A web site is a crucial ingredient of your marketing strategy because it can widen your target market to include anyone who has access to a computer and the internet. Almost 60% of Canadians had access to the internet at home in 2003, and around 8 million had regular access to the internet from somewhere, either at home, at work or at school.

And thats just in Canada. Ecommerce sales from Canada were 7.2 billion, and we only captured 4% of the global ecommerce market! So, how can you reach some of those internet surfers, and how can you capture some of that 7.2 billion spent in ecommerce?

First, you build it
The first step is designing your website. If your company already has business cards and letterhead, its best to design your website around them. A matching corporate identity and website helps with branding.

I like uncomplicated websites, with a simple layout and easy navigation. A nice, simple layout, with good graphics, balanced look and good color combinations is my #1 goal when designing a small business web site. Remember to use graphics sparingly and to optimize them for your website because internet surfers are impatient. If your page loads too slowly, theyll leave.

Navigation should be easy to find and to use, and it should be consistent from page to page. Ive left more than one site frustrated because I couldnt easily find their navigation.

Small business web sites arent static. They evolve. You need to start somewhere, and starting with an introductory web site is probably easiest. All you really need to start is five pages. You can always add pages later. The important thing is to just do ittake the plunge and get it out there.

Your five pages could include an index, or home page, about us, services, contact and a sitemap. The index page is your landing page. Typically its design is a little more detailed than the others, but it doesnt have to be that way.

I like to use CSS (cascading style sheets) for designing because its simply easier to build a web site and to edit its layout with CSS rather than just HTML (hypertext markup language) alone. A change on a CSS sheet changes all the pages on your site at once.

Content is king
Once your site is designed, youll want to start thinking about content. Design is very important, but it does little good to have a beautiful site without high-quality content.

Your small business home page introduces you and your companywho you are and what you do. The about us page is usually used to give more detail than the home page about who you are, and your services page gives more detail about what you do. You might wonder why youd waste a page on a sitemap since you only have 5 pages, but sitemaps help search engines find all the pages in your site.

As far as content goes, more is better, up to a point. Your pages should be content rich and informative, but they also need to be relevant to your small business. If your visitor cant figure out what your web site is about in just a few seconds, they may leave.

The internet was at first strictly informational, and thats how it remains today. Several times people have tried experiments using copywriting similar to direct mail sales letters, but theyve all failed. It seems as if people surf the internet more for information than anything else. Knowing this will help you write pages people will want to read.

Attracting visitors
You could follow your instinct and just start writing, but wait. Theres research you must do first, or your web site simply wont be high enough in searches to be found. Search engine optimization is far too big a subject to cover in this short article, but among other things, search engines find your pages based on keywords.

So, pretend for a moment that youre on the other side of the desk. If you were a customer of your own business, what words or phrases would you use to search for your product or service? Ask friends and neighbors how theyd search for your product or services.

When youve come up with a few, check them out on a keyword suggestions tool. You can also use that tool to suggest similar words and phrases. Then find out how many results there would be if you searched for that term. What you want to do next is narrow down your choices to the words or phrases that are searched for the most, but have the fewest results.

Remember that people generally dont look beyond the first three pages for any search term, so if youre not in the top three pages, your business is not likely to be found at all. If there are millions of results for your phrase, you might simply need to make it more specific.

For example, lets say you have a small business consulting company that specializes in communication for small business. Using communication as a search term is nearly pointless because there are almost 2 billion results for that word. But, there are only 974 results for small business communication.

Much better, but how often is that searched for? According to WordTracker, its searched for 10 times a day. Not bad, but I think we can do better. How about small business consulting? Thats searched for 261 times a day, and there are 373,000 results. That could be the best primary phrase for a small business communication consulting company.

What you want to do, is write your content around those words and phrases. You dont want or need very manythree or four are plenty.

Getting them to come back again and again
Getting visitors to come back to your site again and again is relatively simple. Keep your content fresh and lively, make sure its informative, and add to it often.

I hope you decide your small business needs a web site. Its the best way I know how to reach a wider target audience with a relatively small investment.

A web site is a crucial ingredient of your marketing strategy because it can widen your target market to include anyone who has access to a computer and the internet. Almost 60% of Canadians had access to the internet at home in 2003, and around 8 million had regular access to the internet from somewhere, either at home, at work or at school.

And thats just in Canada. Ecommerce sales from Canada were 7.2 billion, and we only captured 4% of the global ecommerce market! So, how can you reach some of those internet surfers, and how can you capture some of that 7.2 billion spent in ecommerce?

First, you build it
The first step is designing your website. If your company already has business cards and letterhead, its best to design your website around them. A matching corporate identity and website helps with branding.

I like uncomplicated websites, with a simple layout and easy navigation. A nice, simple layout, with good graphics, balanced look and good color combinations is my #1 goal when designing a small business web site. Remember to use graphics sparingly and to optimize them for your website because internet surfers are impatient. If your page loads too slowly, theyll leave.

Navigation should be easy to find and to use, and it should be consistent from page to page. Ive left more than one site frustrated because I couldnt easily find their navigation.

Small business web sites arent static. They evolve. You need to start somewhere, and starting with an introductory web site is probably easiest. All you really need to start is five pages. You can always add pages later. The important thing is to just do ittake the plunge and get it out there.

Your five pages could include an index, or home page, about us, services, contact and a sitemap. The index page is your landing page. Typically its design is a little more detailed than the others, but it doesnt have to be that way.

I like to use CSS (cascading style sheets) for designing because its simply easier to build a web site and to edit its layout with CSS rather than just HTML (hypertext markup language) alone. A change on a CSS sheet changes all the pages on your site at once.

Content is king
Once your site is designed, youll want to start thinking about content. Design is very important, but it does little good to have a beautiful site without high-quality content.

Your small business home page introduces you and your companywho you are and what you do. The about us page is usually used to give more detail than the home page about who you are, and your services page gives more detail about what you do. You might wonder why youd waste a page on a sitemap since you only have 5 pages, but sitemaps help search engines find all the pages in your site.

As far as content goes, more is better, up to a point. Your pages should be content rich and informative, but they also need to be relevant to your small business. If your visitor cant figure out what your web site is about in just a few seconds, they may leave.

The internet was at first strictly informational, and thats how it remains today. Several times people have tried experiments using copywriting similar to direct mail sales letters, but theyve all failed. It seems as if people surf the internet more for information than anything else. Knowing this will help you write pages people will want to read.

Attracting visitors
You could follow your instinct and just start writing, but wait. Theres research you must do first, or your web site simply wont be high enough in searches to be found. Search engine optimization is far too big a subject to cover in this short article, but among other things, search engines find your pages based on keywords.

So, pretend for a moment that youre on the other side of the desk. If you were a customer of your own business, what words or phrases would you use to search for your product or service? Ask friends and neighbors how theyd search for your product or services.

When youve come up with a few, check them out on a keyword suggestions tool. You can also use that tool to suggest similar words and phrases. Then find out how many results there would be if you searched for that term. What you want to do next is narrow down your choices to the words or phrases that are searched for the most, but have the fewest results.

Remember that people generally dont look beyond the first three pages for any search term, so if youre not in the top three pages, your business is not likely to be found at all. If there are millions of results for your phrase, you might simply need to make it more specific.

For example, lets say you have a small business consulting company that specializes in communication for small business. Using communication as a search term is nearly pointless because there are almost 2 billion results for that word. But, there are only 974 results for small business communication.

Much better, but how often is that searched for? According to WordTracker, its searched for 10 times a day. Not bad, but I think we can do better. How about small business consulting? Thats searched for 261 times a day, and there are 373,000 results. That could be the best primary phrase for a small business communication consulting company.

What you want to do, is write your content around those words and phrases. You dont want or need very manythree or four are plenty.

Getting them to come back again and again
Getting visitors to come back to your site again and again is relatively simple. Keep your content fresh and lively, make sure its informative, and add to it often.

I hope you decide your small business needs a web site. Its the best way I know how to reach a wider target audience with a relatively small investment.

Small Business Loans – Resources and Options
Just as every small business is unique, there are almost as many distinctive options available when it comes to securing small business loans or other funding options for your small business startup expenses or other ventures. Further, amid the various programs offered by the variety of lenders, the programs availability, terms, etc. may different from state to state even in the small business loan provider remains the same.

While the U.S. governments SBA (Small Business Administration) does not offer grants for starting or expanding small businesses, they do still offer a plethora of free help. The SBA has existed since 1953, and in that time it has assisted tens of thousands of Americans form small businesses through their outreach programs, now available in every U.S. state, the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.).

SBA offices are a rich resource of information and options in obtaining small business loans. Although the SBA does not directly loan or grant money, they are an invaluable asset to starting, maintaining and growing your company or determining your small business loan resources with localized options.

No matter where in the process you are in determining the needs for your small business loan, the SBA is a significant source of assistance that can save you time and money. Through extensive collaboration with local organizations, the SBA and its collective networks bring an unprecedented supply of information, tools, and information.

Making the most out of the resources available through the SBA at the federal, state and local levels will actually save you money. Not every small business starts out following a textbook model or formula. The desire or need for growth of your company will likely require funding, and small business loan providers will likely require documents, plans, records and statements youve never created, maintained or considered necessary; thats okay.

The process of obtaining a small business unsecured loan even with bad credit might seem inundated with an avalanche of paperwork, requirements, and obstacles. To top it off, if you dont have all of the traditional paperwork surrounding the textbook business, the process of creating it while applying for a small business loan can make the process overwhelming. One of the most valuable resources available through the SBA and other localized small business resource organizations, is mentorship programs – this firsthand assistance and knowledge directly from fellow local and successful small business owners is unparalleled, and best of all – free!

Getting the best small business loan to finance your companys future will likely take more than filling out an application. Doing your homework first, dedicated to your task and patient in your results, will help ensure securing the right small business loan that is best suited for your small business goals.

Getting a bank loan is easier said than done all kinds of paper work, formalities, guarantors, and high interest rates.its enough to make a small business owner lose sleep.

Business cash advance or small business funding- a new concept in the economic block is proving to be a savior for small business owners and entrepreneurs, even those with bad credit history. Cash advance is a small business loan that is sanctioned against your future credit card and debit card sales.

The reputed and reliable small business funding companies pre-approves loan after understanding the nature of your business. They do not ask you to bring along a guarantor or pay hefty hidden costs.

All you need to do is to have a merchant account with a minimum monthly amount of transaction through credit card sales. Every day an agreed upon percentage of your credit card sales will go towards the repayment of your business loan till the time the complete loan amount is paid back.

Use this capital sourced from small business funding company to run, strengthen or expand your business or for any other purpose of your choice. Till recently, business owners plagued by bad credit history found it extremely difficult to get small business loans when banks were the only source to secure business loans.

But now with many private players entering in the lending market, securing loan for your business has become much easier. No matter what FICO score you have managed to secure in your credit report, bad credit small business loans are easily available in market.

Caution: If you are looking for a small business funding company then be careful of certain facts: Check out if the company is charging anything as closing cost. There is no closing cost involved in cash advance or small business funding. Plus, your bad credit history should not affect the approval or interest rate. So do not pay any extra amount to get approval.

Small Business Computer Consulting: Additional Qualifications for the Sweet Spot

To find the ideal clientele for your small business computer consulting, you want to target small businesses by their number of PC’s, (10 to 50) as well as their revenue. Generally, companies that have anywhere from 1 million to 10 million in revenue are the sweet spot of small business computer consulting. In this article, you’ll learn why you should target this type of business. {Tip: Of course if you’re located in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, or any of the other more than 21 nations around the globe where our training has been adapted, be sure to convert this to your local currency. (See )}

Beware of the high end of this range
Once small businesses get to the high end of that revenue range, where they start having substantially more than 50 PCs, or substantially more than $10 million in annual sales, often the small business owners lean towards putting a real, salaried IT person on payroll instead of using a small business computer consulting professional. That’s when you start running into some tough competition. At this point, your client will add up your services invoices and try to figure out if they can do it cheaper or more efficiently in-house.

Look for clients that need a real server
Another important aspect is to find small business clients that are big enough to need a real dedicated server. Once small businesses need a real server, they need a ton of other professional services to go along with it. And it’s very unlikely they can handle it on their own, with just an internal guru. Bingo-you become their outsourced IT department!

Multiple locations are a bonus
Sometimes a sweet spot client has one location. A lot of times there’s a main office and some branch offices. The branch offices present a big opportunity for your small business computer consulting because there’s usually a HUGE need for sharing data in real time among employees in different locations.

The Bottom Line about Small Business Computer Consulting
In this article, you’ve been learned more about how to find the sweet spot in your small business computer consulting business.

Should you be in the early stages of a business start-up then there are elements to your personal business banking service which you should be looking for and if you havent yet set up an account now is the time to take a deep breath and go shopping!

Its a competitive market, and its often hard to be sure which services you should be looking for to provide the best service for your small business. Certainly the basics such as a business current account, savings account, and loan facilities should be there, but nowadays the upcoming business manager should be looking for more from their financial provider.

Often you are looking for support from your financial services outside of traditional office hours and its for this reason that todays small business owners should look for online access as a vital service for the building of their company. Not only does this provide true 24 hour banking support, but it enables complete transparency and allows you to pull up your small businesss financial details whenever you need them.

Having the information to hand is one thing, of course, but its also useful to have a dedicated team at the end of a phone line to run through the figure with you. Shopping around shows there are a few businesses who offer this service, Barclays (http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self ) being one of them. Typically you are looking for most of the services also available online, such as account checking and money transfer services, allied with the opportunity to chat with a living, breathing, business manager who is local to your branch.

Interestingly, some companies also offer specialised software designed to integrate with their services and make your time management more efficient. This is surely a good sign, and indicative of the pro-active approach many banks now take to integrate online services with more traditional hands-on approaches.

Of course yours might not be a start-up waiting to happen, but instead a small business with a good track record and the ambition to grow your business within your market. Maybe you are unhappy with your current financial provider perhaps the service is good but limited, or you feel you could get a better financial package more suited to your small business. In either case you should be seriously thinking of switching your business account to a provider who can cover all your needs as a unique, small business. Additionally, and this might seem a minor point but it is surprisingly important, you should be looking for a banking service that will handle the transfer of your business account details with the minimum of fuss.

So there is plenty to consider when shopping for your financial provider but, assuming you are looking for a long term financial partner, perhaps the most important element is scalability: after all, you are looking for a financial provider that can grow with your business. Arent you?

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Additional Information
http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Are you looking to market your business to the general public, preferably your targeted market? Your targeted market should be the individuals who are most likely to need what your business has to offer. For instance, if you run a professional resume writing business, you will want to target those who are currently unemployed or those who are looking for jobs. As important as advertising is, it can sometimes get time consuming and costly. The costly part is what often causes many small business owners to cringe. The good news is that there are a number of different ways that you can go about advertising your small business without having to spend more money than you need to.

One of the best advertising methods that people fail to realize the importance of is word of mouth. In todays society, many consumers like giving a company feedback or ratings, literally or figuratively. That is why many consumers tell their friends when they find a nice new store; one that is worth visiting, or a store that they had a bad experience at. You should never underestimate the power of the customers that you already have. Not only will keeping your current customers happy increase the chances of them coming back again, it also ups the chances of them recommending your business to those that they know.

Another easy and relatively cheap way that you can go about advertising your small business to your targeted market is by carefully choosing where you choose to advertise your business. In keeping with the above mentioned example of running a professional resume writing businesses, you may want to think about distributing flyers or business cards to local coffee shops or college campuses. The same can be done for other types of businesses. For instance, if you run a dog grooming salon, you can advertise your business in local pet supply stores, vet offices, and such. Of course, you will need to get permission from other businesses before placing your business cards or flyers on their properties, but you may find that most are willing to assist you. In fact, you may even want to think about doing a flyer or business card swap.

In addition to handing out traditional business cards or flyers, you may also want to think about giving away free coupons. There are many consumers who like free stuff, even if it is only a few coupons. When a customer has a money saving coupon, they are more likely to buy what you are selling, whether it is a product or a service. If you are trying to target a specific group of individuals, like your targeted market, you may want to carefully choose how you distribute your coupons and how much in savings you give away. If you are just trying to generate as many sales as possible or create a buzz, you may want to think about contacting one of your local newspapers to put coupons inside their paper.

As it was previously mentioned, there are many consumers who love free stuff, even if it is just coupons. You are advised to take advantage of this well-known fact. For instance, you may want to think about holding a contest or a drawing for your customers. For instance, if you run a pet supply store, you may want to think about creating a pet gift basket, like one that may include food, treats, or grooming supplies. You will want to allow each of your customers, the ones who make a purchase, to enter into your contest. If the prize is nice enough, you may that some customers buy something just to get entered into the contest. Hosting a contest is a great way to generate sales and business buzz.

The above mentioned approaches are just a few of the many low-cost, affordable ways that you can go about advertising your business to the general public or even just to your targeted market. The decision as to whether or not you want to use any of the above mentioned methods is yours to make, but they are at least worth looking into.

Choosing a Web Site Developer for Small and Medium Size Businesses

You need a website, but how can you tell the professional business web site developers from the college kid in his basement? The answer is fairly simple if you know what kinds of questions to ask. Professional web site developers are just that – professionals. They have college degrees andor experience related to web site development. They understand small and medium size businesses for it is likely they are one too. Most importantly, they speak to you in your language, not theirs.

Purchasing a web site is a form of advertisement for your business. Would you pay for the development of a radio or television commercial if you were not sure you would get a return on your investment? Why risk your professional reputation by trying to get the cheapest site possible just so you can put the www.yourbusinessname.com on your business card? If you have seen the work of a web site developer and the pages look great, do they contain keywords, titles, and descriptions to help search engines like Google and Yahoo find them?

These are some of the basic questions a professional business web site developer should be able to answer:

1. How will you measure my ROI (Return on Investment)?

2. What information will be included in my monthly web site analytical reports? The reports should answer these questions at a minimum:

..a. What time of the day do most people visit?

..b. What search engines are they using to go to my site?

..c. How long does someone stay on my site?

..d. Which pages do they visit?

..e. Where do they go when they leave?

..f. What are the demographics of my typical online customer?

..g. Has my search engine ranking changed?

3. Will my site be monitored 247 with guaranteed 99.8% reliability?

..a. Are all links checked every day?

..b. Are broken links corrected?

4. What is my conversion rate (how many potential online customers have turned into actual customers)? Also,

..a. Why did they visit my business online?

..b. Were they happy with their purchasing experience?

..c. What would they change about my site?

5. How will you help me increase my business over time?

If you are having trouble finding a web site designer, visit the sites of your competitors or other local businesses. Most reputable web site developers list themselves and include a link in the small print at the bottom of the sites they have created. Call the businesses whose sites you like and ask the owners if they are satisfied with their Internet presence. Consider using a web site developer who is not local. They should be able to gather the information they need over the phone or through a web conference. Finally, ask for proposals with price quotes from more than one web site developer. The quality of the proposal will be a good indicator of the professionalism of the business.

Ms. Davidson is a Certified Internet Business Consultant with WSI Advanced Internet Solutions. She specializes in developing Internet Business Strategies for small and medium size business owners with the objective of providing a positive return on their Internet investment. Contact Ms. Davidson at or visit her website at www.premierwsiwebmarketing.net.

You surely know that a small idea can lead to a great business success. The first movement is to think of an idea that would be suitable for the business market. After coming up with the idea, the next step is to put that idea into action. Of course, this is a very difficult step and having the idea is only the start of the journey. After that you will have to face many obstacles before being able to carry on with your business project. This is just the beginning of this process and there is a lot of questions you will have to answer before even start.

Some of the main aspects you have to concentrate on when you have business ideas are the abilities and gifts you can pour into the business. It is very important for you to be identified with your business project. Those ideas should be based on activities and actions you take pleasure in doing. For example, if we suppose that you dislike working in the open, landscaping business would not suit you. On the other hand, if you like working with children, setting up baby-sitting or tutoring business would be an excellent idea. In this case, without any doubt you business will be more successful because you will have put your mind, effort and also your heart on it.

Another vital step is to analyze the needs of a specific product or service in your region before setting up your business. Do people of your area need your product? Are there other business like the one you are planning to start? You should ask yourself whether or not you are the only one offering that service or product. If you are not, you will have to analyze the competence you will have to face. You have to think whether the service you are offering is one that customer would repeat, or if it is a one-time specialized service. Obviously, the former are more likely to succeed than the latter.

There are other aspects you have to take into account. These aspects are described below:

- One of them is that if the idea is unique, you will reign the market. But if there is much competition, it will be difficult to enter into the market.

- A second point would be if you can offer quality from the very beginning, otherwise, you won’t succeed.

- Finally, you have to think about your capital to start your own business. There are many business ideas that require little investment and bring great profit. Some demand research, such as daycare service, and others need a large amount of money to begin the business. So take this recommendation into account before investing all your money in a small business idea.

There was a time when the concept of free money was a very American notion. But, as the economy has tightened and budgets decreased, there are very few avenues towards capital to start up a new business that do not involve loans and interest. This makes the path towards financial independence all but impossible for many working Americans. However, the small business grant is still available (even in these very lean times!) as a potential source of funding for you dream of self-employment.

A small business grant is part of a program funded by the federal government which provides capital for start up businesses. Sometimes a small business grant will simply give the money to a recipient with no requirement of repayment. Other business grants will require you to repay them with a minimal amount of interest over a period of years. Whether or not a small business grant requires repayment will depend on the nature of the grant itself.

Obtaining a small business grant is certainly no simple matter. In truth, over a million applications are received every year with only hundreds being awarded. However, the fact that only a few hundred are awarded does not necessarily mean that the others were turned down for lack of funding. Quite the opposite, it is very common for a small business grant to be turned down due to filing mistakes as opposed to lack of funds. In fact, it is a common occurrence for funds to be returned at the end of the year because not enough people qualified for the grants available.

But, the government is not the only potential source of a small business grant. Businesses will frequently form a private foundation which is responsible for disbursing funds set aside for grants and other useful community needs. The incentive for a company to use a private foundation is simple: tax savings. A company will pay less in corporate taxes when it gives away a small business grant than if it merely reported the income. Therefore, the private business community is an excellent grant source and is expected to be so in the future unless the tax code is significantly altered.

The best way to ensure that your small business grant is approved is to be organized and very thorough in filling out the application. A winning small business grant will generally include a business plan that includes a detailed explanation of what funds are needed and why. But the most important thing to remember is to fill out the application thoroughly and exactly as directed. Attention to detail is what will separate the winners of a small business grant from the losers.