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Your Online Business Internet Presence

Posted on 27. Oct, 2012 by Faye Bond in Blog, Bond Global Enterprises, Build A Business Online Today, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Online Business, Website

Your Online Business Internet Presence

I don’t get it, Faye should I get a blog from WordPress.com or WordPress.org. What is the difference? And don’t I need a website first? How do I add my blog to my website?"

I heard this rush of questions come at me over the phone from a client anxious to get rolling with her online business as an info-preneur. I started rattling off answers about why she needed a "self-hosted WordPress blog" and she stopped me, "Whoa, Whoa, What the heck did you just say? Remember, I’m a newbie, not a geek!"

Okay, Okay, I know I talk "geek-ese", but I promise I will try to make this easy to follow. And let me start by saying that you CAN do this and exercise some creative control over your Internet presence without turning into a geek!

Let’s start with: Website or blog, do I need both, or which one is better to build my online business?

From what I’ve read from other individuals that are thought leaders in the Web 2.0 world, the Internet is much more about engaging and communicating with the people who come to your site. A traditional website of the ’90’s and early 2000 is more of an online brochure. It’s not very interactive though it does create a place for all the basic information about you to be found all in one place.

However, the same thing can be achieved with blog software while offering you the ability to add fresh, changing content which is what the search engines love to match you with relevant search terms. A static (or unchanging) website gives the search engines very little information to use to match up with the terms that are being searched, especially when compared with any of the blogs in your niche. A blog will rank higher than a static webpage or website.

If you want an easy way to manage your small business website, you have a lot of options. There are free resources that you can build your own website and some businesses do. I don’t recommend these as you do not own your own domain name, or your content and your website can be taken down at any time and without reason. You are then left with nothing. And all your hard work has been lost. Gone!

Some free resources do not allow you to have a fully functioning e-commerce site, thus restricting you and your customers in how they purchase your products and services.

There are other resources that you pay exorbitant hosting fees to get your so-called free website. They have templates where you put your site information in and it’s done. The down-side to this is that you will have little or no help from anyone.

I often recommend the WordPress platform as a good option because you as the owner can edit the content yourself. You can customize your site using countless standard templates and plugins (enhancement functions). You can use the standard theme or purchase a premium theme that be optimized so that you have all the bells and whistles or you can keep it simple.

As I’ve introduced small business owners to WordPress and telling them how easy it is to use, I’ve discovered that they don’t necessarily find it to be easy. It offers too many options, too many menus and for those who are technophobic, it’s just not for them. And most of all they also tell me that they don’t want to spend the time to learn how to set up their website, as it is too frustrating. But wow, once they have their website up and running they are out of the starting gates and ready to have success with their online business.

7 Essential Questions to Ask Yourself Before Your Website is Created
1.    What is the purpose and goal of your website?
2.    Who is my target audience?
3.    How much will I depend on Search engine traffic?
4.    How much time do I have for updating the website?
5.    How are visitors going to contact me?
6.    Which e-commerce payment structure works best for me?
7.    Who will I use for a web hosting provider?

With careful planning and strategizing you will get your business online and achieve growth.
 

Faye Bond

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Tags: business, Business Start-Up, marketing strategies, Online Business, online marketing

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