This year is forecast to be another record shattering year for e-commerce and online spending. With nearly everybody in the developed world now having internet access, and some people even arguing that internet access is a hum right (which I completely disagree with btw) there is no better time than now to have a website designed for your company (shameless plug).
Here are my five top reasons to have a professionally designed website for your business in 2012:
- Expectations: It’s generally expected these days that if you have any kind of business worth its salt that you have a website to promote it. Today, customers just expect that you have a webpage and an email address through which you are constantly connected.
- Around The Clock Access: Having a website allows your customers both current and potential to have ready access to information about your company at will. These days society runs on a twenty-four hour schedule and if potential customers can’t get access to even the most basic of information instantly, you’ll be overshadowed by competition that has this information on hand and readily available.
- Reduce Cost: While the initial cost of getting a website up and running may be a modest initial outlay, it’s generally assumed that (given your designer has served you well) you’ll regain those costs in in the sales it brings in. On top of that, instead of tying up operators or the receptionist, your customers can have ready access to any questions they might have via your website. This allows your employees to focus on quality service and more sales.
- Increased Organization: A well designed website can show off your products, take orders, handle help tickets, deal with shipping and package it all into a nice interface where you can watch the entire process unfold from beginning to finish. Every step can be documented so that your customers get a quick customer service and a good buying experience to boot. This also allows you to have a bird’s eye view of your business process so that you can examine your processes for both strengths and weaknesses.
- Globalization: There might be an entire world out there longing for your services but they’ll never know it if you can’t get the word out. Having a website increases the radius your business can reach from the boundaries of traditional advertising to the entire world. By not having a website, you leave the majority of your potential market untouched and unaware.
Without a doubt having a website these days isn’t just an option but a necessity. By ignoring the internet, you ignore your chance to brand, advertise, and give customers access to your business and leave the door wide open for your competitors to give customers the online presence they want.
My top tip, think of your website as an asset. Done properly it will bring you sales…
Oh yeah, and of course I can help design your new online presence too 
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This is just a quick post, but before anyone says it – no, SERP’s are not some kind of Slush Puppie ice drink (well, that’s what the word reminds me of anyway – ‘slurps’?).
SERP stands for: Search Engine Results Page
Search engine results pages or SERPs are the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword/phrase query. The results normally include a list of web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short (META) description showing where the keywords have matched content within the page.
SERP’s pages often have two different sections – the “organic listings” and “paid for listings” found in the sponsored areas at the top and to the right.
Your site needs to be well optimised using SEO techniques to appear high in these natural listings for competitive keywords.
SERP results page breakdown
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Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet. iMarketing is used as an abbreviated form for Internet Marketing – Wiki
So that’s what it is according to Wikipedia.
But what exactly is it though? Well let’s think…
Online Marketing = A Level Playing Field
Before the Internet how did businesses get their products out there? They would pay for expensive advertising, do something amazing to get themselves published in a newspaper or hire massive teams of sales people to call or knock door to door annoying people.
Well, online marketing is different. It’s marketing, the same as it always has been, but it’s changed and I feel, it’s changed for the better.
Why? Because most online marketing is permission based marketing.
Instead of a business interrupting you and your day, permission based online marketing requires a prospective customer to either search for a query (e.g. plumbers in Hastings – and a businesses website appears in Google) or “sign up” to receive information from them (e.g. you have signed up for an email newsletter). This is where the permission comes in, you as a consumer are giving your express permission to be targeted by these companies.
Marketing this way is actually cheaper too as it means a business isn’t wasting its time or money trying to “blanket” market to everyone.
The most common online marketing methods are:
- Websites: Consisting of text, images and possibly audio and video elements used to convey the company’s message online, to inform existing and potential customers of the features and benefits of the company’s products and/or services. Well designed and thought out websites will ultimately end up with more sales or lead generation for a business.
- Search Engine Marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid placement, and paid inclusion are search engine marketing techniques that companies can use to increase their visibility in the search engine page results from Google and its competitors.
- Social Media Marketing: Companies will sign up to the various social networking platforms, Twitter, Facebook etc and use it as a tool to sell to and interact with customers online.
- Email Marketing: Companies that use email marketing send promotional emails directly to customers. However, it can often be hard to distinguish between spam and legitimate email marketing messages.
- Display Advertising: Display advertising involves the use of web banners or banner ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a company’s own website and increase product awareness.
- Viral Marketing: Viral marketing is a technique is which companies encourage customers to pass along information about their products or services. Company websites that let visitors email interactive games or funny video clips to their friends are an example of a viral marketing effort.
A level playing field
Online marketing, regardless of the exact method a business chooses to use, offers several benefits:
- It’s convenient
- Affordable
- It provides the opportunity for companies to track results as a campaign progresses
And finally, online marketing allows even the smallest of companies to compete in a global marketplace by levelling the playing field. It doesn’t matter how big you are or how much money you have online, it’s all about how you utilise the tools available.
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