Pacing Your Way to a Successful
Internet Business
By
Donald Nelson, copyright 2003
Timing is everything when it
comes to building a business on the web. If you think that you
can build a viable business in six months or less then you are
mistaken. However, if you are patient and systematic, and
willing to learn from your own experiences and from the wisdom
of others, then you have every chance of being successful in
your Internet activities. Here are six lessons that I have
learned in the course of building an Internet based business;
perhaps they may be helpful to you!
1. Allow yourself a reasonable time to build your business:
I think that everyone really hopes that the day following the
publication of their web page, they will find e-mails with
orders for their products or services. Unfortunately it
doesn't usually happen so fast. It takes time for search
engines to index your
pages. If you are in an exceptionally competitive field, you
will also have to build up your website, with valuable content
and strengthen it with high quality links from other sites in
order to rise to a good position in the search engines. How
long does
this process take? If you are very efficient it could be
within six months, but I would say that it is better to plan
on one year as your "building period."
2. Stick to the fundamentals
Don't try to trick the search engines or your customers. In
the past, and probably even now, some people tried to fool the
search engines through doorway pages, invisible keywords and
other shaky procedures. These methods cannot bring long term
success. So, build a solid web site, one that truthfully
presents your goods
or services, and promote it in a conventional manner through
proper search engine optimization, offline promotion in your
printed materials, articles in online forums and newsletters,
press releases, etc. If you have a good product or service and
explain it properly emphasizing the benefits that it can bring
to your web visitors, and promote it in a solid way, you will
be in a good position to reap the rewards for your hard work.
3. Study and learn as much as you can
It is not possible for everyone to grasp all the
technicalities of web design and promotion, but it is possible
to get a broad overview of how it all works. Sign up for good
online newsletters, visit forums and websites where other
webmasters ask
questions and offer advice. If you are in a particular niche
market, see if there is a newsletter especially catering to
your needs. Over the years I have learned a lot from the LE
Digest , originally called Link Exchange Digest. Other good
sources of
information are Site Pro News and Web Pro News. If you have
some money to spare then you can purchase e-books and printed
books on marketing, web marketing and web design. Sometimes
just one or two good ideas in a newsletter or an e-book can
make a big difference. So, keep on studying and keep on
learning
4. Monitor your traffic
When you become successful you will know it by the orders and
inquiries that come in your daily e-mail. Until that time, you
should pay close attention to your web logs or the web site
analysis information that many web hosts provide. Pay
particular attention to where your visitors are coming from;
that is, what are the referring pages that they visited before
entering your site. And pay particular attention to the
keywords that they used to find you. If you have some money to
invest, then you can also experiment with pay per click
listings with Overture.com or other providers. Note which
keywords bring you the best results, then optimize your pages
for these proven keywords.
5. Make necessary changes to your website
Based on what you have learned, you may have to redesign your
web site, rewrite the copy or work on the details of
optimization. This may take time or may require additional
expenditure, but it could be the step that brings you to
success, so don�t be afraid to rethink or redo your website.
If you can do it by yourself or
through your in-house team, then go ahead with that. If you
need outside help, then hire the best people you can according
to your budget.
6. Be optimistic and don't quit too soon
"It ain't over till its over," said the baseball player and
sage, Yogi Berra. His words are especially true on the
Internet, where conditions change every bit as fast as they do
in the world of sports. Just when you think that your efforts
have not produced anything, you may find your site popping up
at the top of all the search engines, and orders coming into
your in-box. So, hang in there and do not give up until you
have really utilized your resources properly. If you truly
have something good to offer, and if you have worked hard to
promote it, the chances are that
your efforts will be crowned with success.
Donald
Nelson is a web developer, editor and social worker. He has
been working on the Internet since 1995, and is currently the
director of A1-Optimization (http://www.a1-optimization.com),
a firm providing low cost search engine optimization,
submission and web promotion services.
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