If I Were Launching a Home Business Website Today

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 July 2009 12:26 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 20 August 2008 04:11

Delving into the home business arena is becoming more and more appealing in our weakened economy.   To many people who I have had conversations with over the past couple of years, having the ability to work from home has really grabbed their attention.

So I have been thinking, if I were launching a home business website today, what would be the steps that I would have to take into account which creating my business plan?

For starters, I would make sure not only that I have the right tools, but that the tools which I have are functioning at an optimal level.

For Example:

• Making sure that my website is fully functional, with no dead links, and a quick load time.

• Making sure that my website is relevant to my home business.

• Making sure that my keywords are in the title-tag, as well as on the top and bottom of the web-page.

• Making sure that my website will be aesthetically pleasing to visitors.

• Making sure that there are no typos on my website.

Now that I am happy with the way that my website looks and functions, I need people to actually see the site.  The key to any business is marketing.  This is especially true for any home business.  So how would I market my business?

First, I need to know that people are visiting my website.  One very accurate method of measuring traffic to your website, is Google Analytics.  If you have a Gmail account, you can actually set up a Google Analytics Account quite easily by logging into your account through Google, and clicking on "My Account".  Once in your account, you can set up Google Adwords by adding it under the "My Products" section.  From there, Google Analytics will generate an html code, which you can add to your website.  This will allow you to track daily, how many people have visit your website, where they live, how they found your website, (ie. keywords used, referring website), how long they visited, etc.  Best of all, it is 100% free.

Now that I have the tracking in place, it's time to introduce my website to the world.  The quickest way to get visitors to your website is through what is known as "sponsored listing", or pay-per-click (PPC for short).  The major search engines, (ie. Bing, Google, and Yahoo) all offer this service.  Your ads will either appear on the top of the search results page, or at the side of the page.  The position which you receive depends on the competition for the keyword, and how much you are willing to pay for each click (visitor).

While PPC is very effective, it can also end up being expensive if your traffic is not converting.  Be sure to track your keywords through Google Analytics to make sure that the users who are visiting your website, are actually staying and occupying your website, not just bouncing to the next site.

Another long-term traffic strategy is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Where PPC is a method by which the search engines list your website for a per-click fee, SEO is a strategy by which your website is optimized to rank for targeted keywords in the organic results of the search engines.  The organic results are those which are not paid for, and appear just beneath the PPC results which occupy the top of the page.

One of the biggest factors with SEO is the fact that it takes time.  Most time between 9-12 months or more to realize results.  Most individuals starting a home business are not willing to wait that long for the freedom to work from home.  However, this is a good long-term strategy to help reduce the cost of PPC over time.

An additional step which any entrepreneur with a website should take is keeping a blog.  A blog gives you a stellar opportunity educate people about your business, and the advantages that they will be afforded by becoming patrons of your business.  This also gives you yourself the opportunity to really define your target demographic.

While I could go on and on about what I would do if I were lanching a home business, I have limited myself to some of the things which I view as most important, if not essential.  Keep in mind, if your desire is to work from home, this is indeed very possible.  Just make sure that you keep focused.  One way to keep focused, is to network with individuals who have had success in your particular area of interest.  Social Networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace make this possible.  Just be aware of the fact that many people who use social networking sites for business have an agenda.  While I do not fault them completely, I must caution you of the possibility that you may be asked to look at their "opportunity".

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