Every company, regardless of size or business model, can benefit from a strategically planned web presence. A web presence includes a company’s entire web initiative from a corporate website and marketing on the Internet to Intranets/Extranets, web applications and promotional websites. A web presence can begin with a simple five-page website and evolve into a complex web store or database-driven portal.

Web initiatives should be integrated into business and marketing plans at every stage of growth. Regardless of initial budget, a web presence should be considered as a series of web projects and phases. First, build the simplest, most cost-effective elements, beginning with what is most important to customers.

Improving Business and Marketing Communications Via a Website
While planning, ask the following questions of current customers, support staff, the sales team and prospects:

• Does the company’s web presence effectively represent the business?
• Does the web presence support sales and marketing initiatives?
• What differentiates the company from the competition? Does the web presence highlight the company’s competitive advantage?
• What information is most important to customers/prospects/employees/potential employees? What can be added or changed to give prospects and consumers what they need?
• What information can be provided to reduce the sales cycle?
• Who and why do customers/prospects/employees/potential employees call? What questions do they ask? Can these questions be answered on the web?
• What problems do customers/prospects/employees experience? Can these problems be alleviated through the web?
• Do the web initiatives generate business/leads/sales? What can be done on the web to increase sales?
• Can the web better support the sales team?

Budget for the following:
Domain Name Registration—$35 per year.
A domain name or URL is the name with which a company can be found on the Internet. Domain names can be purchased from Network Solutions. Buy the simplest and most memorable name for the company.

Hosting—$150 per year to $3,000 per month.
The cost of hosting a site on a server is based on the size of the site, its database and possible traffic, and typically includes email.

Internet Marketing—$1,000 per year to $10,000 per month
To receive a return on investment, the largest proportion of the initial web budget should be devoted to marketing, specifically search engine marketing. Hire an experienced search engine marketing agency to optimize the website for improved placement on the search engines.
Manually submit the website to the major search engines and directories. Depending on budget, pay for inclusion or submit through free services. Yahoo’s directory, for example, charges an annual fee. Additionally, consider submitting to the FAST and Inktomi networks through Lycos.com.

Purchase pay-per-click advertising for specific keyword phrases through Google, Overture, FindWhat and Ah-Ha.

Website statistics—$45 per year to $150 per month
To monitor the effectiveness of web initiatives, purchase and use a browser-based web analytic tool. Many hosting packages come with some form of server-side web statistics but these can be cumbersome. Find a user-friendly tool that is accessible through the web 24/7, that provides real-time and historical data on visitors including:

• How a visitor found the site (specific search engines, bookmark, links);
• What keyword phrase the visitor used;
• The number of unique vs. repeat visitors;
• The entry points and navigation path of visitors;
• The amount of time each visitor spent on specific pages; and
• Return-on-investment measurement tools.

Setting Web Project Objectives
Before beginning the web project, set clear objectives for each phase. Sample project objectives include increased sales leads and decreased support calls .
Based on project objectives, begin to develop a list of desired pages, design elements, features and functions. See what competitors are doing. Check out what companies in similar industries are doing. Take notes on websites.
Decide on the content for the website. Basic pages include the following.

Home page—A home page must immediately tell visitors exactly what the company does and why they should continue navigating the site over millions of websites that offer the same thing.

About Us page(s)—The “about us” page helps to develop trust and legitimacy in the impersonal World Wide Web. It also differentiates the company from the competition.

Product/services page(s)—This page(s) should include detailed information about products and/or services. Don’t assume everyone is aware of the benefits the company provides versus the competition.

News and articles page(s)—To keep visitors coming back to the site, continue to add useful news and information, include press releases, industry news and events, and articles.

Contact us page(s) and form(s)—Make it easy for visitors to contact the company by predominantly displaying contact information. Give visitors various ways of contacting the company, such as a simple contact form.

Directions—Cut down on telephone calls drastically by simply including the office location and directions with a map.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)—FAQs can help visitors find exactly what they are looking for when they are looking for it—without having to navigate through the site. FAQs cut down on customer service calls by directing existing and prospective customers to the FAQ section of the website. Finally, static (non-database) FAQs are extremely keyword rich and help boost positioning on the search engines.

Links to industry resources—Links to and from the website can include educational resources, non-competing websites and associations.

Site map—A site map clearly maps out the navigation scheme of the website to allow visitors to find things three or four clicks into the site. Don’t forget to update the site map when adding pages.

When planning the content, don’t assume everyone the company and what it does. Make sure all pages clearly explain the business, site navigation, and include a call to action. Calls to action should be based on the website’s goals. For example, if one goal is having visitors fill out a request for quote form, the copy should say, “Please request a quote today” with a link to that page.

Next, decide on functionality that makes sense to the business and customers.

E-Commerce Functionality
E-commerce websites allow financial transactions online any time of the day or night. Will e-commerce benefit the business?

Again, answer these questions:

• How can the site serve customers better?
• How can the site help to acquire new customers?
• How can the web forward operational goals?

What will drive traffic to the site and keep them coming back? E-commerce does not have to be used for the purchasing and does not have to include real time credit card processing (or credit card processing at all for that matter). E-commerce can include:

• Online contributions by check or money order to a non-profit organization;
• Ticket sales for events using a peer-to-peer payment option, such as PayPal; and
• Bills payment for customers through wire transfers.

Database and Web Applications
Various database and web applications can help increase the effectiveness of the website as a business and marketing tool if planned correctly.
Many products, duplicate information or information that changes often can be stored in a database to improve efficiency and accessibility. Web applications can include:

• Customized content management tools include:
• Content management tools are generally interfaces that easily update the content and pictures of a website without affecting the design elements.
  Online surveys and reporting tools
• Online survey tools can be used to tally the opinions of current customers, past customers and/or web visitors. Surveys also can be great promotional tools for collecting contact information and email addresses.
• Opt-in email marketing systems—Give customers and prospects the option of receiving information from the company. Store contact information in a database.
  Send ongoing emails as a cost-effective direct marketing tool. Many e-mail marketing systems handle the management of the database by automatically removing bounces or opt-outs.
• Employment opportunities and resumé database—Allow web visitors to apply for current job openings by filling out a form or uploading a resumé. The resumés can be stored in a searchable database.
• Message boards and live chat—Message boards and live chats are great, non-threatening, communication tools. Allow customers or prospects to communicate through a live chat interface. Offer customers or employees a message board as a way to communicate with each other.
• Web-enabled calendars—Online calendars can help employees (especially sales staff) keep track of each other’s schedules. Online calendars can be set up to send email reminders and upload to PDAs.
  An Internet professional or web consultant can assist in determining the necessary level of functionality and how or when to incorporate it. Most agencies also will develop a budget and calculate the return on investment.

Consider including:

• a search mechanism;
• online training/webinars;
• online flash presentations or demos;
• a product slide show and 360° product pictures; and virtual tours.

Web Design, Development and Maintenance
Understand the importance of design—The design of the website is the most important element of web presence. A site should be clean, fast loading, and easy to navigate.
Meet user’s needs and expectations—A corporate website should cater to its audience providing the information prospects are looking for and meeting the needs of customers.
Effectively represent the company—A website should be professionally designed and written.
Build a search engine-friendly website—Avoid building a site in Frames, Flash, all graphics or with all dynamically driven content.
Focus on the copy—The site's design establishes tone but the words should convince visitors to keep reading and to take action. Review the copy and rewrite often.
Drive traffic—Promote the website. Put the web address everywhere. Market the site on search engines and directories. Begin an opt-in email marketing campaign.
Plan for growth—Redesign and restructure the web presence at least every two to three years.
Creating a website is a major investment in time and money—do not waste it on a site that projects the wrong image. Customers today are more sophisticated and demanding. They expect certain things from a company's website. The second a site shows up in someone's browser, the company is evaluated. What prospects and customers see defines the company. Avoid the temptation of putting up a bad website just for the sake of having one. It will waste time and cost money and customers in the long run.

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