- 1997: Volume 6, No. 4 Marketing on the Net

You run a business or wish to begin one and need a web page—where do you begin?

Today the web at first glance appears crowded with sites ranging from the simple home pages of stock tipsters to the complex offerings such as CNNfn. However, the net is far from crowded with quality sites. In fact, there is an extreme shortage of quality web sites that provide useful trading information. Where there is a shortage-there is opportunity!

At TurtleTrader we feel we can offer strong advice in the field of web development. In the most recent measured period of April and May, our web site generated 250,000 hits with customer visits from 72 countries. This article will touch on our experiences in developing and maintaining the TurtleTrader site-a site developed entirely in house.

The Basics

Before we begin, an outline of what the web can't do is essential. First, the web is not a "field of dreams." Some think the web is a "build it and they will come" concept. This is far from the truth. The web is an electronic interactive ad for your company, but if people don't know your site exists there will be no traffic. If there is no traffic you will not generate business.

On a more positive note, the web can do many things once people know you are on-line. Your firm can instantly have a detailed description of what you do opened to an audience that is global in nature. The web is global today not tomorrow. Are you prepared to handle inquires from Indonesia, Lithuania and Qatar?

The web allows for an interactive transfer of information back and forth between firm and client. The information can be text, sound, pictures and video. In the years to come, expect the web to allow full motion video to easily enter home computers, not unlike TV channels.

The web will continually evolve, but the current format can't be ignored. You need to start now in your web development efforts.

Starting Out

You must learn something about web site development. Even if you can't program HTML (the name of the computer code used in creating web pages), there are numerous software programs such as Microsoft Front Page and Adobe PageMill that allow beginners to create professional looking web pages with great detail.

Don't let the complex technical language of "teckies" discourage you. The process of web page authoring is quite simple. Once you create your page it can be uploaded to a network computer in seconds. A hosting service such as Digiweb is highly recommended. You will be charged $20 a month to keep your web site maintained on their computers. You are provided with full technical service by responsive staff.

Hosting your home page on your own server is not recommended unless you have extensive experience. Even then it still may be cheaper and easier to keep your web site with a hosting firm.

Those are the basics of starting out. However, once your site is established the real work begins-attracting visitors.

Content

You will not attract and keep visitors if your web content is not unique. Some firms put up great looking web sites, but provide no substance. Others have fantastic resources, but look like they were created in 20 minutes.

A successful site must be great looking and have unique useful content that is continually updated. Your site will fail if you do not have both. The web is too competitive to keep standing still, your site must be as good as the major corporations from the time you launch your page.

Is that unrealistic? No. Great web sites are the result of hard work not just dollars. If you are willing to work hard and be creative you can produce a top quality web site. TurtleTrader produced a 75-page web site in house using tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Freehand.

Marketing

You must use every tactic in your creative repertoire to attract visitors. Chat rooms, newsgroups, reciprocal links with other sites, search engines, word or mouth and lastly paid advertising.

An on-line marketing agency is a great place to find assistance. Firms such as WebPromote can help with promotion of your site through proper search engine registration and news releases.

You can also find writers and editors that may have an interest in your site. Work to get a story written about you and your firm. Target publications that specialize in your particular niche.

The key is to get your site known. It will take time and effort. If you build a web site and just let it sit, your web development effort will be a disaster.

Commerce

The web is great place to buy and sell products right now. Security problems are rare contrary to media rousings that appear now and again. Customers using their Netscape browser or Microsoft browser can easily and securely perform payment transactions. The encryption algorithms used for secure transactions are the same methods used by the defense department. You can read about secure commerce at www.rsa.com.

If you use a secure server in conjunction with your web site you can receive payment information in a secure encrypted fashion. You have a bigger security problem when you hand your credit card to a restaurant waiter than you do completing a transaction on the internet!

Localization

Localization? This is a crucial component in the global business world. You must localize your web site to meet the various needs of countries, cultures, and languages. English is the universal web language, but that will not last forever.

You can instantly impress potential clients and customers if you translate some or all of your web site into as many languages as economically possible.

Scripts, Forms, Chat Areas

The web offers interaction that has not been seen before in business. You can set up a bulletin board on your site that can be moderated. Customers can use forms to submit information instantly merged into your database. Perhaps, you need to take a poll or keep a guestbook-anything is possible.

Another option you can incorporate into your business model is a live interactive chatroom on your site that you can host. A real-time question and answer session can be held with a group of customers from around the world. Still further, a technology called Real Audio can allow a radio broadcast over the internet today!

Conclusions

Start your site now. Learn and apply these successful web development techniques today. Bring in new business immediately. The longer you wait to begin, the farther ahead your competition will be. If you follow our advice your web site will be an integral part of your business in less than 90 days.

Gerald Mullins is a principal of TurtleTrader. He can be reached at www.turtletrader.com or via e-mail at info@turtletrader.com.

Cited Sites

Here are the web addresses of some of the firms mentioned in this article

Turtle Trader www.turtletrader.com
Microsoft www.microsoft.com
Digiweb www.digiweb.com
Adobe www.adobe.com
Macromedia www.macromedia.com
Webpromote www.webpromote.com
Realaudio www.realaudio.com