDREDS of e-mails, filled with questions from potential buyers,

- sending "customer service" e-mails to NEW customers and subscribers and
- keeping your e-mail list "clean"

a real challenge, this may be the ideal solution for you. One software that comes highly recommended to handle all of these tasks is Mailloop. To check it out visit: http://www.marketingtips.com/mailloop/t.x/875347

Remember staying in touch with your prospects and customers should be a number one priority in your marketing efforts. If you have a website and are not collecting visitor details and building relationships with them, you are committing online suicide. It’s that simple.

-----------------------------------------
About the Author: Ivana Katz, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of growing, small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. info@web4business.com.au - http://www.web4business.com.au

A pretty face is not enough! (when it comes to your website)

2006-09-30T15:18:00.001+10:00

Imagine meeting someone new … they have a beautiful face, lovely hair, stunning smile, drop dead gorgeous body and are dressed in designer clothes. Naturally you are attracted to their striking appearance, so you start talking to them. After a few minutes you realize this person has no personality, only talks about himself/herself and has no interest in finding out about you. Any attempt on your part to speak gets shut down and if you do manage to ask a question their answer is usually “Yes, but … let’s get back to me”.

How long do you think you would stay and chat to this person? Do you think you would want to become friends? Probably not.

And the same goes for your website! You can create the most stunning website, with flash animations, video or audio features, rotating logos etc but the truth is, if your website doesn’t have any depth, no amount of “pretty” will get visitors to come back, let alone purchase anything!

Just as Dr Phil warns against spending your entire time planning a wedding (and spending thousands of dollars on it), instead of preparing for a lifelong marriage, many first time entrepreneurs become absorbed by the visual aspects of their website. They spend hours agonizing over colour schemes and designs (and then spend thousands of dollars having special effects added), but sadly don’t give any priority or time to the content of their website.

Every month millions of new websites are being added to the internet and you are competing against all of them! Even if they are not in the same line of business as you are, they are competing with you for visitor attention.

And even if you do manage to get a visitor to your website, but fail to provide the necessary information, your potential customer will click away in seconds, never to be seen again!

As a new or prospective website owner, you are faced with three major issues, when it comes to having a successful website:

1. Driving traffic to your website
2. Converting visitors into paying customers
3. Getting customers to come back and purchase more

1. Driving traffic to your website
This is a broad subject and has been covered by an earlier article, entitled “30 ways to promote your business & website on a shoestring budget”. You can view it by going to: www.web4business.com.au/ArticlesIK30waystopromote.htm.

2. Converting visitors into paying customers

This is one of the areas in which most business owners fail. The main reasons are that they:

(a) Don’t provide information that their customers are looking for. For example, if you are selling furniture and your website only features a “general” category of products being sold, but not specific items, their prices and measurements, the customer will go somewhere else. If someone is looking on the internet for a sofa, they need to know whether it will fit into their home, whether it is within their budget and how it will look. The customer wants to know the information there and then. They are not going to wait until they can speak to someone on the phone or even drive to the store to find out. They will find another supplier (even an overseas one) who does provide the information. So when creating your website, PLEASE PLEASE ensure that you supply as much information as possible about each product and service, including its price (or price range).

(b) Don’t make it easy for their customers to find the information. It is important that your website is easy to navigate. This means placing your navigation bar at the top or left hand-side, as this is the first place majority of people look for. Contact details should be displayed not only on “Contact Us” page, but also at the bottom of each page.

(c) Don’t prove their credibility. Sure many companies speak about themselves and how great their products are and why you should buy from them, but the reality is no-one really believes them. International Marketer & Author Darrell Berg-Smith (www.darrellberg-smith.com) says that you should “Forget selling; prove your expertise. Start to position yourself as the expert on your product or service. You don’t do this by claiming to be the expert, or displaying your impressive CV. You do it instead by sharing your knowledge and giving your customers helpful, relevant information, without a sales gimmick and for free.”

Another way to prove your credibility is by simply placing testimonials from happy customers on your website. If you don’t have any, GET THEM NOW!

3. Getting visitors to come back and purchase more
In order for your customers to come back to your website, your first transaction with them must prove flawless. Your products/services need to be delivered exactly as stated on the website and be delivered on time (or sooner). In reality, you should under-promise and over-deliver. Provide your customer with bonuses, such as free information. If for example, you sell baby products, you can send your customers tips on how to settle their baby, a list of child-friendly services in their area, advise on baby skin care etc.

You should also include as much information as possible on your website – free resources, articles, reports, ebooks relating to your industry, service and products. You can easily source free information on the internet. If you need help with this, please contact me (ivana@web4business.com.au) and I will gladly help. This will ensure that your customers will keep coming back to your website, even if it is just to get information. The more they visit, the more you will stick in their mind as an expert and the next time they are ready to order your products/services, you will be their first choice.

Another way of staying in touch with your customers is by sending them a regular newsletter. This can be done, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. You can do it manually if you don’t initially have many subscribers, but as your subscriptions grow, you should consider using inexpensive mailing software such as GetResponse (www.getresponse.com), which will not only handle your mailing list, but also allow you to easily send out newsletters.

Remember once you’ve created your website, the work doesn’t stop there. You need to keep updating the content to keep your customers and search engines happy. Your marketing also needs to continue. There is no point in spending thousands of dollars on creating a beautiful looking website if no-one is going to visit it or worse still, refuse to buy products/services.

--------------

About the Author: Ivana Katz, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of growing, small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. ivana@web4business.com.au - http://www.web4business.com.au.

10 Tips for Planning an Outstanding Website

2006-08-07T11:53:00.000+10:00

When faced with the daunting task of planning what to include on your website and how to write the copy, here are a few tips that will make the task easier for you.

1. Visitor Friendly
The main thing to keep in mind is that your website needs to be visitor friendly. What this means is that your customer must be able to find what they are looking for easily and quickly. And that means great navigational system.

Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it. It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

2. Search Engine Friendly

Search engines try to list sites that contain good content, so you need keywords and phrases on your pages that best describe your service and products. For example, if you are a florist, use the words such as florist, online florist, virtual florist, wedding florist, florist in Sydney, florist on line, flowers, floral, bouquets, floral arrangements etc as many times as possible to ensure high search engine ranking. To find out what keywords your customers may be searching on ask your family and friends or go to:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

http://www.wordtracker.com

Once you decide on the keywords, use them in

(a) Your website’s domain name
(b) The title of your page – This is displayed in the top bar of your browser window
(c) The heading of your home page
(d) The first paragraph of your home page
(e) Meta tags – Keywords, page title, description
(f) Titles of your graphics

Whilst it is important to use keywords as much as possible, it is also important you use them only if they are relevant and do not sound awkward. If you spam your keywords you may be penalised or even banned by some search engines.

3. Informational vs On-line Store
One of the first decisions you need to make is what type of website to have. Will it be informational only or will it be an on-line store or a combination of both? An informational website is like having an on-line brochure. It does not sell products directly to customers, but rather provides details of your business, its products and services and occasionally features a printable order form.

The other type of website is an on-line store. It is a virtual salesperson who potentially never stops providing presales information to your prospects - and then making sales to them.

4. Create a Plan
Before you start thinking about what to write on each page of your website, it is important that you create a plan, which lists all the pages you wish to include. Below is a list of the most commonly used pages:

(a) Home Page (First Page)
(b) Products / Services
(c) Contact Us
(d) Pricing
(e) Testimonials / Product Reviews / Before & After
(f) Frequently Asked Questions
(g) Response form such as “Subscribe” or “Enquiry” form
(h) On-line Magazine or Newsletter
(i) Resources/Articles
(j) About Us
(k) Guarantee
(l) Survey
(m) Events Calendar
(n) Search My Website Feature
(o) Return/Refund Policy
(p) Privacy Policy
(q) Site Map
(r) Copyright Information
(s) Links
(t) Media Information
(u) News
(v) On-line store

5. Cross-sell / Up-sell as part of your content
If a customer is looking for a particular product, offer them details of related products. By recommending other products, your customers will learn what else is available and in many cases it will translate to additional sales for you.

A company that does this exceptionally well is Amazon – www.amazon.com. Search for a particular book and you will find information on what other people who ordered this book also bought.

Make it as easy as possible for customers to complete an order by providing clear instructions. Ensure delivery costs are outlined before a customer begins the ordering process.

6. Focus on the customer and their needs
Rather than trying to “sell your business”, let your prospects know how your product/service is going to benefit them. Emphasize the benefits and solve problems. Make this the focus of everything you write on every page of your site. Don’t try to sell visitors your products or service, help them.

7. Remind your visitors
Remind your visitors they can print out your content. They may browse around your website while it’s printing.

8. Use headlines and sub-headlines to grab visitor’s attention

9. Offer value

Offer bonuses, free trials, discounts and prizes. List the dollar value beside each bonus. People will feel they’re getting a good deal and it will increase the value of your product.

10. Spell check and grammar check your website

Ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Check that all links are working and graphics displaying correctly.

If you are still struggling with where to start, visit your supplier’s or competitor’s websites. Be careful that if you use copy from their site that you do not infringe copyright laws. If in doubt, contact the author or copyright owner and ask for permission.

Your ultimate goal is to turn a visitor into a customer. On your website, this is done by providing premium content. Each page should be its own mini site. As you have no control over how a visitor enters your website, it is important they are able to easily work out what your business offers and navigate to other pages within your site.

-------------------
About the Author: Ivana Katz, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of growing, small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. info@web4business.com.au - http://www.web4business.com.au

This article can be republished for free as long as the author information and website links are included.

Frequently Asked Questions about Websites - Part 2

2006-07-04T08:13:00.000+10:00

6. How do I ensure my website is customer friendly?

(a) Provide an easy to use navigation system.

This is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a website. You need to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for easily. Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it.

Please make sure your navigation bar is on every page, as visitors may not arrive at your website via your homepage. Because most Search Engines index your webpages by their content, one of your secondary pages may rank higher than your homepage. And if you don’t have a navigation bar, your visitors won’t have anywhere else to go.

It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

(b) Don’t go overboard on special effects

Whilst it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long to download. Your visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes loading.

If your website contains special effects that require extra software to be downloaded, you can be sure that 99% of people will not bother and will leave your website immediately.

When including pictures and photos, please ensure they are the smallest possible size so that they download quickly.

(c) Backgrounds

Make sure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black writing on dark blue background or yellow on white. Also be careful that your links are visible before and after being visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

Stay away from busy backgrounds that distract from the content. White is still the most popular choice for background and it is so for a reason. It looks clean and is easy to read. If you wish to add a little more oomph to your website, add colourful headings or pictures.

(d) External Links

It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window. That way your visitors can easily return to your site when they are finished browsing the external link.

(e) Site Map & Search Feature

If your website is more than 15 pages long, it is useful to have a site map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. A site map is simply a text index of your website.

(f) Content is King
While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on the content and promotion. Don’t spend too much time worrying about whether Betty Jones will like your buttons. She has come to your website for information, not to criticise your buttons and headings.

If you want a professional website, things to stay away from include:

1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators, animated mail boxes
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes
3. Autoplay music. Allow your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say “you are 27th visitor”
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily or weekly
6. Busy backgrounds.

7. What pages should I include my website?

Before you start thinking about what to write on each page of your website, it is important that you create a plan, which lists all the pages you wish to include. Below is a list of the most commonly used pages:

(a) Home Page (First Page)
(b) Products / Services
(c) Contact Us
(d) Pricing
(e) Testimonials / Product Reviews / Before & After
(f) Frequently Asked Questions
(g) Response form such as “Subscribe” or “Enquiry” form
(h) On-line Magazine or Newsletter
(i) Resources/Articles
(j) About Us
(k) Guarantee
(l) Survey
(m) Events Calendar
(n) Search My Website Feature
(o) Return/Refund Policy
(p) Privacy Policy
(q) Site Map
(r) Copyright Information
(s) Links
(t) Media Information
(u) News
(v) On-line store

8. What’s a web hosting company? Do I need one?

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. Without a web hosting company, nobody will be able to see your website.

9. Do I really need a website?

If you consider the benefits, the answer is pretty clear:

(a) Save time – Don’t spend hours on the phone, direct customers to your website, where you can provide all the information they need. Whether it be your product or service list, pricing, business hours or simply directions to your bricks and mortar shop.

(b) Save money on advertising – Instead of paying for large ads, simply advertise your website

(c) Be flexible in your message – Change the content as your business changes. No need for expensive brochure or flyer reprints.

(d) Save money on postage – Email customers news about your products instead. It doesn’t cost you anything.

(e) Gain exposure to new customers – You will reach more local clients as well as interstate and global markets.

(f) Have a more professional image – Keep up with the times and your competitors. If your clients are asking whether you have a website, now you can answer “I will tomorrow”.

(g) Have your business open 24/7. Provide customers information when THEY need it. If you don’t someone else will.

10. How much does it cost to get a website?

The cost of the website generally depends on its functionality. For example an informational website is much cheaper than a website that features an on-line store. There are 3 components to having a website:

(a) Domain name
(b) Webhosting
(c) Website Design

The costs are as follows:

(a) Domain name

Australian domain names (ie. “.com.au”, “.net.au”) cost $140 for 2 years
Global domain names (ie. “.com”, “.net” etc) cost $60 per year

(b) Webhosting

The price depends on the type and size of the website you have. We can host your website for as little as $30 per month. This covers 90% of small business’ needs.

(c) Website Design.

Again this depends on the size of the website and its functionality. However, we can design a 3 page website for as little as $165 and an on-line store from $800. For more pricing details, visit: http://www.web4business.com.au/Pricing.htm

11. How long will it take to get my website up and running?

Again this depends on the size of your website, but for a 3-10 page website the turnaround time is usually 3-7 business days.

Frequently Asked Questions about Websites

2006-06-24T14:32:00.001+10:00

1. 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

2. Do I need to register a domain name to have a website?
The simple answer is NO, but a better answer is YES it is a good idea. The cost of registering '.com.au' domain name is only A$140 for 2 years and has many advantages. Read more.. http://www.web4business.com.au/GettingStartedStep1.htm

3. How do I find out if my domain name is still available?
Once you have decided on the domain name that you would like, you need to check if it is available. To check go to: www.melbourneit.com.au

4. What do I do if my domain name has been registered by someone else?
Panic! Just kidding!!! Simply call us and we can recommend alternative names that would be suitable for your business.

5. How do I choose a design for my website?
The best way to start is by choosing a colour scheme – 2-3 colours are the best. If your company has a logo or preferred colours on its stationery that’s a good start. For those of you starting from scratch, choose two or three complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change colours on every page.

If you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the internet and find a website that you like. You can then model your colour scheme on what already exists.

Can’t find a website you really like? Another option is to choose a template. There are many templates or pre-set designs. These come as part of your web design software (such as FrontPage) or you can check out some websites that specialise in designing templates.

You can find many templates by going to:

http://www.web4business.com.au/GettingStartedStep2.htm

These templates can be customised to suit your business. Templates are great, as they allow you to see what your website will look like before you spend any money. One suggestion for using templates – if you are planning to add a lot of your own pictures and photos, stick to a neutral, basic website which doesn’t have any graphics. This way your photos will stand out, instead of competing for attention.

Naturally, your designer is a good source of information. If you are looking for a custom website, he/she can design one for you from scratch, but knowing your preferable colours is a great help.

Don't Waste Your Money Getting a Website

2006-06-14T17:06:00.001+10:00

Don’t Waste Your Money Getting a Website …
By Ivana Katz
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time ago a distressed client (let’s call him Charlie) called me “I’ve distributed over 20,000 flyers about my business and nobody has bought anything from the website”. My first question to him was “did you check the spelling of your website address on the flyer?”. His response “I didn’t put my website address on the flyer – should I have?” … I didn’t know how to respond.

Shortly after, I got another call from Charlie … but more on that later.

Let’s face it, some people are just not ready to have a website. It seems that many first time entrepreneurs’ idea of starting a business is getting a website. And that’s it! They have no intentions of doing any marketing and if they do have a marketing plan it consists of telling their friends about it and possibly distributing a few brochures in the neighbourhood. Some people go as far as planning to advertise their business/website in the local newspaper. More often than not, they expect that as soon as they have a website, the money will start rolling in. They believe a magic internet fairy will appear and announce the arrival of their website to the world.

The truth is, it doesn’t work that way. With millions of websites popping up on the internet every month, you are competing against a lot of businesses … not only locally, but globally. So please please, before you think about getting a website, decide how you are going to promote it.

If you are about to declare bankrupt in your business and are thinking of putting your last few dollars into getting a website designed, hoping that it will bring you instant cash, don’t do it! A website will not solve your problems unless you are willing to put in some money (and it doesn’t have to be much) or time to promote it.

When I meet potential clients my first two questions are:

“Why do you want a website?” and “How are you going to promote it?”

Depending on their answer I guide them to the best solution. On a few occasions, I’ve had to tell them they were not ready to get their business on the internet.

In fact one client, who was desperate to make money from her website told me that she didn’t have time for marketing, because she needed to start earning money quickly.

On the other hand there have been lots of very successful entrepreneurs who have made their website work for them.

Lisa Pearse-Sargeant of Paper Scissors Rock Kids Group (www.paperscissorsrock.net) says “For the first six months of starting Paper Scissors Rock Kids due to a limited start-up budget we only had a basic web page in a newsletter format. This was until we had a better understanding of the business and direction it would take. Through a combined gathering of information at trade shows and print advertising, we felt ready to invest time and money in a proper website. Now our website has proven to be a cost effective way to showcase our product instead of printing costly catalogues. I believe for my business I need to have a crossover marketing approach ie. target trade & public through a mix of web & print advertising, store presentation/merchandising and trade exhibitions”

Josslyn Harrower of Snugzeez (www.snugzeez.com.au), found she desperately needed a website to showcase her products. “My business had been up and running for 3 months and most of my orders were from word of mouth. An international sleep expert 'Tizzie Hall' was personally recommending my sleep comforters to her clients, and they kept asking to see what the products looked like and what variety was available. My products were not available in stores so the only option was to have a website. It wasn't long before I was being approached by other websites to link their site to mine. This has definitely helped with marketing my products. I receive more hits on my site from Tizzie Hall's website and a few others than advertising in magazines or newspapers. Winning 'Best Product' at Sydney Kidz Expo last year certainly helped to boost my site's exposure."

If you decide to have a website, it is extremely important you take the time to plan it and work out how it will fit in with the rest of your business. The website needs to be functional, rather than just “pretty”. It needs to provide your visitors the information THEY need.

If you don’t know where to start, you can download a free Website Plan by going to: www.web4business.com.au/WebsitePlanRequest.htm

The last time I heard from Charlie, our conversation went something like this:

Charlie: “Ivana, can you please send an email to everybody telling them about my website”.

Me: “Yes of course … just send me your mailing list”

Charlie: “What do you mean mailing list? I don’t have one. I thought you just press a button!”

So please, before you pick up the phone and speak to a website designer, think about how you will market your website. If you have a website already and are not getting the traffic you need, you may wish to read “30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget” - http://www.web4business.com.au/ArticlesIK30waystopromote.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of growing, small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. info@web4business.com.au - http://www.web4business.com.au

This article can be republished for free as long as the author information and website links are included.

8 Tips for Designing a Great Website

2006-05-04T11:18:00.001+10:00

8 Tips for Designing a Great Website
by Ivana Katz

Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons, orange, yellow, pink headings … will they match my shoes, my handbag or my tie? Are you stuck in a maze of buttons, headings, bullets, sub-headings and colour schemes? Don’t worry you are not alone.

STOP!!!!

Take a deep breath and read some practical tips for professional looking websites.

1. Select a colour scheme and stick to it.

If your company has a logo or preferred colours on its stationery that’s a good start. For those of you starting from scratch, choose two or three complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change colours on every page.

The most common colour schemes include:

- Red, yellow and white
- Blue and white
- Red, grey and white
- Blue, orange and white
- Yellow, grey and white.

If you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the internet and find a website that you like. You can then model your colour scheme on what already exists. Still can’t decide? Why not speak to your family, friends and colleagues to see if they have a preference or if they know of any “good looking” websites.

2. Use templates.

Can’t find a website you really like? Another option is to choose a template. There are many templates or pre-set designs. These come as part of your web design software (such as FrontPage) or you can check out some websites that specialise in designing templates.

Visit:

www.web4business.com.au/templates1.htm
www.newtemps.com
www.website-templates-resale-rights.com
www.123webtemplatesandmore.com

These templates can be customised to suit your business. Templates are great, as they allow you to see what your website will look like before you spend any money. One suggestion for using templates – if you are planning to add a lot of your own pictures and photos, stick to a neutral, basic website which doesn’t have any graphics. This way your photos will stand out, instead of competing for attention.

3. Provide an easy to use navigation system.

This is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a website. You need to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for easily. Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it.

Please make sure your navigation bar is on every page, as visitors may not arrive at your website via your homepage. Because most Search Engines index your webpages by their content, one of your secondary pages may rank higher than your homepage. And if you don’t have a navigation bar, your visitors won’t have anywhere else to go.

It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

4. Don’t go overboard on special effects

Whilst it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long to download. Your visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes loading.

If your website contains special effects that require extra software to be downloaded, you can be sure that 99% of people will not bother and will leave your website immediately.

When including pictures and photos, please ensure they are the smallest possible size so that they download quickly.

5. Backgrounds

Ensure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black writing on dark blue background or yellow on white. Also be careful that your links are visible before and after being visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

Stay away from busy backgrounds that distract from the content. White is still the most popular choice for background and it is so for a reason. It looks clean and is easy to read. If you wish to add a little more oomph to your website, add colourful headings or pictures.

6. External Links

It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window. That way your visitors can easily return to your site when they are finished browsing the external link.

7. Site Map & Search Feature

If your website is more than 15 pages long, it is useful to have a site map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. A site map is simply a text index of your website. Search features are available with most web design software, such as. FrontPage. Simply go to: “Insert”, “Component”, “Search Form”.

8. Content is King
While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on the content and promotion. Don’t spend too much time worrying about whether Betty Jones will like your buttons. She has come to your website for the information, not to criticise your buttons and headings.

If you want a professional website, things to stay away from include:

1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators, animated mail boxes
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes
3. Autoplay music. Allow your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say “you are 27th visitor”
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily or weekly
6. Busy backgrounds.

Once your website has been designed, it’s a good idea to ask your customers or family and friends to go through it and provide you feedback on it. This will give you a chance to see it with a fresh pair of eyes and fix any problems that may exist..

Most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff and get yourself focussed on what to include on the website and the best way to promote it. We will cover these topics in future articles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of small and home-based business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. For more information visit www.web4business.com.au or email info@web4business.com.au

Websites 4 Small Business - Website design and promotion of small businesses

How to Use Social Media for SEO – A SPN Exclusive Article | SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

New hacked site notifications in search results

Are You Social Media Challenged? | SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources

Getting to the Top of Search Engines with Pay Per Click Marketing

The Power of Joint Venture Marketing

ActivePro » Blog Archive » Place Important Content Above The Fold To Increase Conversions

Articles - How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for your Business

The Incredible Importance of Testimonials by Ivana Katz

SEO News: 6 Things You Can Do Today to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Stop Wasting Money Driving Traffic to Your Website!

4 Ways to Make Money with your Website by Ivana Katz

What are Joint Venture Giveaway Events

How can I optimize my site on a small budget?

Promote your business via social media

Getting to the top of search engines through one way linking: GoArticles.com

18 ways to prove credibility of your business online

Meanings of Frequently Used Terms on the Internet

What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?

8 SEO Myths Debunked

SEO Tips: Get More Traffic with These 10 Important Inbound Links

Dummies Guide To Facebook Marketing

FREE and Powerful Way to Promote Your Website Through Link Exchange

10 Easy Ways to Increase Sales

Most Common Blogging Mistakes You Need to Avoid

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » 18 Effective Search Engine Optimization Techniques

Essential Information to include on your website - Part 2

Website design - Essential information to include on your website - Part 1

How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Traffic Building Strategies That Work

Website Promotion: Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips

SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes

Website Design - A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)

How to Use Video to Improve Google Ranking & Conversions | WebProNews

Internet Marketing - SEO - Debunking the Top 10 Search Engine Myths

Do Your Customers Trust You?

Website Design - Frequently Asked Questions About Websites

Website Design - Enhance your website with free google gadgets

Website Design - Does Your Website Need an Extreme Makeover?

Website Marketing - Using Blogs as a Free Marketing Tool For Your Business

Small Business Finance - How to Use Other People's Money

Business Marketing - How To Write Press Releases That Get Published

Search Engine Optimisation

Free Website Promotion

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 30

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 29

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 28

Recommended Reading - The Big Book of Small Business

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 27

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 26

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 25

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 24

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 23

Interesting reading

Interview with Michael Cheney from AdSense-Videos.com

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 22

Highly recommended reading.

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 21

Highly recommended video to watch!

Airing Dirty Laundry ...

Recommended Reading

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 20

Recommended Reading

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 19

Get Free Business Cards

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 18

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 17

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 16

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 15

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 14

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Part 13

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 12

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 11

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 10

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 9

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 8

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 7

30 ways to promote your website on a shoestring budget - Tip 6

30 Ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget - Tip 5