The Internet, without a doubt, has become the world”™s biggest shopping center, a 24/7 marketplace where people can shop for any product or service from anywhere.
It”™s also the perfect place for entrepreneurs interested in setting up shop quickly with a minimum of capital. They can enjoy more management flexibility than their counterparts in brick-and-mortar businesses.
Of course, you still need the basics of any business: a legal structure; phones, computers, and other communications infrastructure; a bank account; budgeting, a business plan, accounting, and marketing skills; etc. But, you also have the advantage of several web-based services that can help you establish a presence on the web.
Service providers such as Interland, Yahoo Small Business, BigStep, 1&1 and others offer simplified do-it-yourself packages that make the setup process straightforward and rather easy. Even with little tech know-how, you can get a basic website registered, designed and online quickly for as little as $20 per month.
You”™ll still need to work hard at attracting customers, just like any new business. In some ways the task is even harder online because you are competing with millions of others doing the same thing. Make sure your website is listed in search engines and get more out of your listings. You”™ll find help for search engine submission at www.SearchEngineWatch.com. This site offers submission tips, web searching tips, search engine reviews and many other resources.
Targeted ads attached to keyword search results are a great way to promote your wares. Their simplicity, low cost and popularity among small businesses have made them the main method for connecting buyers and merchants online. Business owners also like the concept because you pay only when someone clicks your ad and visits your site. Google Ad Words (www.google.com/ads) is one of the leaders.
To get visitors more involved in your website, add surveys, guest books, auto responders and downloadable documents. Your web host may offer some of these. Very helpful resources include: www.ConstantContact.com and www.Topica.com.
Also take advantage of the tools and services available at the Microsoft Small Business Center at microsoft.com/smallbusiness. The site”™s Startup Center provides help with web marketing, payment processing, online catalog creation, shopping carts, list building, banner ads and getting your website registered with search engines. Articles and guidance are also available on a wide range of e-business topics and trends.
Ross Weale is an assistant director with SCORE. Reach him at rweale@optonline.net. SCORE is a nonprofit whose volunteers provide free counseling and training to small-business owners. Call 1-800-634-0245 or visit www.score.org.
We used the web to get our business started online quickly, and our website also helps other small businesses get started quickly by allowing them to create coupons for FREE. We’ve been online since Dec 1st and we’ve already had over 300 small businesses create coupons, and we haven’t spent a cent on advertising expenses yet. But we did use Google adwords to do research to find out what people were searching for when looking for online coupon maker, so we used that to optimize our site for the search engines, and maybe that’s what has helped us get visitors.