How to make a business Web site stand out

Dear Professor Bruce: As a small business owner selling custom art to customers across the country, I have set up a Web site, but I am not getting much in the way of sales. There are many companies out there offering a variety of services including marketing and e-commerce. I don't know where to start and have limited resources. What are some simple steps I can take to maximize my Web presence?

Answer: Many small business owners believe that having a Website is what's required to be part of the Internet economy. But a Web site has become merely the "ticket to the dance." The fact is, of the small business owners who have a presence on the Web, a great percentage do not take the steps necessary to maximize the impact of that presence. Since you are trying to generate online sales there are a myriad other tips and techniques to make your site stand out, drive traffic and convert visitors to buyers.

Doug Shuman, senior vice president of Customer Marketing for Register.com offers some excellent tips:

First, decide what you want to accomplish with your Web site and how you can best achieve those goals. So many small businesses build a Web site just to have a presence, but don't set realistic metrics on what they would like to accomplish with the site. Customers should decide what will give their sites impact.

Your Domain is your storefront -- make it memorable. Your URL is like a billboard on a very busy highway. Choose a URL that is easy to remember and consider securing variations on the name (misspellings, omitted letters or the same name as a .net or .biz address). If the domain name you want is unavailable, consider trying to purchase it through auction or through a secondary market

Make it easy for your customers. The number one reason visitors may leave a site within the first few seconds of their initial visit is their inability to quickly find the information they need. Take the time to understand why customers will be visiting your site and make it easy for them to find what they are looking for.

Provide regularly updated, unique and relevant content on your Web site. This will help ensure that customers keep coming back to you. Don't make the mistake of under-investing in your Web site. With a little effort and a smaller investment than most people think, you can have a Web site that makes an impact.

For further information, visit: www.register.com

Bruce Freeman is president of ProLine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Livingston, NJ and an adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship. E-mail questions to Bruce(at)SmallBusinessProf.com.