Using your website goals and your budget, create a timetable or plan for your business. Where do you expect to see yourself in a year? Five years? Ten? What types of advertising will you be willing to expand to? Don't make the mistake of relying solely on Internet methods to advertise your business. You will be able to get started that way, but you probably won't be able to expand without seeking alternative advertising venues.

Keep these statistics in mind:

• As of 2005, 957 million people had Internet access, and more sign on every day.
• 96 percent of those with online access use the Internet as their first and preferred method of researching product information.
• During 2005, search engines were accessed and used nearly 5 billion times in the United States alone, an increase of 27.5 percent from 2004.
• 74 percent of those who use search engines research local information through them.

Simple math dictates that many more potential customers will find your business by virtue of your online presence alone. Combine that with a carefully targeted and well-researched marketing campaign, and it is easy to see why Internet marketing and online businesses succeed!

Be prepared to capitalize on your website. Every visitor who finds your website is a potential customer. It is important to capture as much information as possible whenever someone visits your site. The average consumer must be exposed to your marketing message between three and seven times before they are convinced to buy—so the more often you can put your business in front of them, the better your chances at making sales.

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Using your website goals and your budget, create a timetable or plan for your business. Where do you expect to see yourself in a year? Five years? Ten? What types of advertising will you be willing to expand to? Don't make the mistake of relying solely on Internet methods to advertise your business. You will be able to get started that way, but you probably won't be able to expand without seeking alternative advertising venues.

Keep these statistics in mind:

• As of 2005, 957 million people had Internet access, and more sign on every day.
• 96 percent of those with online access use the Internet as their first and preferred method of researching product information.
• During 2005, search engines were accessed and used nearly 5 billion times in the United States alone, an increase of 27.5 percent from 2004.
• 74 percent of those who use search engines research local information through them.

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Though it is true that you can start an Internet business with little or no initial investment, you should expect at some point to establish a realistic and firm budget. At the very least, plan to reinvest some of your profits in your company.

Also, having a small initial advertising budget can help get things moving faster. Once you have your website set up to take in profits, you might want to consider advertising in a few low-cost "traditional" ways to start attracting visitors. These traditional advertising methods include:

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