As a small business owner, you obviously have many responsibilities to your company. If you hire employees, that responsibility covers them as well. While you probably want to avoid choosing outsourcing in favor of downsizing, there are many practical benefits of outsourcing certain portions of your business activities.

When you are thinking about business outsourcing, the main issue to consider is whether outsourcing not only saves you money, but puts your small business in a better position in the competitive playing field.

Benefits of Outsourcing

Business outsourcing can provide many benefits. A few of the most important ones are:

• Lower Your Labor Costs - While you may want to be able to hire more workers to help solve the unemployment problem, you simply may not have enough full or even part time work available. Rather than hiring piecemeal, you can keep your labor costs lower by outsourcing many of the in-house tasks noted below.
• Reduces Capital Expenditure - In order to keep business activities in-house, it may require expensive capital outlay. Small business outsourcing of certain functions can help you reduce your total capital expenditure budget, including costs for software, equipment, bigger office space, etc.
• Better Efficiency - It takes a village. And running that village can create inefficiencies when trying to form and refine processes. Outsourcing helps you gear up for better efficiency.
• Focus on Your Business - Outsourcing provides you with less on your plate so you can do more of what it is you are best at - running your business.

Business Outsourcing Options

So what should you outsource? Essentially anything that you don't want to do, are not great at doing, or don't have the capital to do in-house. Here are 8 of the most common small business outsourcing functions.

1. Distribution
   

   You don't need your own fleet of trucks to get your products to retail stores. Outsourcing distribution is one of the most common tasks that any size of business will choose.

   There are many distributors in all states and regions, and likely you will have a choice. Be sure you pick a distributor who ultimately gets your product to more stores and brings more money to your bottom line.

2. Labor
   

   As mentioned, small business outsourcing of your labor can be a good idea, especially if you don't have full-time capacity for specific jobs. That may include on-and-off assembly, overhead jobs like accounting and filing, and even seasonal employees.

3. HR
   

   Managing your own human resources can be time-consuming and confusing if you are not familiar with labor laws, especially if you have numerous employees. Outsourcing this function can free up your time and provide your employees with the necessary support for their HR needs.

4. Janitorial
   

   Most small business owners and their employees don't want to be bothered with tasks such as emptying the garbage, cleaning out the fridge, vacuuming, or especially bathroom cleanup duty. These types of functions can easily be outsourced. Most communities have a choice of private janitorial and cleaning services available.

5. Security
   

   If you have security needs that require 24 hour surveillance, or even just regular checks during off-hours, consider outsourcing that security duty to a local company. These outfits do their own background checking of their employees, and they provide quality service that you likely could not afford or coordinate on your own.

6. Accounting/Bookkeeping
   

   In many small businesses, bookkeeping is easily outsourced. Independent contractors with bookkeeping training, experience, and even CPA certification are a better choice than trying to maneuver through accounting laws yourself.

7. Social Media
   

   You can easily find someone experienced in social media marketing to take charge of your needs. This can be done remotely anywhere so you are not limited to finding someone in your local community.

8. Copywriting
   

   Your marketing material, email newsletters, and even product documentation should be done by a professional copywriter. There are plenty of freelance writers available in the US, and since this function can also be performed remotely, you have a wider choice of writers to choose from who match your requirements and budget.

Succession planning is the systematic implementation of establishing and transitioning new leadership, which can happen for a number of reasons. Here are the most common:

• First-Time Entrepreneurs - Some first-time entrepreneurs are so involved with their business idea that they don't see the weaknesses of their leadership. It is easy to assume that no one cares as much as you or has more passion for your business idea. However, that doesn't mean that you are the best match or even the best interest for running a small business.
• Plateau of Business Activity - After successfully starting the business from scratch and building it into a smoothly operating company, you may find that running a small business has reached a plateau and is not seeing any further growth.
• Starting is More Fun that Running - Some entrepreneurs find that the energy, adventure, and challenge of starting and building a business provides more rewards than actually running a small business.
• Skill as a Business - Many entrepreneurs start their own company because they are very good at what they do, be it accounting, baking, sewing, you name it. However, the actual activities required for running a small business is overwhelming, and the owner wishes to get back to doing what they enjoy most - their skill or craft.
• Too Time-Consuming - Some small business owners find that the job of business owner is much more time consuming than they imagined. They may have started the business as a part-time venture, or have other obligations that doesn't allow them the full time capacity necessary to running a small business.
• Owner Gets Sick - Lastly, what if you were to become unavailable to run the company due to sickness, injury, or worse? Is your team ready to carry the company forward based on your goals and plans?

Forming a Succession Plan

Succession planning is a good idea if the small business owner fits into one of the above categories. The purpose of that plan is to either pave the path for a current top management to take over, or hire a new and experienced individual who can come in and take the reins.

Form Discussions with Staff

If you feel that there is one person on your current management team that is capable of operating the company as well or better than you, hold meetings with your staff to lay out your feelings and succession plans. First of all, if you do plan to go separate directions, your management team should know about it with as much lead time as possible.

Approach your chosen successor and make sure he or she is up to taking the job of running a small business. If that person is open and acceptable to the challenge, lay out a plan to get the ball moving on a start date, and determine how long the transition will be before you actually step down. There will likely be some time where you show your successor your processes, and you will want to observe them performing the duties of big cheese.

Next, tell your management about your plans. Share with them the transition plan and what to expect. Be sure to ask if they have any questions or concerns and address them as best you can.

Talent Search

In many cases of succession planning, the obvious choice will be to hire a new leader from the outside. Again, be sure you talk to your management team about your plans to leave and your intention for someone else to take over.

There are plenty of experienced individuals who have gained expert status from running a small business of their own, or even from the corporate world. The best way to find the right candidate is to ask around. Get the buzz through your network of contacts, and if that doesn't turn up the right candidate, post for a job in trade magazines.

Before hiring, be sure to do a thorough background and resume check, and conduct a lengthy interview. Succession planning requires more than an hour interview. Take the time to have a long discussion, walk them around your business, introduce candidates to your workers, etc. You want a good feeling about the person who takes over company, so take the time to find the right person who will move the company forward.

Social media should not be your only small business marketing outlet. Nor should you ignore the potential of social media marketing. The reasons to consider developing a social media plan for your small business are extensive and include:

• Discover an untapped market - Social media for business can help you discover yet untapped markets for products or services you can develop.
• Discover new niche markets - Tying in to untapped markets, you could also find a new niche within your industry and adjust your product/service offering accordingly to fit your social media plan.
• Widen the scope of your target market - Rather than market to locals in your neighborhood, social media for business allows you to expand your current market to potentially limitless customers around the world.
• Improve online sales - Small business social media can help you achieve your online sales goals by expanding your audience reach and engaging with customers as well as prospective buyers on their preferred methods of communication (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
• Improve online sales conversions - You can also improve the actual conversion rate of visitors to buyers on your website with a social media plan. Small business social media allows you to nurture leads and engage with customers in real-time thereby increasing the likelihood of converting a follower/fan to a customer.
• Retain loyal customers - Of course, you'll want to keep in the minds (and hearts) of current and past customers so they will become repeat business. Social media enables small business owners and entrepreneurs to keep in contact with their current customer base, maintaining a valuable relationship and providing constant support.

So how do you formulate a proper and useful social media plan for your small business? Here is our recommended outline:

Define Your Small Business Marketing Profile

Start with your own small business profile. Define your current operations. Some simple questions to answer are:

• What type of business are you (i.e. retailer, manufacturer, professional services)?
• What is your product or service?
• Do you operate out of a retail or office space?
• Do you currently have a website?
• Does your small business currently use social media?
• Which types of social media do you use and how are they working for you?
• Who does/will your website serve?

Set Overall Goals

Next, define the overall goals you want to achieve through social media. You don't have to get too specific - that comes later! Examples of social media marketing goals may include:

• Improve branding
• Improve online presence
• Increase customer base
• Increase website traffic
• Improve search results
• Increasing revenue
• Reduce advertising costs

Outline Your Target Market Profile

In this section, you will want to describe your general customer. Get as specific as you can. For instance, a restaurant may attract local neighborhood married couples with higher incomes who prefer wine over beer. You could cater your unique product to other businesses (B2B) for use in housing construction. Overall, you want the reader to have a good idea of who will be buying your product or service.

Use your target market profile to identify who your customers are, what type of social media they use and how you can interact with them on these communication channels.

Note Concrete and Quantifiable Objectives

Next, write down your small business marketing objectives through social media. You will want to be not only specific, but quantifiable. For instance, don't just say you want to increase web traffic. Say you want to improve traffic by 50%, or by 1,000 visitors per week.

Perhaps you are more interested in using social media marketing to help reach your desired online sales conversion rate of 20% within 6 months. Reach a specific monthly sales objective. Or even achieve a higher per sale average of $15.

Estimate a Hard Figure Budget

While some social media marketing is free and only costs you time and effort, others require a budget. Get real with your financial spending for social media purposes. Include items such as web site design or improvement, costs for social media content like photos, videos, or podcasts, paid social media ads, or even costs for special software needed to create graphics and banner ads.

Determine a Way to Track ROI

And finally, your social media marketing plan should define the way you will track results and determine your ROI. Remember, your advertising costs, whether traditional or online, should help improve your sales and result in a positive ROI. Spell out how you will use customer feedback, social media tools, and website statistics to determine the effectiveness of your social media marketing campaigns, and whether the sales attributed to those efforts result in your desired ROI.

Social media marketing should be taken just as seriously as any other traditional advertising efforts. Take the time to formulate your social media marketing plan so you make the most of your time online.

But what is involved when you are ready to change your web host? If you are a small business without an experienced webmaster, you may want to heed the following steps to get your small business website on the right hosting server.

Choose Your New Web Host

First, it is important to choose the correct host. If your current web host is not meeting your business needs, do a bit if research. There are plenty of "Top 10" small business web hosting reviews online that can give you a comprehensive idea of a web host's price, service, and features. When you find the suitable host that fits your small business website requirements, make your purchase.

It is recommended that you buy at least 12 months of service, but no more than 24 months. Many web hosts will attempt to get you to pay for 3, 4, even 5 years of service in advance for a lower price. However, one or two years still allows you to change the web host in the near future if necessary without losing money.

Backup All Web Files

Be sure you backup all the current web files that are used on your current web host. You should have these files backed up in your own server. Double check that you have everything.

Inquire if the New Web Host Has Free Migration

Some web hosts will provide "free migration." This is a great help to get your web files set up properly on the new host. If your host offers this service, be sure to take advantage.

Upload Web Files to New Host

Once you have purchased a new web host, it is time to get your small business website files onto their servers. One way is to simply use the provided account access software, also known as the control panel. This process uploads just a few or even one file at a time and can be a long process. But smaller websites with fewer files can manage this process fine.

If you have a larger website with many pages and files, consider using a FTP client software. This software is usually for purchase, but the interface allows the user to access two servers (or hard drives) at once, and transfer files in bulk. It's quick and easy, and is also a godsend when your website requires frequent updates or maintenance.

Double Check All Navigation and Outside Links

After your files are uploaded, your website is still not "live," meaning your domain is still pointing at your old host. But you can access your website using your host's server URL. It may look like this:

http://NewWebhostingCompany.com/~yourwebsite

Using this "backdoor" access, you can test that all your small business website files have been uploaded and in their proper folders, and assure that all links are working properly as well.

Point Your Domain Name Server (DNS) Setting to New Web Host

When you are ready to go "live," you need to point the DNS to your new web host's servers. Your new host will provide you with the proper nameserver information, and there are usually two of them. You will need to log on to your domain registrar and input both Nameserver1 and Nameserver2 and save the settings. It usually takes up to 48 hours for this domain "pointer" to become active.

Double Check Your New Host is Live

To make sure that your small business website is "live" on your new web host, you can easily upload a special note on your homepage that is only on the file uploaded to the new host. When that note is seen when you type in your URL domain, then you know the change is complete.

Cancel Old Hosting Account

One important thing to mention is to never notify your old host that you are changing hosting service, or close your account before the change is complete. Some hosts may practice "dirty business" and shut down your account before your new account is live.

However, once your domain is properly pointed to the new host, go ahead and contact your old host to let them know about your cancellation. Be sure that if you set up an auto withdrawal type of payment, it is turned off as well so they do not try to improperly charge you.

To get a better idea of whether social media marketing is right for your small business we present a list of benefits and cons related to business use.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Wide Reach of Target Market
When it comes to finding an effective marketing channel, social media offers you the potential to reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Facebook alone touts over half a billion users. Twitter has over 100 million active users each day.

Using the classic sales conversion of about 1% to 5% of sales from marketing efforts, you can see that with such large numbers, you can increase the number of buyers for your product or service. But you must make the efforts to reach your target audience of each social media channel.

It's Free
Social media sites allow you to create an account for free. Posting to those accounts is free. And free marketing is always a good thing.

But even though social media marketing may not cost you dollars out of your coffers, you still need to approach your marketing strategy as if you were paying for it.

Better SEO Ranking
Search engines have become one of the most popular ways for customers to find the products and services they need. With a few simple search words, your business can pop up on search results...and you have found an instant customer.

Now that major search engines like Google and Yahoo! have access to search content on social channels like Twitter and Facebook, you can improve your SEO through the updates you post on your social media accounts.

Improve Customer Relations
Social media has proven to be a successful way for any size of business to build and maintain customers. It gives you an opportunity to engage with customers with your interactions. Why do you think it's called "Social" media?

Through your social media channels you can spark discussions, obtain market research data by asking opinions and feedback, improve how you handle complaints and returns, and even form positive strategic relationships with other businesses.

Positive Branding
Branding is an ongoing marketing effort. And while branding through regular marketing channels can be challenging, you can easily improve your business identity through social media. That means using your business name, logo, and slogan on every social media account. It also means getting your business name in front of the right people, or your target market, so your business is more recognized.

CONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Time Consuming
By far the biggest disadvantage to using social media as a marketing channel is the amount of time required to make it successful. While any marketing effort requires time and effort to make it work, social media is unique in that you must maintain practically a daily effort to write posts and updates, respond to comments, and review results of previous updates.

Time Waster
Another disadvantage is the fact that whoever does your social media management could get "sucked" into the time warp of these channels. It is amazingly easy to read all your followers' & fans' updates, follow links to outside websites, etc, and find that 3 or 4 hours have mysteriously disappeared. You must maintain discipline in your time commitment in order to make social media work for your small business.

Lost in the Crowd
Another big complaint that small businesses have about social media is due to the sheer numbers of people and businesses using them. You can easily get lost within the millions of other commercial accounts and find it difficult to gain visibility to your target market. But again, social media requires you to form a sound strategy and review results to improve your efforts. That is the only way you can avoid getting lost among the cyber world of social media marketing.

Whether you are trying to determine a priority for your overall business goals, your yearly business strategy, or simply setting up a daily goal planner, here are some effective strategies you can use to set up the proper priority.

1. Take Time To Set Your Goals

   In order to establish an appropriate priority list, you first need to set your goals. Most business owners, whether of a small business or large corporation, will set up a strategy planning session before the end of each year in order to set up this list. It doesn't have to be end of year, but could be any time before your fiscal year.

   Regardless of when you plan, make sure you set up a top priority to get your business strategy in place. Brainstorming business goals isn't easy. To help make it a priority and keep everyone on focus, some business owners even set up a weekend retreat for managers. Do what you need to do in order to get this top priority done.

2. Put Absolute Musts First

   In setting any small business goals, there are things you should label as Absolute MUSTS. These are the goals you must accomplish in order to continue your success and achieve your overall mission.

   These types of goals may include:

   • Acquiring new investors
   • Obtaining a business loan
   • Completing new product development and/or release

   These are just ideas of the big plans you may want to put ahead of everything else. That way, you can set up a high priority project so necessary delegation and baby steps can be assigned.

3. Do the Easy Stuff Now

   After you have your Absolute Musts prioritized and in process, you can then focus on the rest of your goal list. The next priority should be anything that you can do in 10 minutes or less right now.

   Take a look at your goal list. Do you see anything that you can pull from the list and get done right now and take only a few minutes? Don't wait - do it now! It will shorten your list immediately, and help give you a sense of instant accomplishment.

4. Do What is Enjoyable

   Set up your remaining priority with a preference for those tasks that you think would be most enjoyable. For any entrepreneur, there are certain tasks which he or she liked most about starting the company. It may have been developing the software, promoting and selling the product or service, or even inventing the product itself.

   Take a look at your remaining list of tasks and goals and find the ones you think would be the most enjoyable. The sooner you check them off the list, the better you'll feel.

5. Prioritize by Importance

   Another strategy to help prioritize your small business goals it to arrange them by importance. This is one of the most popular methods of prioritization that became popular with the Franklin Planner, now called the Franklin Covey. This is a method developed by Stephen R. Covey in his popular book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

   Using this method you will assign each task or goal a number or letter in order of importance. You might use "A" or "1" for high importance, and lower letters and numbers for lesser priority goals. This way, you have a clear list of which goals need your top focus.

6. Prioritize by Category

   Another option for prioritizing your small business goals is by category. Set up your goals in lists of categories such as "financial", "product development", "Expenses", etc. This way, you have a list of priorities at your fingertips for the category you want to work on.

Setting your small business priorities can take some work. But using a strategy, even one or more strategies presented here, can help you form a priority list and knock down those goals one by one and keep your small business on track.

However, then the magic of computer software came along, and Microsoft developed the saving grace to any presentation: PowerPoint. With PowerPoint, anyone can create stunning slides to give a striking visual element while making a speech by simply projecting it onto a screen or blank wall. Using written statements, bullet point outlines, colorful images, and even animation between slide elements, PowerPoint is your friend when it comes to making an effective presentation.

However, not everyone knows the practical secrets of utilizing PowerPoint to make the best impression. That is why we bring to you the six most dynamic tips and secrets to help you be the best PowerPoint presenter you can be.

1. Avoid Slide Clutter

   One big mistake most presenters make is simply including too much information on a single slide. If you must use text to emphasize your statements, use brief bullet points. The best guide for each slide is to have a header, subject title of slide, and 3 or 4 short bullet points.

   Use illustrations and photos when you think they will help drive the point home. However, if you do, avoid shrinking a complex image and including it with all the other points. Use a separate slide if necessary so the image gets the most effect, then get back to the text.

2. Make the Most of Charts and Graphs

   A plethora of numbers on a slide does not make a lot of sense to viewers. For instance, if you are trying to show the history of your yearly revenues, a slew of side-by-side numbers has little impact.

   Instead, use charts and graphs to help crunch those numbers into helpful visual images. A bar graph showing the steady increase in sales and revenue is the best way to display that kind of information.

3. Go Easy on the Creativity

   The creative tools that come with PowerPoint software makes it very tempting to go crazy with transitions, animation, sounds, video, etc. However, be sure the transitions you use remain simple. Don't let them distract from the points you are trying to make. A simple guide is to show your points one by one as you make them, but don't have them fly, spin, or twirl in.

4. Brand Your Business

   Your presentation is likely to support your small business in some way. Whether you are pitching to investors, or describing the benefits of your product to customers, you want your company name branded all over the presentation.

   For starters, make sure that each slide template has your company name and logo. Don't make it too crowded, but just at the top or the corner of each slide. And if possible, always show photos of customers enjoying your product, your product on the store shelf, etc.

5. Limit Your Slides and Your Time

   A presentation is not a marathon sales pitch. A shorter presentation is a better presentation. Keep it under 20 minutes. 10 to 15 minutes is more preferable. You want more time for interaction with the attendees, especially if they have questions.

   Your slides should be kept to a minimum too. Don't try to include dozens of slides and try to race through them just so you can show more images, photos, or slide tricks. 20 is a good target for the number of slides. Remember, you want your personality and presentation to shine, rather than get lost behind digital slides.

6. Practice, Practice, Practice

   Never try to "wing it" on your presentation. You should rehearse your presentation not just once, but again and again. While you can use notes if necessary to keep you on track, you should never fully write your speech and read from it.

   A presentation should be extemporaneous, and when practiced can be free-flowing, yet professional.

   Make your business presentations count. Use these helpful tips to ensure that your presentation gets you that next deal!

To give you a brief overview, Groupon is a company where people in major cities across the US join up to receive notices of great deals, usually at substantial discounts. When they receive a notice of a deal each day, they have a limited time to buy. You get to name the minimum number of Groupons you wish to sell in order to make it profitable. Through social media and sharing with friends and family, your Groupon can reach hundreds even thousands of local buyers that otherwise may not get your marketing message.

While 97% of Groupon merchants want to get their marketing message through their system again, what does it really take to make Groupon successful for your small business?

Prepare Your Inventory

There is nothing worse than offering a great deal and being totally unprepared to handle the extra sales. Some small businesses experience an increase in sales tenfold due to the power of the Groupon social aspect. If you want to submit a deal to Groupon, do your best to forecast and prepare your business to handle the sudden and sharp increase in business.

Prepare Your Employees

Your employees will never forgive you if you don't let them in on the Groupon deal. When suddenly a business gets hundreds of new customers or thousands of calls out of the blue, the staff should be well prepared to know the deal, greet customers, and even work extra hours to handle the calls.

Determine the Proper Price Point

This is important for your profitability. If you give a $25 Groupon for $50 worth of merchandise at your store, but the average sales are only $30 - $40, your customers aren't getting the full deal, and you are not making any extra money.

One of the strategies to a Groupon monetary deal is to get customers to come in and spend more than they already paid for. For instance, say in the above Groupon scenario, your prices actually create average sales of about $75. That means on average, a Groupon patron paid $25 to buy $50 worth of goods, but pays you an extra $25 directly. They still only pay $50 on a total value of $75, so both the customer and you win on the deal.

Engage and Follow Up With New Customers

One important detail that many small business owners fail to do is follow up with those customers who redeemed a Groupon to your business. Without this strategy, most Groupon customers are a one-time-only phenomenon.

You must make the effort to retain your Groupon redeemers so they become repeat customers. Groupon gives you a way to track those who take part in each deal. Use that information so you can welcome a customer to your store. Thank them, make them feel at home, and welcome them to come back.

Do your best to obtain contact information so you can send follow up messages to get their feedback, as well as even allow you to offer another incentive to return.

Learn to Limit Your Deal

A Groupon may be a great way to drum up some extra business. But what if your main goal is to increase the customer base at a new store location? Or perhaps try to sell certain products deemed "slow movers" at a particular location?

You can work with Groupon sales to create the deal with specific parameters. You might offer a 50% off Groupon for your restaurant, but only at certain locations. Or you may offer a half-off Groupon to your mattress store good for only the surplus of last year's Serta mattresses.

Groupon has many small business success stories. Log on to their site for merchants at www.grouponworks.com and read a few case studies. Watch their helpful videos. If you think Groupon could benefit your small business, give them a try. Even if you break even on a Groupon deal, you can still come out ahead with an increased customer base and exposure.

It is imperative that you take the proper time to determine the correct pricing structure for your business. Setting your prices too low can cause you to lose money, but so can pricing too high. And pricing your services may be even more difficult than pricing retail products that you buy wholesale.

But as most experienced and savvy entrepreneurs will tell you, a higher price may cost you to lose a certain amount of customers, but the ones you attract will be the ones you want for your business.

Consider the Number of Projected Sales

Most small business owners make the mistake of thinking that more customers mean more sales. However, this is quite the contrary when you crunch the numbers.

For instance, say you have a new product you want to put on the market. If you price it at $5, your analysis shows that you could sell 10,000 units. That's $50,000 in gross sales. But what if you sold it for twice that? Or even four times that amount at $20? If you crunch the numbers, you may discover that you might only sell 3,000 units, but that still grosses you at $60,000. It simplifies your manufacturing costs and allows you to find the ways to add the quality and value necessary for making that pricing justifiable.

Consider also the possibility of servicing the products you manufacture. If you develop software or make a quality central heating unit, the fewer you sell means the fewer you'll have to service in the future. If you sold 20,000 units compared to just 5,000, just think of all the extra customer service personnel you would have to hire, train, and retain.

Consider What You Want, Not What You Need

Another mistake many new small business owners make is focusing more on what they need, rather than what they want. Say after careful analysis you determine that your solo work at home service business requires a minimum of $4,000 a month. That covers your mortgage payment, maintenance, utilities, car payment, food, and a little left over for entertainment and a few new clothes now and then. So you can live on $48,000 a year, and that's what you need. But what if you want $75K? Or $100K?

Just consider the possibility of $100K a year for your business. In order to earn gross sales of $100K, that would mean earning $8,333 per month. If you worked an average of 8 hours a day for 21 days a month (taking weekends off), that's about 173 hours. That breaks down to just $48 an hour for your services. Not an unrealistic goal at all.

Check Out the Competition

One important task that all small business owners should do before setting or raising their prices is determining what the market value for their services or product is. Check out what other similar business are charging. It may require doing to covert research in their store or calling up to "tire kick" on their pricing.

Then make a matrix citing each company's prices relative to each other. Determine the average price. Then consider what adding a little extra value could do to the price. It could be packaging, home delivery of a service, a 10-point 'quality check'. Then add that value to your product or service to justify your higher prices. You will find that people don't all just buy because a price is the lowest. Many consumers justify a higher price as higher quality and thus are willing to part with more of their money for it.

It is no shame to charge more. Raising your current prices may block certain customers whom you have previously served. However, it can open doors to an entire new customer base and an even more lucrative niche market.

Sure, there is paid advertising campaigns like PPC to help stimulate traffic. And you can spend thousands on professional SEO consultants to help improve traffic to your website. However, there are simple strategies you can do on your own that cost nothing, or very little.

Here are systematic strategies that can help you drive traffic to your business website without spending the tons of money.

Provide Fresh Content Regularly

Professional SEO consultants will tell you this easy known fact. However, rather than pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars for this advice, take it from us for free. A website that is regularly updated gets more attention from search engines - period.

Fresh content may be adding a blog to your business website domain so that each post adds freshness to the entire domain. It may mean updating your home page a few times a month so it reflects any and all current promotions, sales, or happenings at your business. However you do it, continuously fresh content will help your website increase its ranking and be seen by more people searching for what you offer.

Find the Perfect Keywords for Your Website

Keywords are essential. However, you want to avoid the broad, widely-used keywords that give small businesses little chance at a 1st page results on Google. Do at least a little research using Google's keyword tool on their Adwords site. Plug in a few keywords that are pertinent to your business. You can discover what other words people use to search for your products or services.

Choose a URL with Your Chosen Keyword

Indeed, it's nice to get a domain with your business name. However, if your business name doesn't contain any of your main keywords, it doesn't help you acquire new traffic. A website named "johnsstore.com" doesn't tell a potential search engine, or a potential customer for that matter, what your business is about.

Instead, you could modify the URL to become "johnsstoreantiques.com" to help all parties know that you sell antiques.

Choose Descriptive Page Titles

All the pages on your website have titles. Usually they are found in the META tags in the HTML coding. Be sure your page titles are not ambiguous. For instance, "About Us" is too general. Use more specific and descriptive titles like "The Story of Janice's Jewelry" to add more keyword 'oomph' to your website.

Link to and Feed From Your Social Media

Your small business website should contain links for your readers to join you as followers and fans on your social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook. Encourage readers to join so they can enjoy the benefits of your exclusive social media promotions.

Likewise, always feed your website updates to your social media. If you have a business blog, you want all your contacts to know about it so they will visit your site. There are online websites that can help you get the most of automatically feeding your website updates to all social media accounts.

Comment on Other Blogs and Forums

There are certainly other popular websites that are related to your industry. Find the blogs and forums that are pertinent to your business and comment on them regularly, and always leave a link to your website. If you can be more specific, such as a link to one of your blog posts that is pertinent to the topic rather than just your homepage, that is more helpful.

When small business owners complain that they do not see any significant changes or improvements in their website traffic, it is no surprise when they admit that core strategies like these are often not applied. You can experience a big difference and explore the potential of your website if you apply this systematic strategy to improve traffic.