5 Low Cost Methods For Creating A Web Presence

December 19th, 2008 by TheMarketingProfessional

Are you a small business owner looking to setup a website? Maybe you own a freelance photographer, an newsagency, or work as a insurance brokerage from home? Whatever type of business you have, if you have been wondering how you can use the Internet to augment your business profile and attract more clients, then read this article before you go out and spend money on a website designer to put together a site for you.

Although it may not be your core business, it pays to educate yourself a to some extent first before spending any $$. This article will give you a grip on the basics of web marketing before you hire someone to create a website for your business so that you are not flying blind. It will also educate you about some things you can do yourself, which you may choose to do on your own and save you the cost of hiring someone else.

Web 2.0 Websites

Another way to spread the word about your business without having to create a website, is to create a free page on one of the numerous Web 2.0 content sites such as Hubpages and Squidoo. Here is an example Squidoo lens reviewing Success University.

These are even more simple to get going compared to a blog because they don’t require any technical know-how at all, leaving you to concentrate on your content and writing whatever it is you wish to write to your chosen audience. Pages on Web 2.0 sites also often appear very high in the search engine results pages, enhancing even further the means by which greater numbers of people can find out about your business.

Social Networking Websites

MySpace, Facebook and Linked In are amongst the three most popular social networking websites. As with Hubpages and Squidoo, social networking websites are also based on pre-coded templates and styles, removing the need to have any html knowledge and allowing you to save the money you would have otherwise invested with a web designer and invest that elsewhere.

A Word About Blogs

If you have the inclination to provide regular updates and news relating to your business, you could consider installing a blog in lieu of a website. A blog functions like a diary, and each entry is time and date stamped. Here is a blog about finance as an example. See how each post is dated and note the optional Peel Ad Animation in the top right hand corner. You don’t need to have any knowledge of html or programming to use a blog.

Once your blog is installed, you just login to a control panel interface, type what you want to say into a box, and click “Publish”.

Blogs can be quite simple to setup. Why not have a play and see if you can install one yourself. You can get very cheap cPanel webhosting nowadays starting from $4.95 p/mth. cPanel webhosting comes with a feature called Fantastico, which allows you to setup a blog with just a handful of mouse clicks. A good webhosting company will be able to help you setup your blog as well, even if you have very limited knowledge. After all, they want your business.

Search Engine Optimization

Once you have setup either a blog, Web2.0 or Social Networking page, the next thing is to make sure that your page has good exposure in search engine results, thereby delivering more traffic and awareness of your business. This is where Search Engine Optimization, comes into play. Don’t be scared! You can get a handle on SEO by borrowing a book from your local library or investing a little time researching it online.

There are a whole host of free websites containing information on seo, in addition to paid membership sites like PortalFeeder that can allocate you a mentor to assist you in your SEO knowledge and website creation efforts. There are some really simple things you can do that will boost the presence of your website and drive traffic to it.

Here’s to Your Successful Web Presence,

The Marketing Professional