YOUR BRAND, YOUR POWER (Part 2) - by Yemi Ogunshola, Editor/Webmaster

The Next Level

These days few people have been left untouched by the power of the internet.

When building a corporate website, it is essential that it reflects your brand. The internet experience is a journey in itself, and the earlier one begins, then the quicker and more effective are the results. Register as many domain names as possible, select a good hosting company (preferably one which specializes in internet marketing), build websites in accordance with genre (category), optimize the sites with the search engines and directories, and watch your sales, services, and activities soar.

On the world-wide-web, traffic (web visitors) is key to everything. Many websites are like phantoms hanging in space, lucky to receive a few clicks now and then. At best, too many websites often seem like mere extensions of business cards!

A website should be found naturally by internet users. Nowadays, internet users can be numbered in several billions. The easiest way to find sites is via search engines. Last autumn (November 2007) a Microsoft adCenter survey carried out in the UK reflected that more than 60 % of small businesses made no investment in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). But companies which did so reported over 75 % growth in sales and activity. Peter Scargill of the Federation of Small Businesses was quoted as concluding “… creating a website is absolutely pointless if no one can find it.” Billions of dollars have been invested in sites which cannot be found.

Your site is your brand, your power. Investing in Search Engine marketing, website promotions, combined with caring for and updating your site are all crucial.