Starting Up: Get the most out of your Web site and online marketing tools.

Until late last year I was working in information technology for a local bank. Shortly after the holidays, I was called into the CEO's office (never a good sign) and laid off.

IT has changed drastically over the years. When I initially made my way into IT, the average IT person could make upward of $55,000 per year. In today's market, a person in the Boise area can look to make an average of $10 to $12 an hour. The highly skilled technical job I spent 15 years gaining expertise in no longer pays my bills when I am employed. And to top it off, most IT jobs are now contract positions, which means layoffs are common.

Something I soon discovered is that finding a new job in this economy is like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are a lot of talented, hard-working people looking for work. I like technology and helping people, so I decided to start a business of my own. I decided to become an entrepreneur!

I hope to share the hands-on knowledge and expertise I have gained over the years with small businesses to help them not only survive but thrive. Marketing can be expensive, but with the Internet the costs can be minimal and the returns mind-boggling. That's why I started E-Business Consultants. I wanted to show business owners how to uncover the many ways in which the Internet can help to expand their business. Businesses that are not using the Web for marketing might as well throw in the towel now.

Most businesses realize they need to have Web sites, but they don't know how to effectively use the sites to drive people into their brick-and-mortar business. They don't know how to track their sites' return on investment. Most business owners don't even know where their Web site is hosted. And very few are using all the available means to drive customers to their sites. They also are not taking advantage of the traffic they are generating to their sites.

Here are a couple of ways that you can generate more visits to your Web site:

First, advertise your site on everything. Do your business cards have your Web address? What about your bills, your giveaways like pens or other items? Think of everywhere you can place that Web address and put it there.

Second, gather the e-mail address of everyone who comes into your business. Put a lead-capturing system on your site, so that when people do visit you can capture their e-mail addresses. One of the best ways to increase your ROI is by doing follow-up e-marketing. With a Web site, your ace in the hole is that you can change your marketing message in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks.

Article ran April 04, 2009 in the Idahostatesman.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/1298/story/752340.html