Cost of writing up your web catalogue $A495, exclusive of the domain registration and hosting costs set out below.

Registration of ".com.au" domain name: currently $A45p/a.

I have found that .com registration, while cheaper, attracts mostly U.S. and other overseas viewers.
Cost of hosting with a local service provider: currently $A77p/a.

I tried quite a few service providers over the years and have found a local one to be the best by far.

Six months as part of the above cost, and thereafter a new contract would need to be negotiated.

With some small businesses, just an occasional update will do. A one-off update of all pages costing $80.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Spend more money!

You will be thinking that this is a strange way to start an article, and you are right.
Let me explain why I suggest spending more money. Of course I am not writing about spending on consumer items, I am really suggesting that you invest more on advertising.

It is a fact that most companies reduce their advertising budgets in times of recession.
If you spend more on advertising you might make more money, however if you spend more money on the most effective forms of advertising, then you will increase the turnover of your business, large or small.

And why am I so certain of that? Well, apart from the fact that my own clients are doing very well, thank you, it is well reported in the news media that advertising spending is in recession too.
What this means to you is that many of your competitors are not competing as hard as they used to, and if your advertising dollar is well spent, you will get for yourself a larger slice of the shrinking pie.

The idea here is for you to spend on advertising which reaches the people who are actively looking for your product or service.
If you are running a food shop on a busy roadside, you may get by quite well with good signage, because hungry people are passing by all the time.
However, if you are selling mobility aids, you want to reach far further than passers-by, and these days, as you know, the internet is where people will look first.
This is where you can use search engine marketing tactics to catch the eyes of people who intend to buy you products or services.

Here is a brief quote from Scott Buresh at 'Search Engine Guide', a very highly respected reference site for people working in this field.

“With pull marketing, you are able to target a potential customer at the exact time he or she is seeking your products and services regardless of any declines in the marketplace.”

Here you can read even more information