Internet Marketing: Reaching the Masses

Many small business owners are overwhelmed when they begin to establish their online presence. It is easy to be taken in by the hype and exaggerated promises of so called experts on the web.

Hear are Ten common Mistakes to avoid. regarding the internet.

1. Not Having A Website - Most Americans are on line and your clients and contacts will expect you to have a web-site. If you don't have a web-site you will lose credibility.

2. Spending too much on your web-site - A simple web-site will do unless you plan to change your business model and focus on internet sales. You need to balance the cost with your needs, you can always spend more there is no such thing as the perfect web-site so don't go overboard.

3. Limiting the ability of prospective customers from contacting you by not posting your phone number. It is frustrating to find a product or service that you think you want but are unable to call the company.

4. Neglecting to update your web-site on a regular bases. Content is king on the web, keep it up to date and you will likely have more paying customers.

5. Using a blog instead of a standard web-site. A blog is a web-journal it is not the same as a business web-site

6. Not having an e-mail address at your domain. Once you register a domain you can and should have an e-mail address at that domain. Using the domain address is much more professional than aol or yahoo.

7. Not Using your e-mail signature file for marketing purposes. You should always include your complete contact information slogan and/or logo with your signature on your e-mails. This is good marketing.

8. Not Tracking visitors to your web-site- Google Analytics is free and will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of your web-site.

9. Not using SEO - if you use proper keywords, lots of links and update the content regularly your web-site will be found easily on search engines.

10. Failure to understand that internet is different than sales and marketing. The internet is a tool, you need a sound sales and marketing plan to be successful the internet can't do it for you.

More and more people use the internet to find what they need. It is a way to truly reach a mass audience so make the most but avoid over spending. Try to balance yourspending with your needs and maximize your results by using analytics and making changes as appropriate. Your web presence will be an ever changing work in progress that will pay big dividends if done right or eat up your resources if not done right.