Thanks for stopping by! If you are here, you are interested in learning about how you can improve the effectiveness of your website and online marketing.

The first thing that you need to understand is that the internet is not like “Field of Dreams” – and by that I mean it doesn’t work like “If you build it, they will come.” You cannot simply put a website up and expect it to be found and be profitable. Plus, you need more than JUST a website. What I mean by that is, you need a “web presence.”

I am sure the first thing that you are thinking is What is a “web presence?”

A web presence involves more than your website. It involves utilizing all the tools on the internet. My personal definition of a web presence involves 4 elements of your online interactions:

1- Your website should not be static – you should be updating your site at least weekly. You can put coupons or discounts on your site. You can also update the site with new services and of course client/customer testimonials/reviews.

2- Your website should have a way to capture someone’s e-mail address so that you can send out a newsletter (at the very least monthly). This is useful for several reasons. The first being that takes 7 times for someone to become “familiar” with something which makes them comfortable with the product or company. This will allow them to be more willing to give you their business. The next being you can offer “special” discounts to people who are on your e-mail list.

3- You should be providing content on your site and on other sites (article/content directories). The internet has made consumers smarter and more discriminating. People do far more research on their purchases and their choice of service providers. The way to take advantage of this is to provide potential customers with information. Give them something, without expecting anything in return, and you will gain their trust and their business. You want your content to be on your site and on what are called “authority sites” such as Squidoo, Hubpages, Wikipedia, Wikianswers, wikispaces, etc…

4- You should be taking advantage of “social networking.” Facebook is HUGE right now and combining your website with a Facebook Fanpage in the proper way could explode your business. Social approval is huge. This is a way to put “word of mouth” advertising on steroids, so to speak .

If you are not using all 4 elements, then you are not taking full advantage of the internet and you are throwing money out the window or you are giving customers to your competition. If you aren’t using any of the elements, then you have “JUST” a website and you are throwing money out the window and you are giving customers to your competition.

To Your Success,

Liz Martinez