You bit the bullet. You set up a Web site because new prospects and existing customers kept asking you for your Web site address. Then, too, there were all those stories you kept hearing about small companies bringing in significant business through their Web sites. So, you paid a Web developer thousands of dollars to put your business on the Web, or spent countless hours of your own time learning enough about the Web and about html to put up the site yourself.

But your site's been up a couple of months and you haven't gotten a single sale you can trace to the Web site. What happened? What's wrong? What do you need to do to make your Web site start bringing you business? Here are several tips that will help you fine tune your site to make it a more effective marketing tool.

Make Sure Your Site Looks Professional
Take a hard, cold look at your site—or ask a friend who will be brutally honest to look at the site. Does it look professional? Are the graphics professional-quality and clear? Are the fonts, font sizes, and font colors used in a consistent way? Or does your site include design flaws like these that immediately mark it as an amateur production:

• Photos that are squeezed or stretched out of proportion

• Multiple elements on the page that are blinking, bouncing, scrolling or turning in circles

• Multiple styles of type used for headlines and body copy

• Colored background graphics or textures that make it difficult to read the type

• Background graphics that are inappropriate for the content of the site (eg.: bubbles on a site selling bookkeeping services)

• Text blocks that are out of alignment

First impressions matter on the Web, just as they do anywhere else. And, the first impression your site makes should be one of professionalism and appropriateness for the markets you serve.

Don't Use the Name of Your Company as the Web page Title
Every Web page has a windows-style title bar. The title that appears in that title bar is determined by what you include in the title "tag" in the html code for the page. You or your Web site designer may want to make the name of your company the title of the page.

That's not a good idea, however, unless the name of your business includes a descriptive term that someone looking for your services would search for to find what you sell. The reason: Search engines place heavy emphasis on the words in the title bar. Like the text on your page, the closer the text in the title bar matches the term a Web surfer is searching for, the higher your site will rank when the results of the search are displayed. So, if your company name is non-descriptive and little known, leave it out of the title page, or put it at the end of the title.  

Don't Let Your Home Page Be a Flash Presentation
Flash is a technology that allows you to put animated presentations and demos on the Web. Designers love it because it shows off their multimedia skills, to say nothing of increasing the amount they can charge for the site. Business owners often think it makes their site look impressive and make their businesses appear to be on the cutting edge.

But, Flash presentations can make your Web page take a long time to load. Search engines don't pick them up, and they often annoy visitors who come to your site for product information or facts in a hurry, not entertainment. If you have a product or service that benefits from an animated demonstration, make that one of the choices on your home page (e.g.: "Watch a demo.") Don't make the Flash presentation the entire home page. And if your products or services don't need an animated demo, don't use the technology at all.

Focus the Home Page & Product Pages on Your Customers' Interests, Not Yours
You're proud of your business and your accomplishments. (As you should be.) So, it's tempting to write a lengthy description of your business accomplishments and run it on your home page with a big photo of yourself, your building and/or your employees, saying, "We're here to serve you." But prospects and customers aren't coming to your site to learn about all the great things you've accomplished. They're coming to your site to find out what you sell and how it will help them.

Get their attention with benefits-oriented headline and text. The headline should make clear what you do and suggest a benefit. For example, "Fast, accurate transcription for Monroe County Medical Offices and Hospitals," or "Phone systems that grow with your business."

Don't toss out that company information, though. After you interest the customer in your products or services, they may want to know more about your company before deciding to do business with you. So, if the purpose of your Web site is to sell your product or services, make the company information a link off your home page, not the focal point of the home page.

Avoid a Cluttered Look
If you sell multiple products, you want them all to be found. And if you are being billed by the number of "pages" on your Web site, you may want to keep costs down. But don't try to squeeze dozens of images or product descriptions on a single page. The page will look cluttered and make it difficult for visitors to find the products or information they want.

Instead, put small photos of a few of your best-sellers or most representative products on the home page, and then have links to other products in your catalog. Break up the links into logical categories. For instance, if you sell sandals, you might have categories for women's sandals, men's sandals, and children's sandals. If you sell footwear, you might have pages for men's footwear, women's footwear and children's footwear, and then break down each of those pages into categories such as sneakers, shoes and sandals.

Minimize Graphic Sizes to Make Sure Your Pages Load Quickly
Photos and other graphic images make your pages look appealing and help illustrate what you sell. So, they are important to include. But don’t let the size of graphics slow down your Web site. In most cases, images should be thumbnail size—no more than 1 to 1 1/2 inches in size. If a larger image is needed to properly display an item, then you can add a link that says "Click here to see a larger image." That way big images that take a long time to display will only be displayed by people who really need to see a bigger picture.

Be Sure You've Included Important Supporting Information
To turn Web surfers into customers, you'll want to provide enough supporting information about what you sell to make them feel comfortable buying from you. If you sell software, for instance, you'll need information about what platform the software uses, compatibility with other products, system requirements and links to press reviews, if any. If you sell graphic design services, the "supporting information" you need should include a portfolio of work you've done. If you provide consulting services, it would be a good idea to include case studies describing client problems, what you did to solve them and how they benefited as a result. (Be sure to get the client's permission before using their name in this way on your site.) A page with testimonials from satisfied customers is beneficial as well.

Make Sure It's Easy to Place an Order
Imagine how annoyed you'd be if you ran into the supermarket to pick up a container of milk, and couldn't find the checkout counter? Web site visitors are no different. They will get annoyed if they have to scroll up and down or side to side to find a place to order from you. Avoid the problem by keeping pages short and including a buy now button or link in the same location on every page. A good location is just below the text that describes any product or service.

Be Sure Your Contact Information is Easy to Find
Customers not only want to know what you sell and who you are, they want to know how to reach you. They may have questions about the merchandise you are selling, want to know who they can contact if there is a problem with their order, or prefer talking to a "real person" instead of ordering online. Avoid losing sales by including your phone number, store location (if you have one) and phone number on every page.

Share Links With Other Businesses in Your Community
The tips above will help you get found in search engines and help make your pages more appealing to potential customers. But even in the Internet age, business still has as much to do with who you know as what you do. So talk to business owners who sell different products and services than you do, but serve the same market. Help get each others' pages found by swapping links and giving each other referrals.

Janet Attard is the founder of the award-winning  Business Know-How small business Web site and information resource. Janet is also the author of The Home Office And Small Business Answer Book and of Business Know-How: An Operational Guide For Home-Based and Micro-Sized Businesses with Limited Budgets.

As you plan where to spend precious advertising dollars for your small business in 2012, here are six must-know trends to consider:

1. 2012 Looks like “The Year of Mobile:” Growth of mobile commerce has been nothing short of phenomenal. By next year, most of your customers will have a high-powered computer (which is to say, a mobile smart phone or similar device) in their pocket, purse or the palm of their hand every time they do business with you.

And make no mistake; the mobile explosion has huge implications for small and local businesses. The latest consumer research, for example, shows that over 30 million Americans now use their smart phone for some type of shopping-related activity. This creates important new opportunities for local business owners who get in the mobile game. Now is the time to find out about mobile solutions for your business.

2. The Hottest Action is Online: Back in 2009, a typical small business with an ad budget of some kind spent less than 25% of it in the broad category known as Internet Advertising. That includes Internet yellow pages, banner or display ads on websites, pay-per-click or other online listings, web-based directories, online networks, social media, daily deals and coupon sites, mobile ads, and other digital offerings. That figure has now jumped to 40% and if the industry gurus are correct, will hit 70% in the next three years. For a small business, this trend means one thing for sure: Your competitors are spending more ad dollars to connect with consumers online, and you should too.

3. Small Business Owners can afford to be Picky: Every local business today has a multitude of marketing options available. But it’s all too easy to get bogged down in the details of so many different choices, and waste time and money with products or services that don’t fit, or don’t work. The trend today among local businesses is to work with one major marketing partner that can do the heavy lifting for you, and get you the leads you need without the fuss or bother on your part.

That partner should provide the widest distribution possible for your ads, including print, online, mobile and other digital offerings, and – importantly – focus getting you new business leads, regardless of where they might come from. Such partners will also invest time in learning about you and your business, and how to make the most of your budget.

4. Daily Deal Fatigue is Setting In: Despite the growth of daily deal sites such as Groupon, Living Social and others, there’s mounting evidence that many local businesses are pulling back and assessing whether offering such deals actually contributes to longer term growth and profitability. If you offer deals on Groupon, Living Social or other daily deal websites, beware. Detailed new research shows that for scores of local merchants, a hidden side effect is an increase in bad online reviews that can damage your reputation. (That’s why it’s always a good idea to actively monitor and manage your online reputation.)

5. Local Joins Social: More and more local businesses are carving out at least a small piece of their marketing budget for social media. First and foremost, that requires understanding what social media marketing is all about. A new site called ShopTalk: Social Media (www.dexsocial.com) is rich in how-to articles, ideas, resources and the basics of social media marketing specifically for local business.

6. Print Remains Relevant: This comes as a surprise to some people, but reports of the yellow pages’ demise are premature. In spite of all the hype over social media and mobile, print yellow pages remain a proven, reliable and cost effective lead-generator for millions of small businesses. Vastly more people still find local businesses via yellow pages than through social media (74% compared to only 32%). The trick is to integrate or sync your traditional marketing, with online and social media.

Daniel Kehrer is Founder of BizBest (www.bizbest.com), a free information service for small business, and editor of Marketing Matters (www.dexbusiness.com) and ShopTalk: Social Media (www.dexsocial.com). Twitter: @BizBest © 2011 BizBest Med

Does your business have “drainers” – people whose negativity drains everyone else’s energy and drags your business down? Or, worse yet, are you a “drainer” yourself?

“Nobody sets out to be a drainer,” notes Jon Gordon, a business “attitude” consultant who works with businesses, professional sports teams, universities and other organizations. “It’s just that some people regularly, and inadvertently, exhibit energy-draining behaviors. Many business owners allow it to continue, or are themselves guilty of the same behavior. And over time, the entire culture of the business becomes poisoned.”

Here are the top business energy drains, and what you can do to fix them:

• Squelch negativity:  There’s nothing more draining than boss, business owner or employee who’s constantly negative. Don’t let negativity be your go-to response. Respond constructively when others offer ideas.  Even if the suggestions are off the mark, hear them out. An encouraging attitude keeps creative juices flowing. Remember, as pessimism rises, performance drops.
• Halt the complain train: The temptation to whine can be powerful, but whining is infectious and before you know it, everyone is complaining about something. Instead, push for solutions. When you hear a complaint, ask the complainer how it should be fixed. Turn your employees into problem solvers instead of problem sharers.
• Ban critical email and voicemail: Nine times out of ten, the critical email you send ends up sounding harsher to the other person than you ever intended. Suck it up and conduct your toughest talks in person. You’ll be able to ensure that your tone is not misinterpreted and have a constructive dialog with the other person.
• Avoid the Monday morning load-up: Don’t overwhelm your employees with a mountain of emails or lengthy to-do lists before the week is even underway.  Boil down and bundle your orders, and parse them out in steps. Flag the ones you consider most important so others know where to start first.
• Spot the busy bee bamboozle:  Don’t confuse activity with progress.  And that applies to you as well as your employees. Just getting through daily routines can make anyone appear busy. But that’s not progress. Set goals and hold yourself and your employees accountable for results.  Make sure these are results that matter and that are visible to others and valuable to your business.
• Seek complete communication clarity: It’s amazing how the simple condition of “clarity” contributes to a positive vibe.   When people are clear on where the business is going, and what they need to do, they are free to be positive and productive. When employees are stuck trying to track you down for clarification, productivity and creativity suffer.
• Get your organization act together: Being disorganized is a drag for everyone. Sure, some things fall through the cracks when you’re busy, but chronic disorganization is a disease that drains others who have to cover your tracks.
• Don’t sacrifice quality for expediency: When there’s a lot of work to do, there’s a tendency to hastily clear your plate, either by cutting corners or passing the buck to others. Taking the time you need to do the job right sets up your employees and the rest of your business for success, and encourages others to take on projects with confidence and energy.
• Recognize real-time success: Don’t get so caught up in what’s to come later than you forget to acknowledge what’s happening now. Employees don’t need applause at every turn, but they do need to know that you can be satisfied, and that they aren’t just hamsters running in a wheel.
• Set zero tolerance for Low performance: “Simply put,” says Jon Gordon, “low performers drag the rest of your team down. They create resentment and generate more work for everyone else. And if you let them linger for too long, your best employees will move on. Hold everyone accountable for achieving their goals and meeting performance standards. If someone constantly misses the bar, take action.

Copyright © 2000-2011 BizBest® Media Corp.  All Rights Reserved.

Daniel Kehrer is Founder & Editor of BizBest (www.bizbest.com), a free and independent information service for small business. Twitter: @BizBest  © 2011 BizBest Media^®

Each year, over 1,000,000 new businesses incorporate, yet 9 out of 10 of these businesses will fail in the first 5 years. The leading cause of this business failure is the lack of preparation and timely access to adequate funding and credit. You can change the odds in your favor. Here are four key funding secrets that every business owner should know:

Secret #1 -- If you wait until you need funding and credit, it’s usually too late.
Most business owners don’t understand the need to prepare in advance for access to funding -- that is, to maximize the “fundability” of the business in the eyes of lenders. This means having several critical components in place:
1. You have created a business entity that is credible to lenders.
2. You can clearly state the assets of the business.
3. You can present company finances in a way that maximizes your creditworthiness.
4. Your business is “compliant” with lender criteria.
5. You have existing relationships with a funding advisor who understands your business model and will work with you to achieve lending goals.

Secret #2 -- Credibility is the key to your business’s success.
You may not know this, but every day your business is being reviewed by bankers, potential partners, prospects, and clients who are deciding if your company is “credible” enough to do business with. In today’s market, credibility is a critical differentiator between you and your competitors. If you are looking for money but don’t have financial credibility or an existing credit-asset foundation, you are probably out of luck (note that over 90% of all business loan applications are rejected). You can’t afford to be unprepared!

Lenders have strict underwriting guidelines that require them to check your business’s creditworthiness -- is it a fundable business? Every business owner should understand these compliance guidelines and ensure that their business is in compliance long before actually seeking a loan.

Secret #3 -- What you don’t know CAN hurt you -- and lenders often want to keep you in the dark!
Would you be surprised to learn that many financial consultants, bankers, and loan brokers do not want you to know all of your options regarding building commercial credit for your
business? They do NOT want you to know that the more business credit you build, the less personally liable you will be to these same financial services companies! They prefer that your business is financed with credit secured by your personal credit pledge.

Don’t fall into the trap of securing your business’s credit and debt with your personal assets and savings. Rather, learn how to leverage your business to secure debt and grow a credit asset independent of your personal credit!

Secret #4 -- Running a business should NOT put personal assets at risk!
In view of Secret #3, as a top priority, you should build a credit line into your business that is not tied to your personal credit. We call this a Business Credit Asset™. Yes - business credit is actually an *asset* to your business, whereas personal credit debt is a liability. Most small business owners do not realize this, and therefore are putting their family’s personal assets at risk every day. Don’t make this mistake! There is a right way to structure your business that will offer security for you and your family’s assets, and will further create business assets that result in enhanced, long-term business value.

Building business credit and protecting personal assets should be top priorities. Establishing this financial foundation will not only accelerate your business goals, but is also some of the best disaster insurance you can acquire!

The time to start making your business FUNDABLE is today.

Walter Good is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Business Fundability, the largest membership network of small business owners delivering funding education, business credit development consulting, and commercial funding solutions in the US.