If you have a business, you must have a website. It is the way business is done. It’s as important as the sign on the front of your building. Sales of online services and goods have climbed well into the billions and this is only the beginning.

What will a well designed and Internet ready website do for you? The question is what won’t it do? It will drive new revenue, slash expenses and build customer loyalty while saving you time and making your work life easier.

Many think a website is hard to understand, harder yet to use, and hardest of all, to afford. Not true. A good website design firm, that speaks plain English, and is well versed in Internet marketing will help. These agencies should also give you a free review and perhaps samples of what they can do for you. Depending on your needs, some websites can be had for as little as $10 per month after the initial design and marketing fee. Caution should be exercised here. A very high priced website may not bring you all you imagined, but a very inexpensive one will surely disappoint.

After your website is built and ready to begin working for you, there is the tricky task of submitting and marketing to the search engines. Search engines like Yahoo and Google are where most of your prospects find you. Submission and marketing is a tricky proposition because the search engines change the rules often and there are very specific steps you need to follow so that you are ranked well. Everyone wants a first or second page listing, but getting there takes the work of an expert. Don’t undertake this task yourself. Let a search engine specialist do it for you. Their fee will be worth its weight in gold.

Make no mistake about it; the Internet is the most powerful marketing tool we have ever seen. Build your website, market it well and watch your fortunes grow.

Betsey Duggan is president and CEO of McMann & Tate Advertising, a midwest agency that works to makes its clients stand out from the crowd. http://www.mcmannandtatesite.com

Betsey Duggan