I often see many small businesses with websites that are working against them more then they are helping them. The reason for your site is to HELP, not hurt your business! There are many things that can push away potential customers when or if they even find your site!

~ The first challenge is getting a potential customer to find you! This will depend on a couple things and it can be affected by your domain name you choose. Yes, just the domain!

Many people use direct navigation to find a specific companies site as this is becoming the norm for a company to have it’s matching "name" as it’s domain name ending in .com .

So if your company name doesn’t match your domain name ending in .com, you have one thing working against you! Yes, this even means if your main company name is XYZ and your domain name has XYZCO.com or LLC or INC added to the end and your common way of speaking your company name. If this is the case, you should reconsider your domain or forking over the money it may take to purchase the perfect domain.

~ Another way potential customers may try and find your website is using a search engine like Google.com, Yahoo.com etc . Again, the customers are likely to search for your company name. Since most company names are pretty unique, it should be pretty easy to rank well (be listed in the top 10 of the search results) for that specific term. If your site does not, you have something working against you!

These customer searches can also be for specific products you offer, services you offer and so on. These will be a little harder to rank for, as it’s like "other" sites will be fighting for those same spots, but you CAN rank for these terms in one way or another. It’s either going to take hard work via SEO and knowing what customers are searching for (use Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool), paying for advertising via Google Adwords for the keywords you want to rank for and that people are searching for, using a blog on your site to help your "activity" on your site or using affiliate programs for your products or services.

~ Branding and Marketing can affect the way a potential customer finds your site. Let’s say your website has not all that "great" of a domain name. It’s hard to spell, maybe contains a hyphen, is not a popular TLD (.com, .net, .org) or simply doesn’t explain your company, service or products you offer just by looking at the domain….

You can use a catchy, call-to-action domain name and simply use domain name forwarding (URL Redirection) to your main site. A call-to-action domain name could be a generic product or service style domain. If you sell computers and happen to own Computers.com, but your company name is Computer Joes LLC with your main sites domain as ComputerJoes.com.. using Computers.com not only explains what your company offers, it’s easy to remeber, spell and is powerfull simply by looking at it! Just because you have a website, doesn’t mean you can’t have more then one domain name working for you!

Running promotions and so on, you can use specific domain names that make sense to go along with them. This will also help for tracking reasons to see how effective your marketing is. URL Redirection can also be used when you own typo versions of your main domain name so you do not lose traffic, for plural and singular versions etc.

Be sure to Always include your domain name when you can! Business Cards, Letterhead, T-Shirts, Print Advertising, TV, Radio, Promotional Products, Product Packaging etc.

~ Function! Now that your potential customer has found your site, don’t allow them to leave right away because your function is really bad! You have about 30 seconds or less from when somebody lands on your site, to keep them there for awhile.

The first thing to worry about is your sites Speed! Having a bunch of "junk" on your site can really slow a web server down. Flash, large images, poor coding and going cheap with your website hosting package are common things that create slow loading sites. If your site loads slow, it’s likely your visitor is going to click right back out.

One thing I think many site owners do not do very often, is visit there own site and "be the customer". This can bring up things that should be fixed or moved.

~ Links and Tabs. Make sure they are clear and Work! Using images that appear as a Link or Tab is not a good idea. Put your most popular items or services near the top and left as that is the hottest spot on your site.

If the majority of your website traffic is "local" make sure your content matches that. Store hours, prices (do not be affraid to post them), contact information and directions are key.

Offer "daily deals" or coupons on your site to help keep people coming back! After putting all your hard work into your site, you want people to use it.. so having a very static site is not always the best. Update your content offen, and EVERY site should contain a blog.

~ Design! This is important and a very fine line… You do not want to have a late 90’s look but you also do not want to go over the top. Keep things clean, tone done colors a little and just make it look professional. This includes your logo!

~ Scripts. So many scripts are available to purchase at very fair prices. If you are looking for a specific "function" it is very likely there is a script available to purchase to add to your site. Heck, A LOT of these are even free! Keep your monthly fee’s low, as many times it’s best to use your own script.

Make sure your website is working For You and Not Against You! I basically scratched the surface for things that will help your website grow and work for you but most of the above should greatly help your site. If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to ask. Just use the contact link on the top of the page, post a comment here or contact me here.