Why Small Business Stays Off Line: In My Experience

There are a lot of reasons small businesses stay offline, some think they cannot afford it, some think they don’t need it, and others have tried and failed.  Even though there seems to be no limit to the reasons our local baker doesn’t have a website what it really comes down to in our experience is bad information.  Whether it is fellow business owners, self serving trade magazines, or in the worst case and often the most common case—poor advice from vendors in the industry small businesses don’t have many resources for quality advice on Internet Marketing.

Obviously, we do Internet Marketing for a living so there is a little worry that this post won’t be taken seriously, but there is a reason nearly every new client we take on has a horror story about getting some bad information or getting ripped of by some snake oil salesperson—and it is true.  Below are some things you will want to look out for when choosing a company to help you market online:

Is it too good to be true?

Things like promising a “Tsunami of Traffic in Just 30 Days!” just is not going to happen.  Ask yourself this simple question, if it were that easy why isn’t everyone else doing it?  If someone claims to have “cracked the Google code” steer clear, even when issues are exploited on Google changes are made very quickly to not only fix the glitch but often times punish sites that were trying to take advantage of it.  Any good online marketing company should understand that your business is your life, and it is not to be messed with.

Do They Have Real References…People You Can Talk To?

We are not really sure why people seem to always skip this step.  Many online companies will have a list a mile long of testimonials and “case studies” but at the end of the day you trust someone with your potential livelihood and that should not be taken lightly.  Often time’s references are not checked, and then someone gets ripped off or feels like they were lied to when a simple reference check might have avoided it.  It is important to ask for multiple contacts as to avoid talking to an employee at their company or a friend of the owner.  This task seems like a paid at times but most reputable Internet Marketing companies should have no problem presenting several very happy clients.

Do They Have A Realistic Approach Do They Use Jargon?

The other really important thing is do they care if you understand what they are doing?  In reality you have to have at least a general knowledge of what services they are going to provide, and what general results you should expect, at least what the expected results should be.  What we do can seem like a mystery to most and it is really important that the Internet Marketing firm’s success that you understand what they are doing for it to be a successful long term relationship.  Internet Marketing is not a one off solution, it is about building a long term relationship and if the company doesn’t seem to care about that stay away.

These are just a few of the things small business owners can do to make sure the relationship they form with an Internet Marketing company is mutually successful.  There are a lot of shady people out there, but don’t let that discourage you, the good ones are out there too you just have to look for them.