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I read an interesting post recently by David Wallace on On Increasing the Visibility of a Small Business Website on a Shoestring Budget. He gave some interesting advice for a small business starting on the web. I would like to build on this the way George Lucas built on the Star Wars series; with a prequel.

You see, David assumed the business already had a website. This post will provide advice on getting started with a website, use very little money and generate enough revenue to begin investing in David’s advice. I actually used what follows in this post to get a friend started on a shoe string.

1. Sign up for Yahoo! Site Builder.
   • Yahoo! Site Builder(aff) provides an easy way for the do-it-yourselfer to have a website and it is easier to use than PowerPoint.
   • URL is included.
   • Comes with Domain Based email, which you need to look professional. No more mybusiness@aol.com.
   • Yahoo! indexes this site quickly… I used this service earlier in the year for a quickie and the site was indexed within a couple of days. And came up on the first page of search results for the keyword + regional term on Yahoo!. Like David said, if this was a mortgage broker it would have been more difficult but for a Painting Contractor it worked just fine.
   • $100 credit for Yahoo! search marketing (will need a $30 initial deposit)

Price Tag: $25 + $11/mo.

2. Read some good, practical and free advice on SEO:
   • This one from Jill Whalen’s High Rankings Advisor about title tags alone might be enough to get a local site ranked.
   • Here is one from Seomoz that is a good read for anyone but especially a newbie because it will educate you enough that you will be insulated from the garbage written about SEO on the web. It will also familiarize you with the rock stars of the industry… read their blogs often and you won’t go wrong. And lastly, it will educate you about the factors that really matter when optimizing your site.
   • Read this post from Local Biz Bits if you are going to create a site with multiple pages: Break Up With Your Services Page
   • And you can find a good SEO e-book for free from Dan Thies at Seo Fast Start

   Price Tag: $0

3. Buy Perry Marshall’s Ultimate Guide to Google’s Adwords and use Google’s how-to resource

Price tag: $16.47

4. Begin your paid search marketing program
   • Sign up for Google Adwords
   • Sign up for Yahoo Search Marketing

   Try and get your ads to the top of the search results so they are above the natural results by writing your way to to the top.

Price tag: Difficult to say: I spent less than $30 before I started seeing conversions.

5. Devise your IYP/Maps/Local site strategy
   • Figure out the most popular IYPs in your area
   • Sign up if the price is right and you are able to follow Dick Larkin’s advice and get to the top. Superpages offers a PPC program that will allow you to get to the top with little money down and no contract… $50 at set-up covers the cost of clicks with a $15 monthly minimum.
   • Go to the local sites mentioned above and set up your business profiles.
   • Call satisfied customers and ask them to review you on these sites as well.

Price tag: $50

Your business is now all over the web and the phone calls and emails will begin coming in from new customers. For a local service service business this list should provide you with the opportunity to get Thousands of dollars in revenue before you spend $200. And the credit card bill hasn’t even arrived yet… woo hoo!

Now, you have the money to invest in David’s advice.

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If you are able to completely fill out the Business Profile offered free from sites like Yahoo! Local and Superpages.com, you will enhance your credibility big-time, which means more customers for you . But you have to fill it out completely… y’know even the certifications and affiliations part. Oh! you left that section blank? Why?

Certifications and affiliations are what give you credibility and set you apart from the newbie hacks in your industry. And I have seen studies that show in print ads these mentions help the ad convert.

Here’s how I would recommend going about it… Let’s use a Lansdscape Architect as an example. Go to Google and do a search for Landscape Architect plus your state. I did it for Landscape Architect NY. The first listing is for the ASLA, an organization devoted to the industry. If I am serious about my business, I should belong to this organization, don’t you think? Ya, I know it costs money to join but if you believe in what they do it should be worth it. Plus you can now put ASLA Member on your website with their nice logo. Instant credibility for you. Also, the site has a search box that allows people to search the site to find a local Landscape Architect - qualified traffic… perfect.

The next result is the NYSCLA. This site offers all the same benefits as above but with an added bonus - I can write it out and get the keywords ‘New York’ and ‘Landscape Architect’ on the page. Oh! it’s all good.

Next, if I have been in business for over a year and have no complaints on file, I can join the Better Business Bureau.

Now when someone is looking in my area for my service they will see that I am a member of the ASLA, the NYSCLA (spelled out or with the <abbr> tag), and the BBB, whether they come to my site or my business profile… Voila’ - instant credibility.

Next, does your industry require you to be licensed? It does… good. Typically the state or whomever else requires and issues the license will have a website. Find the page that shows that you are licensed and copy and past the url into your site and create a link to make it easier for your visitors to find… more credibility for you and if your competition didn’t take the time to do this simple step, their visitors maybe wonder why, don’t you think?

Your certifications and affiliations may also provide you with the best possible links for your site. Which is as it should be… as you build credibility with your customers, you also build credibility with search engines. Hmmm… those search engines are getting pretty smart, eh?

Now, if you haven’t done it already, do some searches for your line of business and then add some geographic modifiers. I bet there are some folks working pretty hard to improve your industry. Support them… your customers will appreciate it and so will they. And let me know what you find out; I’d love to hear about it.

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