Web presence for Unintentional Entrepreneurs

Twitter/Flickr Use #ueny Thanks for coming

My Entrepreneur Story

Online Tools Used by Small Business

Network Solutions – University of Maryland Small Business Success index http://growsmartbusiness.com

Shoppers search online before making a purchase on the web

Can you be found?

Search Engines

Are there conversations about your business

Google Alerts

Word of Mouth >> Word of Mouse*

Reviews of your business Yelp, Amazon etc

Thank you David Meerman Scott

Online Presence Strategy

Your personal brand

Connecting with customers

Community outreach

Get new business

Internet Technologies Check List

Domain Name

Email

Company Website:

Online customer service

Search Engine Optimization plan

Online advertising in public directories

Employees can communicate with each other online

Ability for customers to order service online

Ability for customers to pay online

Website security features

Social Media presence

July 28, 2009 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

The Right Domain Name Matters

Distinguish yourself

Keep it easy to remember

You cannot teach your visitors to spell

Time to outgrow your Avatar

Still hanging on to your old college email?

Customers may not buy from [email_address]

While they trust reviews of strangers customers want transparency

Picture Credit : CC Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/minako_bracken/3096906279/

Get Email with your Personal or Business Brand

What is a Website ? Nowadays?

And a 10yr old built this

Websites

Do it yourself

Learn Html, PHP, ASP, Cold Fusion, MySQL

Use a Web Site Builder tool

Use open source – WordPress etc

Hire a professional

Referrals

Local Firms

Marketplaces like Odesk, Elance, Guru.com

Content

What are your users looking for ?

Keep the navigation simple

Call to action – Buy, Subscribe

Update often

Catch up on trends

http://www.Google.com/trends

http://Search.twitter.com

Keyword research

http://adwords.google.com/select/ KeywordTool External

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

www. keyword discovery.com/

http://quintura.com/

Your own Sent mailbox

Online Advertising: Open Doors to a Broader Audience July 28, 2009 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

Online Demos and Self Service Tools July 28, 2009 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

Where Do you Rank in a Google Search? July 28, 2009 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

Key Takeaway

You should have your own branded web presence

Build on the web presence as your needs grow

Expand it by making use of other channels like Social media

Tips

Start early

Update regularly

User experience trumps anything else

Keep it simple

Small Business Web Hosting - business in a box

Domain name , email and website

Blogs, Community software, audio video podcast, Storage space

Online Marketing, SEO & online stores

Monitoring tools & Analytics

Security Seals and Certs

Surprise ! Network Solutions offers many of these products

Tips: Analyze Your Website

Free Tools to do it yourself:

http:// seotoolset.com

http://seomoz.org

http://sitening.com

http://tools.seobook.com (The SEO toolbar for Firefox)

http://pagerankbot.com

No time to do it yourself? Ask a Network Solutions expert for help. July 28, 2009 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

GrowSmartBusiness.com

GrowSmartBiz Conference : Sept 29 th Join us on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 , at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. , for a one-day educational conference and networking event featuring renowned small business leaders and well-known industry http://Growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-conference

Questions ?