Hey everyone,

Welcome to the first entry to my new blog! Here, I'll be committed to speaking about web design, web hosting, search engine optimization, internet marketing, and anything else Internet-related.

So, let's get started.

It continually surprises me how there are so many small businesses which don't yet have a web site in this online world. I often wonder about the thought process behind it. Do small business owners find it too costly? Too much bother? Ineffective? Simply not worth it? What surprises me about this is that there is strong evidence that, before making purchases, a growing number of consumers world-wide research their purchases online prior to buying. So whether you are selling a product or a service and whether or not you are interested in buying it online or not, it's all really irrelevant. If a consumer researches a product and finds it online at a business other than your own because THEY had a website and you either didn't or they couldn't find it, chances are, they'll go to your competitor - the one they found online.

One of the great things about having a website is that, it's simply so much easier to ensure that your information is current at all times. If you invest 100% of your marketing budget on paper products (flyers, pamphlets, etc.), the information may become dated if your products, services, or pricing changes. But you've invested so much into the printed marketing material that you feel obligated to continue using it until it's gone before reprinting with current information. By augmenting your printed marketing material with a website, you can always refer your customers to your website for any updates.

Another great thing about having a website is having the ability to collect potential customer contact information through an opt-in list. With an opt-in list, you can do a number of things. You build a potential client database to whom you can now market to, either through emails or an eNewsletter. The great thing about this is that, your message will be more likely read because the client has agreed to accept messages from you. This will in turn, improve your conversion rate. Additionally, you build your reputation if this is used appropriately. If you send a consistently well-written or designed message at regular intervals, not only will your business' name be fresher in their minds, but they now have a tangible item (the email or the eNewsletter) which they can forward to their contacts.

You can provide your registered users with special content that makes it worth it for them to register at your site. For instance, let's say that you create an opt-in list and you make a promise to offer monthly specials to only your registered users. Your users may feel it worth the effort (the 1 minute it takes to register) to register on your site. When they register and login to your site, perhaps new menu items appear to only them. Or pages that are "visitable" to everyone but only VISIBLE to your registered users provide only them with the details of your special offer meant only for them.

There are certainly more benefits to having an opt-in list, but those are just a few.

Each week, I'll write more about the benefits of having a website and go over what exactly your website can do for you. I'll also be covering search engine optimization techniques, Internet marketing, Internet training, and anything else "Internet".

Stay tuned!