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	The Art of Startup Marketing
	Article 3: Capitalize On The Internet The Internet has become a marketing expectation, not an extra. The World Wide Web is no longer a novelty. It is a necessity for your company. Take advantage at low-cost. Have a Web site. Whether a comprehensive presence with e-commerce, chat rooms and downloadables or merely an online brochure, customers expect to see you online. You probably will be asked more often for your Web site address than for your business card. It’s how new customers gauge whether you’re serious and legitimate, and how they learn about you without pressure. You can pay thousands, but at the low-end, Web site hosting is available for $10 a month or less, complete with pre-designed templates for not much more. Tip: Shop for Web hosts and designers. Both have become commodities, and turnkey solutions are available for a fraction of what it once cost to get online. Don’t buy more features than you need, but allow for growth and expansion. Your company is likely to be online as long as you’re in business. Submit your Web site to search engines. This is a low-cost way to give your Web site a high profile. There are services that will automate search engine submissions for a small fee. However, focusing on the major players will drive more traffic to your site than dozens of lesser services combined. Here are three of the biggies: Open Directory Google Yahoo Tip: Maximize search engine placement with advice from industry gurus such as Search Engine Watch. Enhance search engine placement. Pay for high search engine exposure or for visits on a per-click basis. Tip: It makes no sense to spend $100 to generate $50 in sales. As with direct-mail lists, always sample and test, then incrementally increase spending, mindful that revenue must more than offset costs to make sense.