Businesses are continuing to push more of their marketing budgets online.

Not too long ago, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported online advertising spending will grow faster in Canada than anywhere in the world over the next four years. Meanwhile, in the UK last year, Internet expenditures overtook traditional advertising in national newspapers. And in the US, Forrester forecasts companies will spend upwards of $26 billion on Internet marketing per annum by 2010 – approximately eight per cent of all advertising spending.

Webcopyplus conducted a poll to determine what entrepreneurs and small business owners spend to gain presence on the Web. Of the 60 polled, more than 38 per cent of businesses spend between $500 and $6,000 on online marketing annually, only five per cent spend more than $12,000, and the remaining 57 per cent spend less than $500 or less per year.

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Business never sleeps. And with the advent of the Internet never has the saying seemed so true to its meaning.

Every hour of every day, millions of people in every corner of the world log on to the Internet. They use it as a means of communication; a means of research; and as a means of purchasing products and services with their hard-earned money. To that notion some might even question how we ever survived without it.

Business websites are an integral part of the Internet world. If yours is lost or dead in cyberspace, you sit at a distinct disadvantage disconnected from a vast and growing customer base, now more than one billion strong.

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To achieve business growth, you need to focus on your strengths and hire others to take care of the rest.

Unfortunately, entrepreneurs often fail to employ this fundamental business growth strategy.

Whether it’s driven by pride or fear, I meet many entrepreneurs who have difficultly delegating, including recently: a fashion designer who won’t let go of her accounting; a pastry chef who refuses to let designers get near his website; and a furniture maker who turns down professional help to arrange his storefront.

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Are you planning to build or update a business website? The following three questions will save you time, money and frustration, and help you get the results you want.

1. What is your website’s objective?
2. Who is your target market?
3. What’s your position?

On several occasions, my colleagues and I have come across business owners who spent upwards of $20,000 on website design and development, with literally nothing to show for it.

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With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is conceivably the most powerful marketing and sales tool you can employ.

Yet, despite the highly competitive, global business climate, many businesses have yet to take advantage of this popular technology.

Consider these facts:

• There are more than 1,022,800,000 Internet users worldwide. The U.S. has the highest number of Internet users in the world with 205,300,000-plus ‘surfers’, equating to 68.6% of the country’s population. (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/)
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Relevant webcopy is the key to engaging your website’s visitors and converting more sales.

US consumers alone will spend upwards of $340 billion (U.S.) online in 2010. Meanwhile, Internet World Stats reports more than 70% of US and Canadian consumers are using the Internet.

So what’s the quickest and most effective way to connect with your audience and convert them into full-fledged customers? Address their real needs, and make it easy for them to find what they want.

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