Internet marketing has changed the way business is being done.

Is Internet marketing effective for small businesses?

Today there are over 56 million websites on the Internet and growing rapidly.  Businesses of any size can now have a global reach that was not affordable to the average small business owner in the past.

What's even more impressive you can find ways to build your business on a local basis as well.  So if you are a service provider (doctor, dentist, plumber, carpenter, contractor, distributor, etc.) you can build your business through internet marketing.  If you have a business that serves only your local market you still can use the Internet to grow your business (restaurants, gift shops, real estate, builders, etc.).

When I decided to use Internet Marketing as a way to grow my small business I did a huge amount of research to find the best way to approach this method of growing the business.

Caution:

There is so much “hype” today about “getting-rich-quick” by using Internet marketing.

It is only hype. Getting rich quick on the Internet is a rarity.

If you spend any time at all on the Internet you see ads for how easy it is and how your business will be an over-night success.

That is pure nonsense!

The truth is it takes work to do this correctly.

More importantly, you must know “what” to work on in order to make the greatest difference with Internet marketing.

Honestly, in my effort to use Internet marketing I made many costly mistakes. 

I tried setting up with website hosting companies that claimed to be very reliable only to find that they went out of business and I was left holding the bag - this was pure frustration.

I taught my self how to write in HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language) only to find that that technology constantly changed and I had trouble keeping up with the changes.  I could see I was going no where with that effort.

One of the keys to success in Internet Marketing is to get ranked high in the major search engines on the web.  For months I studied how to get high rankings in the search engines like Google™, Yahoo™, and MSN™. 

I could not keep pace with the way the search engines changed their algorithms that determined how you website would be found and then ranked.  If you can not be found on the web or ranked highly your Internet marketing and your website will be invisible.  Without this visibility you have no business.

To say the least I was frustrated, tired and I had spent thousands of dollars with no payoff.  But like most small business owners I refused to give up.

Frankly, I do not clearly remember exactly how I learned of a company that provided me with the solutions to my problems and frustrations.  I believe it was an email sent to me by an associate that had also gone through similar frustrations of trying to use Internet marketing to grow her business.

I was skeptical to say the least but I figured I had little to lose by investigating further.

What I did learn through my frustrating failures was this:

• I could hire an expert to write the programming on my website - I could count on spending hundreds, if not thousands, to get this done.
• I could hire an outside company to help figure out how the search engines worked - you guessed it - I would spend hundreds if not thousands to get this done as well.
• While I consider myself to be a decent writer, I did discover that is a certain way to write on the Internet and to have a "look and feel" that is  professional. 
• I could hire a professional writer (there are some excellent writers available) but these experts charge for their services as well (which is very understandable).  I needed some way of learning how to write if I was going to use Internet marketing as a way to grow my business.
• I needed a way to find if my website was successful.  By that I mean, I needed a way to track what works successful on a website and what doesn't.
• I needed a method where I had complete control of the content on my website.  Where I could add or delete any part of the website or change my marketing message.  If I hired someone I would be forced coordinate with other people's work schedules.  This was not a workable option.
• Finding a web host is a hassle.  There are literary thousands of hosting sites, some very good and some not so good.  The key here is finding a host who has "uptime" very near 100% of the time.
• I needed a method by which customers and prospects would return to the site time after time.
• I needed proof that the company I work with has had success stories that I could rely on.

So how do you avoid the costly mistakes I made?

Here is a sampling of the questions you will need to ask?

• How do I design a web page that will attract customers and increase my sales revenues?
• How do I build traffic or visitors coming to my website?
• Do I have to hire a web-page designer or can I do it myself?
• How do I prepare “copy” that will create sales on the Internet?
• Do I need a “newsletter” associated with my web site?
• Should I use “email” marketing to grow my business?
• How do I find a “web-host” for my web site?
• How do I “track” the success of the web site?
• What are Search Engines and why are they important?
• How do I price my products or service for the Internet?

Finally, I have found a remarkable company that has eliminated the hassles and frustrations of Internet marketing and building a business using the internet. 

Please don't misunderstand me, I work very hard every day to make Internet marketing work for my business.  I now have a company that eliminates or reduces the questions, frustrations and failure I experienced in the past.

This company is SiteBuildit (SBI).  I have found no other like it.  But you should see for your self, I highly recommend you click here if you are going to use Internet marketing as an important pillar to growing your small business.

One of the most useful philosophies of the people at Sitesell is to under-promise and over-delivery on all products.  It is a great way to do business and one that I have personally incorporated in my business and all that I do in my daily life.