The importance of a web presence for small businesses

In this day and age, everyone needs a presence on the 'net. Particularly small businesses.

There's no excuse. The Internet has been active for over 16 years, and has been mainstream for at least a decade. Broadband is near-ubiquitous, and web hosting for postcard-type websites is pennies a day.

I am:

• Very busy
• Always connected to the Internet
• Have very specific needs
• impatient
• Expect to be able to communicate from anywhere, to anywhere

This leads me to conclude one thing:

"If you're not on the Internet, you're missing out on a significant fraction of your possible business: the fraction that's particularly interested in finding you".

This is not out of arrogance, elitism or spite. It's just the truth. I didn't just come to this conclusion out of nowhere. I have examples!

Recently, Tasha and I were ring-shopping. It's nearly wedding time, and we thought we'd get that out of the way. Most of the jewelers that we searched on the net for didn't have websites. For the purposes of my argument, we'll assume that a 'Coming Soon' site that's been up since 2005 is *not* a website. A few did. Can you guess where we eventually went? That's right. It was: walk-in, 'I want that one', find ring size, swipe card, walk-out matter. Easy.

Window-shopping -- except for a few particular items like desks, chairs, and laptop computers -- is tiresome and unnecessary most of the time. Particularly when I'm in the middle of another task.

One this era's more mundane challenges is figuring out how to make getting on the Internet workable for the lots of small businesses who don't have a web presence. The problem is not cost (shared webhosting is cheap) but teaching the understanding of how using the web can improve a business, and where to find the technical skill necessary to understand the needs of being found on the web.

Web-based business directory services exist (indeed, they're a dime a dozen), but many are scams: they call you up, ask for your info, send you a bill for the privilege, *And* serve ads to make money from your listing.

There are a number of problems with relying on web-based business directories instead of a definitive website about your business:

• Cost. Business directories attempt to bill you for an amount that is far more than the cost of a year's web hosting. Multiply this by half a dozen directory services, and this represents a significant amount of money. I've heard anecdotal evidence of directory services that charge you to edit or remove your data, not to add it. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to understand why this is a bad thing.
• You don't have a 'definitive online presence'. Searching through directory services finds frequently-outdated contact information and clicking in circles through advertising-infested jungles. The result is frustrated customers who associate the frustration with your business.
• Your business doesn't profit from inbound linking. Since modern web search engine technology put partial weight on the number of links to your site, you gain no benefit from links to directory entries.
• The business directories use their brand, not yours. A website offers you the chance to make your business more prominent in the minds of people searching for it.