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Quick Tips
Internet
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Delaware 1971
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Website
Promotion Advice from the
Experts
5
Tips for Small Businesses
to Build a (Stronger) Web
Presence
If
you are a small business
owner in Delaware, and you
advertise your business,
chances are that you do
that in print, maybe on
the radio, and possibly
on television. If you aren't
taking any steps on the
internet to make people
aware of your business,
you may be missing some
opportunities, and some
customers.
Fortunately,
there are a number of low
cost steps that small businesses
can take to add a web presence
to the ways that they reach
out to customers. Some of
them don't even require
having a web site.
The
major search engines, such
as Google and Yahoo can
be very helpful in leading
people to businesses in
a global marketplace, but
smaller businesses relying
upon customers a short drive
from where they are located
can take advantage of opportunities
to increase their presence
on the web.
1.
Add your business to Local
Search
Regardless
of whether you have a web
site or not, the major search
engines have been developing
local search options that
people can use to find goods
and services in their communities,
and there is no cost to
be listed on those.
Google
Maps
There's
a link at the bottom of
the left column labeled
"Business Owners: Add/Edit
Your Business". You
may find that your business
is already listed since
some of the information
that they use is taken from
the telephone companies.
Make sure that it is all
correct, and if there is
anything missing, consider
adding more information.
Google has a verification
system where they check
to see if you are who you
are, but the verification
process
isn't that difficult.
Yahoo
Local
At
the very bottom of the Yahoo
Local page is a link to
"Add/Edit a Business".
The page that leads to offers
both paid placement, and
a free listing. The free
listing is a very good start,
and can include a fair amount
of information, in addition
to your location, such as
your hours of operation,
and what types of goods
and services that you offer.
It does
require that you have or
create a Yahoo account,
but that is free also.
Again,
your business may be listed
in Yahoo's local search
because of information that
they have collected from
the phone company and other
sources. They also allow
people who aren't business
owners to provide information
about a business, so you
may want to see if you are
listed, and the information
they have about your business
is correct.
2.
Add your business to local
directories
Being
included in a good local
directory like DelawareOnTheWeb.com
can bring
visitors directly to your
website, or lead to direct
contacts from potential
customers, and is highly
recommended. There are also
larger directories, such
as the Open
Directory Project, which
offer regional listings
for businesses that have
web sites. Being listed
in a number of directories
can not only lead to people
finding your business, but
will also help your business
appear higher in searches
of those local search engines
I mention above.
3.
Include address information
on your web site in text
If
you have a web site, including
the address of your business
on every page can make it
easier for visitors to know
where you are located. Researchers
at Stanford University came
out with a couple of studies
which indicated that address
information on pages also
makes a site look more "credible."
A set of credibility
guidelines they came
out with offers that suggestion,
and more.
It
is important that when you
present your address on
your web site, that you
do so using text that a
search engine can read.
Unfortunately, many of the
local sites that I've visited
show their address on their
pages, but do so using a
graphic image that includes
the address. Search engines
can't read text that is
part of a picture. It's
also not a bad idea to spell
out the name of the state
"Delaware" in
your address instead of
using the shorter postal
code "De" to make
it more likely that people
will find your web site
in a search on search engines.
The
local search engines I mention
above like to include more
information than just an
address, and if you include
some additional information
about your business on your
site, you not only help
potential visitor, but also
increase your chances of
appearing higher in search
results for those local
searches. This kind of information
can include your hours of
operation, parking information,
and information about accessibility
for people with
disabilities.
4.
Use social networking sites
to communicate with customers
Some
businesses are very social,
such as restaurants and
clubs, and social networking
sites like MySpace
allow business and organizations
to join and create web pages.
Those can be nice ways to
communicate with your local
clientele, telling them
about weekly specials or
which bands may be performing,
the latest news about your
business, and more. This
approach may not be for
every business, but it can
be a good one for businesses
that are targeting customers
that might use MySpace.
5.
Look at business review
sites, and encourage good
customers to write reviews
online
People
may just talk about your
business online, and it
helps to see what they are
saying. There are a number
of review sites that allow
people to talk about businesses,
and share their opinions
about them online. Some
focus upon particular niches,
such as restaurants, while
others cover a much wider
range. Here are some examples:
Yelp.com
Angie's
List
Insider
Pages
These
review sites don't require
that you have a web site,
but they will create a web
presence for your business.
Consider them as feedback
about your business that
the whole world can see.
If someone has reviewed
your business in a negative
way, often the best option
is to try to understand
why, and see if you can
improve your business, and
then maybe respond to the
review in a polite and positive
manner.
Those
are some of the ways that
small businesses can increase
their presence online without
spending much in the process.
About
the Author: The
author of this article,
Bill Slawski, runs a Internet
Marketing firm
in Newark, Delaware - SEO
by the Sea, Inc., located
on the web at http://www.seobythesea.com
|
DelawareOnTheWeb.com
