Fear, Misconceptions Prevent Businesses from Marketing Online

Jan. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- As more consumers flock to the Internet to find local products and services, surprisingly few small businesses are making an effort to meet them there. Visionary IT, a local technology services provider, hopes to change all that by helping small companies engage in internet marketing (http://www.visionaryaz.com/internet-marketing/).

“There’s a huge lag between consumer behavior and what small and medium-sized businesses are doing to help their customers find them,” says Travis Lugo, President of Visionary IT. “The larger businesses get it, and they’re enjoying a period of relative dominance on the web.”

According to a report from the research firm Hitwise, 82 percent of consumers use search engines to find local businesses, yet just 44 percent of small businesses have a web site. Of that 44 percent, 30 percent do not engage in Internet advertising at all. Many small businesses still use newspaper and directory advertising to help customers find them, when the reality is, most people use Google, Yahoo or other search engines to find companies they want to do business with.

“A lot of small businesses think just having a web site is enough, but if no one can find it, if it doesn’t drive sales, it’s just a glorified business card—helpful but not proactive in any sense,” says Lugo.

It's Travis’ goal to help his small business customers achieve success online by taking advantage of key online marketing techniques that work well for smaller companies – things like web site development (http://www.visionaryaz.com/internet-marketing/website-dev...), email marketing and search engine optimization (http://www.visionaryaz.com/internet-marketing/search-engi...).

From speaking to his customers, Travis believes that a few persistent myths are preventing smaller companies from marketing online. The top ones are that to be successful, you have to spend a lot of money or enter long contracts. While this used to be the case, he says, times have changed: most businesses are seeing real growth while spending less than traditional advertising channels while also reducing risk.

“Whether small businesses use my services or not, they should at least know that online marketing isn’t a luxury anymore. It’s a necessity. And fortunately, it’s never been easier to get started which is why we are offering a 1 hour strategy session with businesses that register at http://www.60daySEO.com”