Marketing can be a bit of a gray area for small businesses. But think of it this way; Everything your company does affects customers somehow. Everything contributes to the impression they have of your business and affects their expectation of the quality of service they’ll receive. That, simply put, is marketing. So how does that equate to your website? Well, for your website to be a successful business tool, it needs to:

• Attract new visitors
• Keep them on your site
• Bring them back as repeat visitors

There are many ways to achieve the goals above.  When it comes to choosing the right marketing techniques to achieve them, consider the following:

• What you’re trying to accomplish with your website
• Your target market
• How much and what kind of data you’ve collected
• How much time you have to maintain it
• Your staff resources

It’s especially important to consider these factors if you’re planning on developing a new site, or giving your existing one a makeover. Talk with your web developer about what features you want to include on your business’s web site. You need to know what features you want so that the web developer can give you an accurate price estimate and schedule.