Small Business is Not A Small Business Forever

July 16th, 2008
by Marsha Maung

Don't be one of those people who think that, just because their business serves locals, they don't need a website or don't need to promote their websites on the Internet. You'll be missing out on a lot if you don't promote your small business website in the Internet arena...and I am telling you why in this article.

While it's true that there is no immediate need for your small business website to reach a large audience at that point in time, here are a couple of things you might want to consider.

Your business is small now but will it be small forever?
When I came up with the idea of a bigger website, a blog and the possibility of posting articles on revelant subects for a client of mine, this is what she said to me, "Oh, but mine is just such a small business! I don't need all of that....and furthermore, all I have is this small little corner in the middle of no where and stuff like that", she laughs off my idea.

You would think that it's probably a budget idea but I know for a fact that it's not because she's rolling around in dough while all of us out here are rolling around begging for them. The problem wasn't money, the problem was, she felt that it was too small to warrant web presence! No business is too small to be deserving of a website or blog of their own! If a baby or a pet dog is deserving of a website or blog of its own, much less a small business!

Ecommerce is always an option
With the convenience of being able to shop online catching on, some people start off their websites with complete ecommerce capabilities without planning ahead the how, when, where, who and why of everything. While it's not wrong for business owners to do that, if you're a small business with an equally small budget, you can probably hold the whole infrastructure thing until a little later.

But eventually, I would say, you would want to explore the ecommerce side of things! For instance, one fine day, you might have a couple of customers who loved your hand-made bags so much that they recommended your bags to their cousins who lived on another side of the country. And you'd be thinking to yourself, "Oh damn! If I had that ecommerce thing set up, this would have been a no-brainer".

Yes, you're right about that.

Optimize your website for the local market
Now, here's the funny thing! People think that the moment you say SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, it often mean worldwide marketing, everyone's going to know your name (and the name of your small business isn't even CHEERS) and that you're going to get orders from Maldives the moment you start promoting your small business online!

No, no, no!

It doesn't have to be that way, let me frank with you. I mean, if you have the International exposure, it's great, it's fab and let's open the wine bottle but if it doesn't, you're a small business, who cares, right? But did you know that you can narrow down the market the way you can narrow down the exposure for your advertising campaign. If you're running the business strictly in New York, then market your small business for New York handbags. If you're selling cupcakes in Miami, go for Miami home-made cupcakes internet order.

You get the picture.

So, you see, it's not true that when you have a small business you don't need search engine marketing. In fact, if and when you're ready for a bigger market, at the very least the foundation is there. Light the rocket and off the ship goes, you know what I mean?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marsha Maung is a renowned (ahem!) freelance writer who is based in Malaysia, who ghost blogs, writes web content, website copy, advert copy and SEO stuff for her clients. She's been doing this for the past 9 years and counting and is kinda wishing she didn't have to write about menopause or kayak-making for a change. She's, after all, one of the most kick-ass SEO writer in Asia for now (until someone kicks her off the chart) and loves the idea of putting food on the table...so. Marsha actively and passionately contributes to http://www.contentmagician.com as well.

For more info on Marsha, visit http://www.marshamaung.com. For the drying of dirty laundry on the life and times of a freelance writer and mother, visit her blog at http://marshamaung.blogspot.com