Five Ways to Promote Your Small Business Online Part I - Why Does My Business Even Need a Website?

I have written and designed websites for years. In fact I created my very first website using Microsoft Notepad. General use of the Web by the average Joe was still relatively new. Al Gore had only recently finished inventing the Internet (LOL), and Netscape Navigator was the premiere web browser. Though today I use Adobe Dreamweaver to design websites, I think it's a good idea for newbie web designers">web designers to at least learn how to build a simple website in Notepad. I know that skill has served me well, because I am not bound by what a WYSIWYG web design program can give me. I can still get "under the hood" to customize what I need and to fix things that break. Of course, this series of articles is not about building websites. This series of articles is for the small business owner and how to use a website to promote a business online.

So, the first thing we need to ask is: "Why does a small business even need a website?"  

Good question. Why do you need a website? Well let's imagine you were a small business owner back in the day when the phone was first invented. You might be asking, "Why do I need a phonebook ad?" (Or even a phone for that matter!) To answer the question simply, websites are the technology of the age and people are using them.   We live in the Information Age. Having a strong, effective web presence is essential in order to compete, even if you are a small business. Consider these points:  

More and more people turn to the Internet (or their iPods, or their Blackberries, or their other Internet-enabled devices) like they used to turn to the phone book.  

Is the phone book obsolete? No. And neither is the television or the radio. But the fact is being available on the Internet is just as indispensible as being listed in the phone book. Getting on the 'Net to find goods and services is quick. It's easy (probably easier than finding where you put the phone book!). And a website does much more to connect with your customers. Phone book ads are a part of doing business and people still use them. I am not saying you shouldn't have one. But to really promote your business, you need to use every medium available to you and a website is a relatively simple and easy way to promote your business. A website offers your business:

• full color advertising by default, as opposed to the added cost of getting even a four-color phone book or newspaper ad.
• dynamic content.
• an opportunity to sell goods and services to your customer immediately.

A web address is one of the things people look for when they get a business card from you--just like they look at it for your name, phone number, and street address. Lack of a website, especially if your competition has one, can seriously affect your bottom line. A website is your billboard on the information highway. If your competition has one and you don't, they are reaching customers you are not!    

A website can help promote your business in a number of ways.  

• Past clients can use your website to refresh their memories about your business.
• They can also use it to reaffirm what they already know about you.
• Clients past, present, and future can use your site to find out what's new at your place of business and what you have to offer over the competition.
• A business website is a quick and convenient way to introduce your business to new customers.
• A website can expand your business' exposure 24 hours a day and do it in a cheap, cost-effective way.