Are You Sure You Hired The Right Local Internet Marketing Agency?

This is a guest post by Lynette Chandler.

As local small business owners, you probably get quite a few calls, emails and even regular mail from web design agencies. Every one of them promising professional web site setup, design and maintenance. If you are seriously considering creating or re-working your business website, it can be a challenge figuring out who to hire.

Before you write that check to the design agency, pause and consider ... Why are you getting a website built?

This is perhaps the single most important question that will put everything into perspective. My guess is, you are doing this so you can generate more business using the power of the Internet which is not slowing down, gives you faster, highly measurable results at a lower cost.

The bottom line, you aren't looking for a pretty website but one that will help grow your business. In other words you should evaluate the agency you hire based on this goal.

Here's the cold hard truth. When it comes to design only, anyone you choose - even a student - can deliver a decent looking site. Whether they can build a site that can sell your products or services is a whole other story.

Getting the site built is only part of the picture. In order to sell, you need a web marketing agency who can do most if not all of the following:

* How to build a site that looks nice, with great copy to grab
visitor attention, elements to capture contact information and work to
convert curious visitors to warm, responsive prospects.
* Help get your business get found when someone searches for similar
businesses nearby on their cell phone or computer.
* Understand and know how to make the connection between your website
and the mobile Internet whose numbers are set to overtake desktop
computers by 2015.

Know how is one thing. Do they have experience? Does this agency have a record of successfully selling anything online to anybody? If they cannot market products online, how effective will they be for you?

There are plenty of freelancers fresh out of school, in need of work who will pitch you their services. There are also plenty of web design agencies who are just that. Great at web design. You'd probably fall in love with the gorgeous sites they build for you.

Unfortunately, the moment you get serious about marketing and leveraging mobile, you will find your site is far from adequate and probably have to spend more money and time re-tooling it.

The takeaway - hire the right people from the start. I've also dropped a few hints about mobile Internet. Mobile is crucial for local businesses because this movement is very real and all happening right now. So you definitely want someone who is capable or can work together with your web person to get your business mobile ready.

Want hard statistical facts how mobile Internet usage benefits your local business? Author Lynette Chandler invites you to grab a copy of her specially prepared report "6 Urgent Reasons Why Local Businesses Must Go Mobile Now" at
http://techbasedmarketing.com/local-business-go-mobile/

LInks to other sites you may find helpful for this topic


Google Places
Optimizing Your Google Places Page | SEOmoz
Rank Higher in Google Places and Yahoo Local | GetListed.org