12 Steps to Survive the
Internet Jungle While
Establishing Presence for
your Small Business
As you begin to
take steps to
establish
Internet
Presence, you
need to beware
of predators in
the Internet
Jungle that will
tell you
anything to get
your money
and own you –
as much as
possible and for
as long as possible. They want to keep you captive there, parasites
feeding off your wallet, doing little to aid in your bottom line. All of
them will tell you they will help. Many will tell you their efforts will
bring you huge rankings on the Internet and much business. Don’t
be fooled by a good sign of initial success -- that you will receive
many sales calls. These predators now have your scent and they are
very hungry! Some of them will claim to represent Google or the
phone directory. Some will clearly be scams. Others will sound
legitimate. Beware. Understand the details or have a trusted Jungle
guide. Don’t give out private information. Technivise is a Guide to
the Internet Jungle, helping you to understand and safely take each
step with you or for you, each step so you own the results, and
suggesting a broader team as needed to establish your small business
Internet presence.
What are some specific steps to establish a new or better Internet
presence for your small business? In what order? Certainly one
approach doesn’t fit every small business, but the following 12 steps
present an overview of what will be important to start your small
business on its journey through the Internet Jungle. They are
presented in order, but that order might also be adjusted depending
on your business or situation.
[1] Consider the Big Picture
Before you do anything, plan your trip into the Jungle. Think about
what you’re trying to achieve through an Internet presence. Set
some objectives or goals. What do you want to achieve obtaining
customers? How are you going to use the Internet for your
operations? Operations may include servicing customers, answering
their questions, setting appointments, online sales, shipping, etc.
With our experience, Technivise can efficiently interview you about
these topics and help you quickly come to ideas about how to market
your business.
Why this order? If you set objectives and goals first, you can
use them to help make the right decisions in the following steps.
Don’t worry, you can change your objectives and goals as you
learn, but if you fail to write them down you could make more
costly mistakes.
[2] Have an Identity
You’ll need supplies for this Jungle journey. Have a business name,
phone number, address, and if possible, consistent branding
including a logo, look and feel, and other elements that capture your
business’ personality. You should also consider being registered with
local authorities through your city, state, and the federal entities, not
just to keep it legitimate, but to capture your brand in your business.
Why this order? You’ll need consistency across the Internet
and for your other customer-facing interactions. You’ll need this
information for all the following steps creating your online
presence.
[3] Obtain a domain name (yourbusiness.com)
To be known in the Jungle, you’ll need a domain name to build an
effective website and email presence on the Internet. Pick one that is
easy for your customers to remember and type. In the past there
were plentiful .com, .org, and .net domain names for the taking. Now
many are devoured by one type of beast in the Jungle -- domain
name speculators. They have purchased so many domains to hold
them and sell them for high prices. They go unused, held hostage for
high prices. Either pay the high price or come up with another
domain name! Now there are so many new extensions such as .biz,
.tv, .pub, .clinic, .cafe, .florist, .legal, and so many more that you have
more choices. If you don’t have a business name yet, you might
consider the name depending on availability of domain names. If
you already have a business, then adjust the domain name to work
with that so your customers can easily remember it. Beware. Some
services will sell you a domain but hold you hostage to their service.
Technivise can help you know where to purchase these to save
money, how to purchase them to make your website work best, avoid
being held hostage by providers, and stay in control of your own
Internet presence.
Why this order? A domain name is one of the first steps for
branding your Internet presence and essential for a unified
branding presence with website, email, and other services.
[4] Content - Create your elevator speech
You’ll need to create some basic content for your Internet Presence.
You may already have this and need to modify it or you may need to
create it. This includes a basic motto, a very short description,
answers to questions customers might ask, background about you
and your business, and perhaps testimonials you’ve collected if your
business is already established. You can develop more detailed
content later as needed. Technivise can help refine and develop this
through an interview and gathering other information needed to
create content for your Internet Presence.
Why this order? You’ll need these to more easily create a
website, populate online directories, and create social
networking accounts. Creating these early will not only save a
lot of time later, it will help with consistency in your Internet or
online presence.
[5] Website
& Email
Now that you
have content and
a domain name,
you can set up a
website and as
many email
addresses you
need with
@yourbusinessname.com. For your website, you can start out with
something simple as a one-page placeholder and improve it over
time. A full website design should take into account many factors
associated with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – in the content of
pages and the structure of the website itself. For your email, it’s
useful to have an “admin” or “office” general email account that
handles all your general business communication regarding your
Internet presence. To appear professional and maintain control, it’s
best to have email addresses linked to your domain name, not one
hosted by another service such as aol.com, gmail.com, etc.
Technivise can set up simple websites, refer you to other website
developers, or work with your exiting website developer.
Technivsie also set up email servers and email systems for you. For
both website and email accounts, make sure you own everything –
don’t be held hostage in the Jungle by providers of these services.
Why this order? You’ll need your domain name and content to
set these up. You’ll also need the website and email addresses to
control your Internet presence on social media sites and
directories. If you don’t want a website, you can have some
presence through social media sites and directories.
[6] Social Media Sites
There are many civilizations in the Jungle -- social media sites where
many customers may gather. Set up shop in these civilizations when
they make sense for your business in places such as Facebook,
Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and all the others. Some of these can
serve as a mini-website presence for you, so the content you’ve
already prepared will be of use. Each social media site will require
some care, feeding, and maintenance to be effective. Consider how
that will be maintained – yourself, someone that works for you, or a
provider. Obtain specific links to your social media site pages.
Technivise can set up social media sites and help in their care and
feeding. We can also work with you or others to maintain social
media presence for your small business.
Why this order? You’ll need your identity, website, email, and
content to be effective at setting up your social media sites.
You’ll also have to go back to your website and add your newly
established social media links. You can establish social media
sites without a website if you wish.
[7] Directory Listings
& Link Building
Wanting to be the equivalent of
Internet phone books, there are
almost a countless number of
online directories in which you
can list your business. Some
are very important and others
not so much. Some are linked
to mobile phone map services.
Some focus on ratings by
customers. Some are global,
others are national, and some
are local. It is critical, and free,
to be listed in the top locations
such as Google, Bing, and Apple.
It is also very important, and
usually free, to be listed in as
many of the others as possible
because it provides consistency
but also protects and projects
your Internet presence. Some require payment, but it is rare when
paying them is worthwhile. It might make sense for some
businesses. If your business is already listed with a particular
directory, you can “capture” it so you can edit and improve
information in that listing. These listings should all show the same
basic information: same address, same phone number, same
business hours, etc. Some will allow for more detail. Some ask for
your date of birth. Do you really want to give that out? No! Come up
with a close but different date of birth for these purposes. Another
form of directory listings can be professional societies and
communities of interest. Seek these out if you don’t know them
already.
The Jungle is not so safe here. Quicksand is everywhere.
Increasingly more online companies, many of which are Internet
predators feeding off those who wander into the Jungle unaware.
They sell “listing services” to populate a number of these directories,
but they are expensive and require recurring payments. The make it
seem like they will give you 100 percent coverage, but they don’t.
They usually don’t even cover half of the directories and they may do
a poor job of populating detailed information your potential
customers would want to see. If you already have great coverage,
they will tell you that you don’t so they can get your money. Also, if
you stop paying in the future, they could remove your Internet
presence. That’s why you might prefer to control or own as many of
these as possible. There are also free “listing services” where you
don’t have to pay. Beware. Technivise can help you populate all
these directories so you own them, preventing you from being held
hostage. While sometimes simple, this process can quickly become
complex with verification of your phone and address. Most of these
do not require regular maintenance after being set up, but some will
depending on your business type and your objectives. You can do
that yourself or Technivise can assist you.
Link Building means getting other sites to link back to your site.
Directories are one valid approach to this. There are many others.
Some Link Building techniques are penalized by Google and could
actually harm your search rankings. Be careful how you proceed as
the Jungle gods can be angered.
Why this order? Most of these directories will need the
information created in the prior steps including all your identity
information, website, email, and content you’ve created such as
logo, business images, and description of you and your business.
[8] Reviews
Once you have your directory sites populated, they have features for
customer reviews. You’ll need to solicit customer reviews to
jumpstart your listings. Positive reviews attract customers.
Populated reviews can also raise your display ranking on these
directory sites. Once you have sites capable of reviews, you’ll have to
start monitoring your reputation. Setting up notices about new
reviews is important part of this process. Technivise can help you
solicit, monitor, and maintain your reviews as needed by your
business; however, if you have a strong relationship with your
customers, you should be involved. Negative reviews should be
managed and responded to as soon as possible.
Why this order? You can’t put up reviews unless you already
have a directory listing. If you need to “capture” an existing
listing of your business, existing reviews should be identified and
managed.
[9] Blogs
Another set of Internet Jungle civilizations are Blogs. You can create
your own Blog as regularly (or perhaps infrequently) updated
website content that is usually provided in a conversational or
tutorial style. It might encourage a dialog with your customers. This
content is indexed by search engines which lead to your customers
finding your website. It is best if you put out new blog material
regularly to stay current and increase your search rankings. How
regularly is up to you and may depend on the type of business you
have. Blogs can exist on your website, or you can have your blog on
a service like blog.com, blogger.com, etc. Having a blog service
makes a lot of sense if you will have a lot of interaction with readers
and customers and don’t want your own website software that
supports complex blogs. You can always link back to your website.
Many SEO specialists will argue your blog should be integrated into
your website, but this isn’t always important. Another set of Blogs
that may be important to you are created by dedicated individual
bloggers or communities on the Internet. Being favorably mentioned
here may bring much traffic to your website and customers to your
doorstep.
Why this order? Blogs are like advertising flypaper. They help
catch search engines and readers and convert them into
customers. They can help you service your customers and create
a community of happy customers. You probably should focus on
this only after establishing the fundamentals of your Internet
presence. Some small businesses may want to start with a blog
service if they have a lot of advice or interaction with their
customer community.
[10] Analytics – Measure what’s happening.
Don’t be blind in the Jungle. You need Internet Jungle Vision. Before
you go much further, early in the stage of setting up a website or
blog, it would be good to start measuring how your Internet presence
is working for you through “Internet analytics.” At least obtain a
baseline and watch your traffic grow to understand why it grows or
declines. Website and certain business directory analytics can help
track how well your website is being used. Technivise can help you
establish various types of analytics to measure how well your
business’ Internet presence is working for you.
Why this order? Once your online Presence is established and
maturing, it is useful to start measuring how well you’re doing.
Without this information it would be very difficult to know if
investments in blogs, website updates, advertising, coupons, and
other techniques were having impact. Before you invest in
advertising, you should have analytics to make sure your money
is being well-spent.
[11] Add or Increase Dynamic Content and
Presence
Be agile in the Internet Jungle. Dynamic content is something that
changes or is added to your Internet presence. It refreshes the
content and can increase search ranking. It is essential for social
media because on those sites static information draws no attention.
Dynamic content can include posting news releases, special offers,
coupons, or notices about events. It can include posting items on
social media such as twitter, Facebook and Google+. Blog entries are
another form of dynamic content. Coupons may help introduce a
new product or service or bring more work during traditionally slow
periods. Note that popular coupon web sites may charge for listing
your coupon; however, you can also place the coupon on your
website and certain directories.
Why this order? Having analytics in place is important for
dynamic content so you can measure the return on investment
and adjust your approach. If one thing doesn’t work to bring
more customers to your website or doorstep, then try something
else.
[12] Online Internet Advertising
Advertising might include paying
to be included on a search engine
(Google, Bing, etc), a business
directory, or
having a more favorable placement.
Directories that work to be highly placed on Google
searches or are frequent stops for your customers
may be
good investments. For lawyers, an example would
be a
legal website such as Avvo or FindLaw. Paying for
directories
that have low ranking and little traffic is a poor
investment, but how do you know if a directory has little traffic?
Direct search engine advertising includes Google Ad Words where
your advertisement is placed based upon a person’s search. Such
advertising can be paid for per impression (each time it is shown) or
per click (each time a potential customer clicks on your ad). Beware.
If you proceed incorrectly Internet advertising is a bottomless money
pit in the Jungle. Technivise can provide advice about which
business directories are worth paying for advertising and how direct
per-click advertising can benefit your business. If you’re very
serious about high-volume sales through the Internet, a dedicated
and reputable Internet advertising company may be the best
approach.
Why this order? Paid advertising should be one of the last
efforts you undertake. Without having an established Internet
presence and the analytics to measure the change due to
advertising, you could be throwing away your money.
Summary
You’re journey through the Internet Jungle has just begun. While
this list of initial steps and approaches are not complete, they cover a
majority of initial considerations to establish or improve your
Internet presence. After this, to become a master of the Internet
Jungle, you’ll need to stay alert and improve over time. Contact
Technivise to consider your “big picture,” how Technivise can help,
what activity you want to control, how to avoid being eaten alive or
held hostage in the Internet Jungle!