Most business owners today will tell you that the web is the media of the future, that “It’s the way things are headed.” But how many really know what this means? How does the internet make their business money? What’s the difference between a good website and a bad website? What does it take to make their website grow?

These questions and countless others act as a barrier between those business owners and the internet success they hear about. So let us first clarify the notion that all you need is a good website to succeed. The truth is that a good website, though the key element of success is just one piece of the puzzle.  Think of the website as virtual storefront, very much like the brick and mortar building where you do business today. This digital storefront must represent all aspects of your business with focus on those areas that are easily leveraged by internet commerce. You have to keep the site relevant, up to date and fresh, but that alone is not enough.  If the road in front of the brick and mortar is the primary conduit for customers to find you, then much the same the search engines feed your virtual storefront.

To continue with the analogy with the brick and mortar, the search engines being the road, then your keywords are the car on the road. Selecting the right keywords can be the difference between mediocrity and  early retirement. The keyword phrases you select must be relevant, have some search traffic,  but be obtainable. For example, “used 2006 Honda Civic LX in Manchester, New Hampshire,” is too specific, and is rarely searched on the search engines, but “used Honda” is way too broad and would require an almost unreasonable amount of time and energy to obtain.

Using this list properly will help to fuel the cars,  by using the words in strategic places on the site and in the unseen code that comprises the site will help the search engine to realize that these keywords are relevant to your site and score you higher with those words. It’s important at this time to note that there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Done right the words are seamlessly integrated into the site. Done wrong they will appear to the search engine as a manipulation of the system which will cause your to rank lower or be removed from the search engine completely.

These search engines are social creatures, they're very much concerned with what the rest of the internet thinks of your site. It takes into consideration all of the site you link to and that link to you. It looks at those sites and scores you based on your relevance to them, and them to the rest of their community. Sites can be penalized for too many links or too few. Special consideration is given to sites with user driven content; this means that the visitors of the website are able to write reviews or comments in reference to what you have. Again, I must caution that this must be done tactfully so not to appear a manipulation.

Every business regardless of whether it’s a Brick and Mortar or a virtual brick and mortar requires advertising. Your virtual storefront offers some cost effective means of advertising. The many methods of online advertising including Search Engine Management (SEM), which is a pay per visit program offered by all major search engines, an affiliate program with other sites or some eye catching banner advertisement. For the most part, all of these online advertising sources offer reporting and analytics unparalleled in conventional advertising. Interpreting these reports will allow you to dial in your advertising dollars and create very specific, effective campaigns.