A web site for your small business. How to make it work?

Many small business owners are still confused about how to establish their presence on the Web- particularly what kind of a website they need and what to expect from it. Some think it’s enough just to put up a plain website with their company’s information, some are looking for a sophisticated lead generation tool that they expect to increase sales.Truth is, unless you’re not directly involved in E-commerce, you should be concentrating less on selling and more on communicating with your potential customers- engaging them and making them interested in your company.  That’s especially true with B2B companies,. A good example might be T.M. International that sells Blasting Mats, Ballistic Shield , and bomb explosion protection equipment.  Clearly it’s not a company that sells its products online. They are looking for clients with very specific needs and have to make sure that their website provides all information that their clients might be looking for.How can a small company achieve it? By making sure they don’t miss any of the following steps:1.    Identify your audience.Build what is known as “personas” – a general description of who you customers are. Remember even if you’re involved in B2B relationship it’s not companies- it’s people who work there who make decisions. You have to understand who these people are and what they are looking for.    2.    Build your website around the identified personas. Your website doesn’t exist for your personal amusement. A lot of business owners still judge their websites in terms of “I like it or I don’t”. While their opinion should be taken into consideration, the ultimate goal is to engage your audience. So it’s THEM (not anyone else) who must have the final word. If you like your website and they don’t – it’s not working and never will be.Also stay away from templates. They are not built with your specific needs in mind. Using just a “theme website” would negate any idea of reaching out to your target audience. In other words, if you want to build “just a website” you’ll be looked upon and perceived as “just a company”. 3.    State your message clearly.Once you determined what your clients are looking for, state your solution clearly on your website. People who visit it should be instantly aware of what you offer and why are different from anyone else.Also if you have any awards or you’re listed with BBB display it prominently. It always helps increase your conversion rate.4.    Make sure people can contact you. Don’t hide your contact information – including your phone number and address. For communications via email do not just show your email address- use online forms. Try to collect as much information as possible – name, last name, company, phone number, email address, company’s website, comments, etc. You don’t have to force people to fill out all fields- just make sure that the most important ones such as the name and contact information are mandatory. That would help you keep in touch with those prospects. Don’t forget to ask them if they would like to receive news and emails from you.5.    Make sure people can find you.Establish what keywords people might be using to find your company. Be very specific. You can effectively use only up to 3 or 4 keyword phrases that describe your company. It should not be just your business name. It should include your services or products plus your geographic location. For example if you’re serving NY and NJ, any leads from, let’s say, LA area will definitely be worthless to you.Optimize your website for these keyword phrases. Make sure you’re listed in all local search engines (including Google, Yahoo, Bing local searches) as well as in local directories   6.    And in the end, monitor your efforts. Install Google Analytics or any other statistics software. Monitor your traffic, including keyword performance and traffic sources.