Your business and the Web

By George Hunt,

contributing writer

In order to grow a business, it is critical to get your business name out to potential clients and customers. It is equally important to let these same prospects know what you do and how you can accomplish what they need to have done.

How can any business make this happen?

Local advertising via mail, radio, TV and newspapers are obvious possibilities. Trade shows and county fairs are another area for consideration. These marketing avenues are a tried and true way to get your message out.

Internet marketing could offer your business a fresh way to reach new prospects who are seriously looking for solutions. If this area of marketing is new to you or you want to make sure you are getting maximum effect. Here is a step-by-step way to help you get started or check-out/review what you are now doing.

Getting started with Web marketing

One of the first steps is to look at what your competitors are currently doing in this arena. This is easy to do on the Internet. Just do a search using any good search engine. Put in the appropriate category and your geographical area. The results will give you an idea of what others consider important. Try different subcategories and see what comes up. Those sites that you like the feel of, you should add to your list. This list will become examples of what your website should contain.

Some website tips Be careful about using flashing images, music and moving scripts on the home page as these web components will load slower on a dial-up connection. Put all necessary contact Phone Numbers on each page of the website. Use lots of descriptive text on the home page. Images are fine, but search engines look at text, not images. Descriptive text will help you get a better ranking in search engines. Use “ALT TEXT” in images as this text form can be seen by search images. The website name should be appropriate for the website content. Put your website address on all printed material you hand out. Business cards, invoices, letterheads, proposals, brochures and any literature. Market your website. Without marketing, it is like a business without an address or phone number. Use local web destinations sites to market your website. Make sure the Web address is prominent in any other media advertisements you run. Keep your website fresh with new images, new text and current deals or offers. Professional help is worth the money, as they will be there when you need to make additions or changes. Friends and relatives may not be available. As with all items we purchase, you get what you pay for.

Using good ideas from other sites that capture your interest are helpful in designing your own business site. Website content is a critical factor in designing and making a good website. Ask around among your friends in the business and find out who built their website. Contact these referrals. Have a meeting to discuss what these Web designers can do for you; a time frame for doing the work; and some idea of what they charge. A very important point here is how long have they been doing this and is this their primary business. Websites are a never-ending project. You want to deal with someone who will be there when you need them.

A website represents your business as far as the viewer is concerned. Quality in your site will also suggest that your work will result in a similar quality. When discussing your website with the designer, you must discuss what is expected of you. What do you need to supply? In what form? When images are in question: What digital applications are needed?

Who will write the text on your site? Does the Web designer have someone on staff that is good at this important job? You can give the facts and ideas that should be covered, but it must incorporate key words and what are referred to as “meta tags” in website jargon. These are special words that the search engines read in order to call up websites that meet the search requirement the potential client entered.

As you can see from this, a Web expert is worth their expense. Pleasing design and search considerations are absolutely integral to a well thought out website.

Typo-free text is mandatory for any website. Ease of moving around the site is also mandatory. Any links on the site should be labeled accurately. Contact information should stand out on the home page (first site page) and any other page of the site.

Insufficient or hard-to-find contact information is a pet peeve of many Internet users. All they want is to find out how to contact the site business.

Special site ideas for heating/cooling experts

There are three major advantages of using a website to market what you do. A website works for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can show images of quality jobs that you have completed and you can also publish letters of appreciation from satisfied clients. Several job pictures are not too much. In fact, a series of pictures showing the job progression can be a good selling point. Letters from clients (get their permission) are also worth making part of the website.

Keep these current and do not use poor images. You are preaching quality work. Your website must demonstrate this.

Make sure you cover this with your Web designer and determine what he would charge to make these important additions or changes to your website.

What is next?

You found a good Web person and you now have a terrific site. You have to pick a website name. You have to have your site hosted and you need to market your site so you will gain site traffic, which will mean more clients and jobs. Hosting is a Web term that means where you have the site housed so that it will be available to the net 24/7. You rent space on some one’s server. Hosting is widely available. Ask your designer who they would recommend. A local hosting company is a better choice as long as they are reliable and competitive in their annual charge.

Marketing of your website is another matter. First, you should make sure your website name is on every printed piece you hand out. The list is long. Business cards, invoices, brochures, ads, proposals and letterheads -- any printed material related to your business.

Another idea is to see if your community has what I call a “destination website.” This is a city or county site that allows links from their website to your website. They usually charge a small fee to allow your site link to be placed under an appropriate category on their website.

Some TV and radio stations also have such a website, which could be used to advantage as the local broadcaster is marketing their website. The bottom line, is, this is a way to get your business known in your geographical area. The cost of building a website is a one-time expense. The hosting, maintenance and marketing of it are ongoing expenses. A well-thought-out website will slowly rise in Web searches.

Another use of a good website is to use it when talking with a new prospect on the phone.  You can add immediate visual images to your conversation, by asking the potential client to view your site while talking about their needs.

How many jobs would you need to get from a Web presence to justify the expense? If this is a reasonable figure then look into it. Asking questions and doing a little research is well worth the effort. This is a great way to acquire new business.

Just remember, this is not a “do it and forget it project.” Do not let your site get stale. New images and changes in text will keep it fresh. A statement of how you tackle a new job could set you apart from other businesses. Web marketing should be an important element of annual business planning. The more you massage it, the better it will work for you.

George Hunt currently is hydronics marketing manager for Rhomar Water Management Inc. He uses the Internet intensely to market Rhomar’s products. He has over 30 years experience in marketing and selling technology-type products. He can be contacted at 800/543-5975.