Many small business owners have a misconception regarding internet marketing. They believe that having an online presence is not needed since they only sell their products or services locally. This type of belief could not be further from the reality. Studies show that 90% of people research a product or service online before they ever decide to use it. This statistic alone should teach a person that an online presence is needed for expanding a small business. This does not mean a small business owner should just slap up a website and call it fine. So where does one get started?

Let's take for example a local shoes store. A website that has the purpose of furthering a small business needs to be well thought out. If a business owner plans to build the website themselves it would be wise to start at the beginning. This means picking out a website template that is associated with the kind of business one does. So if the business is selling Dansko shoes, the website should not look too "corporate". Second, don't overwhelm the initial page with too much information. The first page should be used to announce the business and provide a reason why a potential customer should choose them over the competition. Other pages of the website should showcase contact information, testimonials and other useful and similar information. These elements should make a adequate start to a website.

Since such an overwhelming number of people research information online, having a website is truly important to growing a small business. There is usually small amounts of rivalry online for small and local businesses. Being the first business with a website presence will always give you the edge on your competition. In our discount Dansko shoes example, this isn't possible anymore, as competition is fierce. This is because search engines like Google give priority to websites that have been operated for a longer lengths of time. This is why even having a basic website is needed for every small business operator.

If a business owner has no experience building websites it is possible to appoint a webmaster that understands how to craft a website for growing a small business. They will better the site to be found in search engines for whatever business one is in. Many business owners have discovered that most of their customers have come from online advertising efforts. Once a business owner has a satisfying website they will want to consider other types of online advertising. This mightcomprise of pay per click advertising or online press releases. The best recommendation is to hire a person that can manage all of this for the business in order to leave the business owner time for what ever they do best.