1

Twitter/Flickr

Use #ueny

2

My Entrepreneur Story

3

Online Tools Used by Small Business

•Network Solutions – University of Maryland Small Business Success index http://growsmartbusiness.com

64%

53%

39%

36%

35%

31%

30%

26%

25%

21%

20%

17%

16%

14%

69%

65%

48%

41%

37%

42%

40%

35%

38%

25%

30%

31%

21%

19%

Online customer service by email

Company website

Online advertising in industry/public directories

Shared network

Ability for employees to communicate with each other online

Ability to demonstrate products/services online

Ability for customers to order your products/services online

Search engine optimization plan

Online advertising that places ads on various sites

Security features on website

Ability for customers to pay for products/services online

Social media presence

Online customer service using chat capabilities

Area of website where customers can get info on transactions with your organization

Have now2 Year Potential*

Use of/Need for Various Internet Business Solutions (n=500)

% ChangeHave now

from Wave 1

+4

+3

+1

0

+2

+2

+4

+3

+2

+4

+3

+5

+4

0

4

Shoppers search online before making a purchase on the web

• Can you be found?

• Search Engines

• Are there conversations about your business

• Google Alerts

• Word of Mouth >> Word of Mouse*

• Reviews of your business Yelp, Amazon etc

•Thank you David Meerman Scott

5

Online Presence Strategy

Your personal brand Connecting with customers Community outreach Get new business

6

Internet Technologies Check ListInternet Technologies Check List

Domain Name

Email

Company Website:

Online customer service

Search Engine Optimization plan

Online advertising in public directories

Employees can communicate with each other online

Ability for customers to order service online

Ability for customers to pay online

Website security features

Social Media presence

July 28, 20096 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

7

The Right Domain Name Matters

• Distinguish yourself• Keep it easy to remember• You cannot teach your visitors to spell

8

Time to outgrow your Avatar

• Still hanging on to your old college email?

• Customers may not buy from hotguy662@anyxyz.com

• While they trust reviews of strangers customers want transparency

Picture Credit : CC Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/minako_bracken/3096906279/

• Get Email with your Personal or Business Brand

9

What is a Website ? Nowadays?

10

And a 10yr old built this

11

Websites

• Do it yourself − Learn Html, PHP, ASP, Cold Fusion, MySQL− Use a Web Site Builder tool− Use open source – WordPress etc

• Hire a professional Referrals Local Firms Marketplaces like Odesk, Elance, Guru.com

12

Content

• What are your users looking for ?• Keep the navigation simple• Call to action – Buy, Subscribe• Update often• Catch up on trends

http://www.Google.com/trends http://Search.twitter.com

• Keyword research http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ www.keyworddiscovery.com/ http://quintura.com/

• Your own Sent mailbox

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Online Advertising: Open Doors to a Broader Audience

July 28, 200913 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

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Online Demos and Self Service Tools

July 28, 200914 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

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Where Do you Rank in a Google Search?

July 28, 200915 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

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Key Takeaway

• You should have your own branded web presence• Build on the web presence as your needs grow• Expand it by making use of other channels like Social media

Tips•Start early•Update regularly•User experience trumps anything else•Keep it simple

17

Small Business Web Hosting - business in a box

• Domain name , email and website• Blogs, Community software, audio video podcast, Storage

space• Online Marketing, SEO & online stores• Monitoring tools & Analytics• Security Seals and Certs

18

Surprise ! Network Solutions offers many of these products

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Tips: Analyze Your Website

• Free Tools to do it yourself:http://seotoolset.com

http://seomoz.org

http://sitening.com

http://tools.seobook.com (The SEO toolbar for Firefox)

http://pagerankbot.com

No time to do it yourself? Ask a Network Solutions expert for help.

July 28, 200919 Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber

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GrowSmartBusiness.com

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GrowSmartBiz Conference : Sept 29th

Join us on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., for a one-day educational conference and networking event featuring

renowned small business leaders and well-known industry

http://Growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-conference

22

Questions ?

• Shashi Bellamkonda shashib@networksolutions.com• Small Business Success Index

http://GrowSmartBusiness.com• Network Solutions Blog : http://blog.networksolutions.com• Web Community Network : http://www.LinkTogether.com• Small Business Network : http://www.MySolutionSpot.com• Personal Blogs:

Technology & Social Media: http://www.shashi.name Digital Thoughts: http://readythoughts.blogspot.com Restaurant Reviews: http://www.carryoncurry.com