I'm writing this Blog post because I'm fed up with our customers getting mis-information about how to make money on the Internet, so read on because I'm going to set the record straight and tell you how it's done.

Last week myself and my business partner, Trevor Kenney, gave a presentation in Mandurah to a group of business owners discussing the "Top 5 myths about Business on the Internet" at the invitation of one of our great customers Supernova Computers.

We had a great time and the event was a fantastic success with some great presenters talking about how technology can help small business. I'm telling you about this because many of the questions we were asked highlighted to us that there is a thirst amongst business owners for practical ways to do business in the technology age - also that there is very much a lot of myths around.

From my personal experience there is no more cost effective or truly amazing way to make sales and get leads than via the Internet. Your probably thinking "Of course he's gonna say that, that's what he's selling" Well there's some truth in that but closer to reality is that's why I'm in this game.

Here's the SECRET to making money on the Internet for YOUR business!

If you tick all these boxes you will not fail. Pure and simple, that's it! These are the steps required. I'm telling you this because if all our customers succeed so do we and I love hearing about our customers success, it is what we are here for.

I was talking to one of our customers on Monday and he wanted a strategy to market via the internet to some new markets he wanted to break into. He was doing this because of the success he had already achieved locally. I asked him how many enquiries did he currently get from his website a day, he said 3 to 8. I said how many converted to sales, he paused and asked his manager, his manager said about 1 in 3! Awesome! I love it... Imagine what 2 sales a day extra would do to your business' bottom line. If his average sale was 2k this mean't he was getting 4k average per day in sales that's 20k per week and that's over 1 million per annum in additional turnover from a marketing activity that was costing him $19 per day! A very measurable and trackable sales c hannel that works 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

So I hear you saying, "alright already get to the point, how do I do it for my business?" Ok here it is:

1 - Good content on your webpage

This means you need to make sure that the information on your website is relevant to the customers you want to attract. Make it informative and unique to your business. Google will recognise your site as a relevant authority and will boost your rankings. If you haven't got the time or the inclination to write this yourself GET HELP - but the main thing is don't just have a stagnant boring website, you know your business so tell everyone about it, but make sure it's what your customers need and want to know. Be honest with yourself, if you read your website at the moment is it compelling? Would it make you want to do business with you?

2 - Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

This is probably the topic that raises the most questions amongst our customers and it's easy to see why, there is so much rubbish out there at the moment. So called experts calling from overseas promising page one rankings for $50 a year blah blah blah.... Think about it, if it only cost $50 a year wouldn't everyone do it? and if so, why aren't they all number 1 on Google. Well the answer is it doesn't and they can't, it's a scam so BEWARE!

Good SEO is strategic and individualised, it takes brains and it takes good technology. You need a strategist to analyse your particular circumstance, develop a program for your business and most importantly it takes time.... expect to wait at least 3 months for significant action, but when it kicks in, you'll wonder why you didn't start years ago.

3 - Pay Per Click (PPC)

When you use Google this is the search results to the right and top of the page with the words "sponsored Listings" above them. These listings cost every time they are clicked and you bid for certain keywords, when these keywords are searched on google your ad appears if it's relevant to the searcher. This is the simplistic overview, in fact effective use of PPC advertising once again involves strategy, analysis and most importantly, TESTING. Many a business has wasted good money on PPC without knowing what they were doing, but done correctly it can bring instant traffic to your website. This is often used as an immediate way to get customers to your website while your SEO program takes hold.

4 - Conversions and Call to Action

Everyone will promise you hits to your website and I say to them... So what! I want paying customers, I want leads, who cares how many people come to your website if they don't buy from you or enquire with you what's the point? Your website needs to have the "calls to action" that entices customers or prospects to buy from you or send you an email via your website. The message or the offer needs to be compelling and you need to have the ability for them to do so, either a good e-commerce system that YOU can manage and the appropriate email forms for them to complete and submit. Only then is your website and Internet marketing strategy givi ng you a return on your investment.

5 - Educate yourself

When you went into business there was a heap to learn, accounts, sales, management and the list goes on, Internet based marketing is no different, YOU need to learn how to control this channel and make it work for your business. But you need the advice and tools to be able to do this, you hire an accountant, staff, advisors etc. for other facets of your business, this is no different. The rewards in doing so are truly amazing when you do.

So now what??? Thanks for the info what do I do with it?

Well here's the sales bit from me. We can help you, we've done it for ourselves and we do it for our customers everyday, but I still get asked why haven't you told us about this before? Well now I have but it's a collaborative and strategic process, it requires YOU as the business owner to want it, it's not magic and it's not some secret art but like everything it requires expertise, education and time.

Myself and my team are here to help, all you need to do is ask.

Best Regards,

Steven Donald
Managing Director
Webarena
Call 1300 GET ONLINE or got to www.webarena.com.au or email info@webarena.com.au