how to get some web exposure

[ziggy]

wondering if anyone knows how to go about getting my biz on the www?

it's a small biz and i'm sick and tired of giving the yellow pages 1k a month for advertising. i was thinking of perhaps a web page or the likes. but i have no idea how to go about doing this... anyone have a ideas?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: how to get some web exposure

Contact google, depending on the business you might consider a well designed web site and banner adds on other web sites.

If it is a business that could be related to iboats .... call and inquire about advertising, get some ads in your local newspaper web site..... and most of all be responsive.

Internet questions/queries should answered within 12 minutes. Usually the first to respond has a higher chance of earning the business...... regardless of the product.

You are probably going to get some PM's from member's here on iboats that do web marketing and web design. I bet they will lend some valuable advice.

Good luck.

 

[mike64]

Re: how to get some web exposure

I do freelance web design and marketing. A few general tips for you:

There are a million people who do web design, but make sure they know how to build a 'search engine optimized' site. This includes actual text with keywords relating to your biz in the page title, headlines and page copy. I see a lot of fancy sites that are built completely in Flash (web animation software) and have navigation buttons that dance around and do a jig when they're hovered over, but search engines can't read any of that.

Once you have an optimized site, have an XML sitemap made and submit it to Google. This isn't actually so hard, there's a site that will scan your website and build you a sitemap for free (google "xml sitemap"). Google has a "webmaster tools" page that explains how to submit the sitemap. This will get your site to show up on google searches in days or weeks instead of months. Subscribe to google maps so if someone types "your biztype, your zipcode" into google you show up. It's free and that alone might get you as much traffic as yellowpages.com

Getting backlinks (links to your site from other sites) is very important to your site ranking in search engines. There are many ways to get these-- subscribe to trade directories that relate to your business, contact your customers and vendors, or anybody who does similar but noncompeting business, and ask if they want to link to you. dmoz.org is a free open source directory that can get you a lot of traffic-- subscribe to them. Look up local or state gov sites that have links to small biz and add yourself. Write a press release about the launch of your new site and submit it-- there are several free press release sites out there. Also social linking sites like digg.com are good for this. Keep adding fresh content to your site, like articles about subjects in your biz you know about. It will keep people visiting and linking to your site.

Those are more or less free ways to get traffic. Paid methods include AdWord (pay-per-click) campaigns, which you can control how much you pay, and yahoo business directory, which is a couple hundred dollars.

Hope any of this helps. PM me if you want more info.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: how to get some web exposure

Get your vehicle wrap with your business graphic, name, website addrs,etc...everyone stares at a wrapped vehicle.

 

[ziggy]

Re: how to get some web exposure

thanks for the help guys... man, there's a lot of stuff i don't know about... like a darn foreign language...

does anyone think this might be a good idea.. http://www.windstream.com/business/hosting/ of course, these are the creatons that've been taking my 1k a month. so i already don't like them. but i just had a meeting with the windstream sales guy today and of course he pushes his service a lot. they do make the comment about the fact that they got the connections with google and the likes so a general search is likely to bring your name up... from looking at it. it looks like maybe it'd be something i might be able to manipulate and have some support from... i don't know.. i don't trust marketing folks..

 

[mike64]

Re: how to get some web exposure

Hey ziggy,

Their hosting plans look reasonable. it's the marketing they'll try to upsell you on that will cost you. Is it worth it?

Take what you're paying for print YP ads...$1k a month seems like a lot, but it's all about return on investment. How much more than $1k a month do you think you're getting in sales right now from those ads...? That's what to ask yourself.

Here's what you should pay to get a website up and running:

First, you need to get a domain name: "www.ziggysbiz.com". you shouldn't pay any more than $10 a year to register your name.

Second, you need someone to build you a website. The price for that will be wide ranging. Try to find someone who doesn't cost too much, who can show you sites they did that look good to you, who can say they build optimized sites.

Third, you need someone to host your site. I don't know your biz, but if all you need is a basic informational site, the $9.99 a month basic plan in your link is a good price and will probably do you ok for now. If you want to sell stuff online, you'll need a webstore, which will cost more.

Then, you need to get the word out. Those guys you linked to, you mentioned they have Google connections, but that's BS. Everybody has Google connections. Google makes no secret of how to rank high in their web searches. You could find out how to do it yourself if you had the time and inclination. If a marketer wants to charge you for their knowledge of how to set it up, fine, but don't let them rip you off. It's like working on your car or boat-- you can do it yourself and save money, but if you don't have the time or don't want to, find a guy you trust.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: how to get some web exposure

I guess the other factor to consider.... what you do for a business. If it is a local only type business vs. a business that you can support in a larger area..... but do not give up the dream. iboats is going to be 11 in Sept and the history is a good read. http://www.iboats.com/aboutus_history.html

 

[mike64]

Re: how to get some web exposure

Bob,

That WAS a good read! Reading it was like taking a dot-com business class, and it was just a darn good story.

 

[jonesg]

Re: how to get some web exposure

$1K a month is silly, the smart money is not in yellow pages these days.
I think I pay less than $30 m/o.

I bought pagemaker and an after mkt book , learned how to design a webpage and did my own, costs peanuts to host it.
I don't pay any search engines anything, if you have a unique product or service then you don't need anything to seperate you from the crowd.

If you google croquembouche , boston

I pop up consistently in the top 4 or 5.
I get calls from all over the country.

Ditto on the flash junk, it blinds google to your site.
I also inserted hiden links on my homepage, scroll to the bottom, you see wholesale on the left, 3 inches above that are 2 = marks, they link to contract and references.
http://www.savoycatering.com/

 

[Daley]

Re: how to get some web exposure

All previous posters are correct. I do this as a side-biz (for close to 10 years now) and the biggest scams are from people that prey on your lack of knowledge. Basic prices as posted are accurate too - for example, I charge $50/year for "basic" hosting, which gets you email and a place to put your pages. Site design usually starts at around $500, and goes up from there depending on what you need. Please do not let anyone rip you off because the only three things you should be paying for is the domain name registration (as mentioned, $10 a year no matter how big the site is), hosting ($5 - $10 a month is VERY reasonable), and someone to create the site and help you with marketing (getting others to find your site). If you want a turn-key solution where you just write a check, make sure everything is clear with regard to deliverables (who's going to update it, what the response-times are, and most importantly UPTIME).

Without turning this into a long, draw-out post I'll leave it at that for now. Any questions, please ask - it seems like there are plenty of knowledgeable folks here that will steer you in the right direction every step of the way.

 

[i386]

Re: how to get some web exposure

I don't disagree with anything I've read so far. Here's my $.02...

If the life of your business really depends on the Internet. Hire a design firm. Your site will be built by a team. The visual part will be handled by artists who should know all the do's and dont's of proper design. They'll have people for the technical part of turning the art into a web site and getting it uploaded. And finally they'll marketing people that help with the exposure part. They will provide a way for you to see detailed statistics about the traffic to your site. They'll examine this data with you and help you make decisions based on the numbers. They should have a portfolio available of their work for you to see. All of this will come at a cost, but it's worth it if your business requires it.

BTW, if you don't have a company logo these folks can fix that too. In fact they'll make sure your company image is presented consistantly with your business cards, sineage, stationary, etc...

One word of caution about your domain. It's fine to hire someone to handle all the technical stuff. Just make sure the domain is registered to YOU.

 

[v1_0]

Re: how to get some web exposure

wondering if anyone knows how to go about getting my biz on the www?

it's a small biz and i'm sick and tired of giving the yellow pages 1k a month for advertising. i was thinking of perhaps a web page or the likes. but i have no idea how to go about doing this... anyone have a ideas?

Yeah, I have ideas...

Don't do anything out of (your) emotion.

Your first step should be to figure out if the yellow pages are worth it - not by "hearsay" but by actually asking anyone (new) that calls for even info how they came to hear about you.

Too many businesses - big ones even - make decisions based on 'self opinion' rather than on actual facts. (I've seen at least one major company totally missapply 6-sigma to do that... )

The next thing is - would the internet be better? Hard to say - this all depends on your customers.

You could run the yellow pages and web site side by side - make sure to ask each new call how they found you and keep a record.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: how to get some web exposure

My brother in law just bought an ad on Facebook for his photography business and has seen some decent return from that.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: how to get some web exposure

IMO an effective web site has something to offer to the surfer. Not just an ad.


.....Like iboats!

 

[CAVU V]

Re: how to get some web exposure

An easy way to get one way links is to add your business to: http://www.directoryrecap.com/free-directories.html. Use an email address for just linking, sometimes you will get spam and it will fill up your box. Do not link to FFA sites, google will punish you, did it once and I got 600 emails in minutes.

You have to be careful how fast you get links, supposedly google punishes sites which gets links to quickly, you get put in the sand box.

A pretty good informational sit is www.seochat.com.

A half decent program is ibusiness promoter: ibp. If you don't want a program, linksmanager.com is another thing you can look at.

Go to http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/ to see how many links you have.

If you try to get into DMOZ only submit once every month or so, if you do it more than that they will black ball you.

Recognition does not happen overnight.

 

[cmchesse]

Re: how to get some web exposure

My reply is the same as many others. Look at what the YP brings to you. Maybe cut back on that add. We have a small computer repair business with $700 month YP ad. I would not get rid of it. We have a web page but 85% of our new business comes from the YP. We ask! I admit we paid extra to move our company up the online list. but just a basic small print ad. I registered our site with Google for free (myself) and try to make frequent updates to keep it listed high on the search.