1.  A Local small businesses won’t need a website.

Incorrect! More than 30% of all Internet search activity is “local” and is the fastest growing segment of online activity! Your visibility online is now a crucial component in growing your business.

2.  Your competition isn’t online – so I don’t need to be.

If your local competitors are not online then this presents a huge opportunity for you. Most businesses have some sort of online presence however your competition may have a very simple web site or may not have considered search engine optimisation so no one can find their website. Again another huge opportunity for you. If you're not online and visible, you're simply missing a huge opportunity – it’s not difficult to sort out.

3.  Website “hits” are the most important measure of success online.

“Hits” don’t mean anything if they are not local, relevant prospects which convert into buyers. Concentrate on driving real results – in the form of local leads, ready-to-buy prospects, phone calls and conversions.

4.  Building a website will bring new customers and leads.

“If you build it, they will come” unfortunately doesn’t apply. Building a website is only half the formula, making it visible is the other half. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an important part of any web presence but often not considered by businesses unfamiliar with the concept. Before and after the graphic design stage of a website project there will be some important steps to take in order to make your new site search friendly.

5.  Registering with hundreds of search engines will help me.

Remember; 95% of all search is conducted on just five search engines, 75% of UK searches are through Google alone. If you’re not focusing on doing the right things to be indexed (listed) and promoted in Google then you are missing your biggest opportunity.

6.  Running your own pay-per-click campaign will bring the best results.

Attempting to run a PPC campaign requires resources most businesses owners don’t have; time, money and experience. Very expensive mistakes can be made – don’t let this important investment in your business get managed by someone without the expertise and knowledge required to maximise your return.  

7.  Having your “friend” or a family member design your website is cost-effective

Unless you friend or family member is a professional designer or developer it will probably hinder rather than help. Unfortunately, experience proves that depending on friends or family members usually results in a) long, continuous delays, and b) ineffective ongoing support. Leave this responsibility to proven, accountable website design professionals. 

8.  The Internet is not secure and not a trusted resource.

The internet used to be a place where only those that were very brave handed out their credit card details and a source of much spurious information. These days your customers will be using the internet for all manner of everyday tasks and most likely as the primary resource for information and research. If your customers are there then you need to be there supplying the information and services to them that they will expect.

9.  I can create website content by copying information and pictures from elsewhere.

Despite the issues around copyright there is another very good reason that copying information is not a good idea. Google (and other search engines) are very hot on only listing unique information. If your site is seen to be displaying ‘duplicate content’ the likes of Google will ignore your pages and possibly your whole website so it will not appear in its search returns. If you cannot create unique web content for any reason then get a website copywriting professional to do this for you as taking shortcuts in this are rarely pay off.

10.  Internet marketing is expensive.

Just the opposite! Internet marketing (if done properly) can be the most efficient advertising available to businesses today. The “pay-per-click” (or “PPC”) model used by search engines only charge you if your ad receives a response. It is fully accountable and measurable in terms of results – in the forms that are most valuable; clicks, phone calls and leads.