Marketing Your Small-Business Website
in an Economy Like This

Small businesses are increasingly concerned about cash flow, and the Web keeps getting more competitive. If you’re struggling with the cost of Internet marketing, I may be able to help. I’ve been managing small-business website projects for fourteen years, and here’s a summary of what I tell my family and friends.

Prepare to Compete

Your content is much more important than the graphic design of your site. Few visitors to your site will make a decision to stay — or hit the “Back” button — based on your design or your photos, and they’re not a factor in the placement of your site on search-engine results pages either. Just make sure your design is uncluttered and easy to navigate. If you don’t speak to your target audiences precisely, concisely, and persuasively, a great design can’t help you.

Begin by identifying and analyzing your online competitors. A search term is a phrase that people type into a search engine when they’re looking for something. Type your most important search term into Google — “bicycle repair boulder colorado” or whatever — and take notes on the strengths and weaknesses of the websites belonging to your top-five competitors.

Then write text that speaks to your target audiences, and that gives the search engines a reason to believe that your site has more useful information than your competitors. Your text should sound like something you’d say to a customer standing next to you. Read it out loud, and edit it until it sounds just right. Make sure that every sentence is indispensable, and don’t have three paragraphs if three sentences will do the job. You only have a few seconds to make your case.