The above quote, from an unknown source, is a simple but powerful principle in business. While many businesses are very aware of visibility in the Yellowpages and traditional marketing, some have been overlooking the importance of being found on the web. WTB was one of those businesses, until recently.
We have had an Internet presence since our inception in 1998, but for the longest time, our web page acted merely as part of our corporate identity. Very few sales, if any, came from the web. There was no budget or time set aside for web marketing.
However, my recent trip to the Search Engine Strategies 2004 Conference & Expo has given me a new perspective. At this conference, I met entrepreneurs such as Allan Dick of Vintage Tub, who built a successful internet-based enterprise that employs more than twenty people. Meeting real business owners and marketers who have achieved success on the net was of great inspiration to me. More than anything, this conference has made me aware of the power the Internet can endow upon entrepreneurs. An Internet savvy business owner today has the freedom to start a business without a significant capital, and the power to reach millions without a big budget. He/she is not restricted by geographic locations and has access to a dynamic global marketplace that only large corporations were privileged to have.
So what is in store for WTB? We hope to move up in rankings in major search engines during the next 6-12 months, and gradually increase the percentage of web-referred sales. We plan to include global search engine marketing into our web localization offering. The end result would mean that the web sites we localize for clients would already be search engine optimized. They could be found in local and international search engines. Our clients will see their traffic increase and sales go up. Better ROI for our clients would also mean good business for WTB.