Inside this section
[ Portfolio ] [ Growing your Business ]
Growing your Business
- 10 Tips for Growing your Business on the Internet
 |
Search Engine Registration
|
Search Engines are a tricky step in being located on the Internet. You can
register each page of your website with a search engine by going to their site,
e.g. "yahoo.com" and registering. If your search engine "rating" or "placement"
is very important, then your website can be optimized to try to improve the
rating, but there are no guarantees regarding your placement.
|
Your Promotional Material
|
Put your website address on all of your promotional material, such as
business cards, letterhead, brochures, mail-outs, fax cover sheets, promotional
items you give out etc. And make it inviting, such as "Visit our website for
some great tips at www.yoursite.com."
|
Use a "Signature" on all of your e-mails
|
Did you know that you can set up a message that is automatically attached to
the bottom of your emails? It’s called a signature and you can include your
company name, phone number, message and a link to your website. If you are using
Netscape or Outlook for your email, check under "Help" in the index and type in
"Signature" or "Business Card" and follow the instructions.
|
Start a Mailing List
|
Collect email addresses of potential or existing customers. Have a feedback
form or line in your website asking if people would like to be updated on your
product or service. Make your message appealing and provide information with a
link to your website. Ensure you put in your entire website address including
http:// at the beginning. (You can add a sentence that they can notify you if
they don’t wish to receive messages in the future).
|
Do a "Link Exchange" with other businesses
|
Ask people you do business with if they would like to exchange links. For
example, if you have a business doing landscape design, and you work with a
particular nursery, why not exchange links? Some search engines will rate your
site more highly if you have more links to your site.
|
Keep your content fresh and informative
|
If your site is a good information source people will want to revisit. It
also gives you a reason to email customers and tell them they will see something
new on your site. Offer contests or prizes that will encourage people to visit!
(Check with applicable provincial laws first).
|
Register with directories or indexes
|
Use the Internet to find Directories or Indexes where sites in your category
are listed. For example, if you sell garden furniture, do a search under
"gardening directories".
|
Advertise
|
You can advertise with either print media or on the Internet itself using
"banner ads", and offer an enticement. Regarding online advertising, you could
list with a service to print off a coupon right from the internet. Do some
research on the Internet. Search under "banner ads", for instance, and see what
you can find.
|
Internet Shopping Centers
|
There are many "cybermalls" which sell a wide variety of products and
advertise on and off the web. Start your search at malls.com if you wish, or do
some searches on the term "mall".
|
Offer discounts or coupons on your website
|
Visitors can print them off. Change them frequently so they will have a
reason to return.
| 
