A professional looking website creates a favorable first impression, and makes you look bigger than you actually are. However, in addition to looking good, it should serve a clear business purpose.

Remember, around 80% of American homes have internet connectivity, and use [...]]]> A great question – whether you already have a website or not.

A professional looking website creates a favorable first impression, and makes you look bigger than you actually are. However, in addition to looking good, it should serve a clear business purpose.

Remember, around 80% of American homes have internet connectivity, and use Google, Bing or another search engine to find service providers. In fact, 75% of all browser sessions start at a search engine.

The main business reasons for having a web site include:

• Branding Your Business
• Promoting Your Services
• Generating Valuable Leads
• Product Sales
• Providing Customer Support

Brand Your Business
Customers nowadays expect to find you on the web, and expect your website to provide in-depth information on your professional abilities and experience. A professional looking web site instills confidence about you and your business.

Promote Your Services
Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, Realtors and all service oriented businesses should let customers know that they have a choice. Millions of users are referring to the web and are using company’s websites to make major decisions when they need a specialized service.

Generate Leads
You can gather information about your customers and potential customers by using forms and surveys. Rather than going out and getting leads, let them come to you. This is a great tool for prospecting targeted customers looking to use your products and services.

Sell Products
Your Business is Open to the World 24/7, 365 Days a Year. Unlike your company’s office that may be open from 8-5, Monday through Friday, your company’s website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are many different time zones that may affect your business, which is why being on the web makes it time convenient for everyone.

Provide Customer Service
Customer service can be something as simple as providing a map and directions to your place of business, plus a list of the products and services you offer. Or, depending on your business, in depth articles on using your products and services can help your customers and attract more business.

And remember, there are people making money by digging up whatever they can find out about you, and selling that information.

Shouldn’t you be taking control of who you are on the [...]]]> Just Google yourself, and see. You may have a website or you may not, but face it – you’re on the web.

And remember, there are people making money by digging up whatever they can find out about you, and selling that information.

Shouldn’t you be taking control of who you are on the web?

First impressions are important, so the first thing people see when they Google you has to be what you want them to see.

The best way to make sure you control first impressions is to make sure anything you put on the web fits the image you want to create. Then make sure your “image posts” rank higher than anything else about you.

The best tool of all, of course, is your own website. It need not be anything complicated, bit it has to present you and your abilities in the best possible light. It has to build the brand that is you.

There are plenty of simple ways to create a website. For example, there are a number of web platforms that allow you to build a site free of charge:

• Blogs – Sites such as WordPress and Blogger will host a free Weblog or “Blog”.
• LinkedIn helps you to post a professional resume, link up with people you know, and join professional groups.
• FaceBook is like LinkedIn, but is geared to a more personal image and interest range.

The most important thing is to decide on the objectives of your website. Here’s a list of things to consider:

• What kind of image do you want to create?
  • Business – are you promoting your business?
  • Professional – are you presenting your own professional background and skills?
  • Personal – is this a site about yourself, your family and your interests?
• How much time and effort do you want to put into updating your site?
• Regularly updated sites, like Blogs, tend to attract good traffic and ratings. Do you have the resources to blog?
• Do your interests or profession regularly spin off web content? Writing and photography are particularly good content generators.
• How much promotional time and money do you want to put in?
• You can build web presence by promoting your site with paid advertising. What is your budget for this?
• Other great ways to build your presence include commenting on other sites, and including your website address in emails.
• Do you want to generate leads or sales from the site, or just use the site as a branding tool?

In other words, since you can be Googled, it’s a good idea to make sure that what other people can discover about you is what you want them to see.

To put it in a nutshell, doesn’t it make sense to control your image on the internet, rather than letting it control you by default?

And perhaps more important: nobody looks much beyond [...]]]> When a potential customer is looking for a product or service, where does he or she go? Why, the Internet, of course!

• Think about it – how often do you “Google” something or someone?
• Did you know that over 75% of browser sessions start with Google or Bing?

And perhaps more important: nobody looks much beyond the second or third page of results.

This gives the search engines tremendous power. A power you can harness, if you know how.

Are you using the search engines effectively? That’s an easy enough question to answer. Just ask yourself:

• Does my Web Site generate good business for me?
• Is my Web Site generating the leads and clients I would like?
• Am I making enough direct sales from my Web Site?

Done right, a Web Site will pay for itself quickly with leads and clients. You just need to know how.

The secret of attracting customers on the Web is to make your web site more visible.
There are several easy ways to do this. The best part is:

Both Google and Bing will help you for FREE.

Like all businesses, the search engines generate revenue for themselves by offering something of value to their users.
For Google and Bing, the value proposition is to provide better search results.

There are two ways to make your web site more visible on the search engines:

• One of these is to pay for a front page ranking.
• The other is to get there for FREE, by making your page search engine friendly.

How do you make a Web Site “search engine friendly”?

Well – there are several things you have to consider. These include:

• HTML page layout.
• Optimized Meta Tags.
• Regularly Updated Content.
• Back Links from other Web Sites.

You should also consider the free promotion you can get through such things as:

• Free links
• Blogging
• Newsletters

On a final note: Do you even have a Web Site? A surprisingly large number of professionals either don’t use the web, or use it ineffectively. (Contact us at web.services@professionalreferrals.net for help creating a site, or boosting its effectiveness).

Ask yourself these simple questions: