However, how do you determine if you need to purchase a small business vehicle and which car or automobile should you use?

Needs of the Small Business

First, you need to ascertain the needs of your small business. Using a bit of logic will help you put your small business into a category of "need." "helpful," or "unnecessary."

Obviously, if your small business is a taxi service or some form of delivery service, a vehicle will be a requirement as a business function. However, say you own a donut shop chain in your city. If you deliver donuts to clients, or say you use only one location to make and bake your donuts and need to deliver the goods to other chain stores, a vehicle is necessary.

Here are some other examples where a small business vehicle might be necessary to fulfill your business functions.

• Sales travel: Does your business require you or your sales team to travel in order to meet and make presentations to prospective clients? This could be a case where a company car would be useful. However, using personal vehicles and reimbursing per mile instead may be a better option financially. Consider how many miles a car is driven per year, and whether a sales employee is willing to apply his or her own car for that use.
• Deliver goods: Do you deliver your products to clients? Or perhaps you a courier to deliver items from one place to another. A small business vehicle like a delivery truck with your company brand or logo may be ideal for everyday business use.
• Business items: Perhaps you operate a small catering company. You will need a certain kind of small business vehicle that can transport your service items to an event.
• Client transportation: A taxi or limo service is a good example of this. This is definitely a case for a small business vehicle, or even a fleet, that can operate under a business auto insurance policy.
• Advertising: Perhaps you just want to help get your business name in front of more people. A company car may not be suitable for this sole purpose, but a personal vehicle could do the trick with a tax advantage to the owner.

Cost of the Automobile

The cost of the company car could be a barrier for some small businesses. However, if you can afford buying this capital asset, then look at the other cost details for a company car.

• Buying or Leasing: Purchasing a new or used automobile will increase your assists on your balance sheet. You'll also get the advantage of deducting depreciation expense from that asset each year. Leasing a vehicle does not give you any ownership benefit, but the cost of the lease is a fully deductible expense.
• Insurance: Consider what types of small business vehicle insurance you will need, including liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage all under a commercial auto policy.
• Custom painting/interior: Will your small business vehicle need a makeover to display your brand name? Perhaps you want a custom paint job for the car or renovate the interior to accommodate guests, products, or what ever else your intend to use the company car for.

Image and Branding

If you company car can help improve your business branding and name recognition, the ROI may be worth the cost of the car. Some types of small businesses will benefit from a car with a name and logo painted on it, especially if seen in the course of doing business, such as deliveries, catering setups, etc.

Who's Driving?

The last thing to consider about a small business vehicle is who will be driving. Be sure any drivers of your company car have a clean driving record. You don't want the hassle and extra expense of dealing with accidents, especially if your company driver is at fault.

Two weeks ago, I was part of a lobbying delegation charged with telling congressional staffers the story of small technology businesses in the U.S.  The “DC Fly-In” was organized by CompTIA, a trade association focused on advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies. The goal was to influence laws that affect small businesses.  The meetings took place on Capitol Hill in the various congressional office buildings.  I live in Maryland so I met with the staff of my two Senators, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, and my Congressman, Chris Van Hollen.  The effort was very worthwhile. Below is a picture of the delegation's motorcade just outside of the Eisenhower Office Building.

Why Small Business Lobbying Efforts are Important

CompTIA's team was extraordinarily helpful in setting up these meetings and provided background information on some of the legislative issues that are affecting small businesses.  They allowed each of us to talk to the staffers about our individual stories and concerns.

Big corporations hire lobbyists to work year round to make sure legislation does not affect them adversely.  In fact, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of California, mentioned the story of Bill Gates.  Apparently, Microsoft never used to have lobbyists on Capitol Hill.  Then, after the government said his company was a monopoly and tried to break it up, he hired lobbyists - lots of them.  She said Microsoft now has four lobbyists for every member of Congress.  Most big firms have people calling on congressional staffers all the time to discuss legislation that is important to them.  Small businesses need a voice to explain their issues.  The squeaky wheel gets noticed.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) moderating a panel on sales tax for Internet purchases

Meeting the Right People

Having never participated in lobbying before, I was happy to see how open staffers were to meeting with constituents.  All you really have to do is call up your member’s office and get on the calendar.  CompTIA’s lobbyists were able to schedule appointments for us so it made the task easier.  But the process is pretty straight forward.  The meetings are almost always with a Legislative Assistant, the people on the office who take pages of notes to share with the Member of Congress.

The Issues - Start Your Egg Timer

These meetings are fast, anywhere from 10-20 minutes.  The staffers take lots of notes, sometimes ask questions and then talk about what the congressional member is doing about the issue.  Their days are packed with similar meetings so I am not sure how clearly the information is passed along in the form we intended.  Nevertheless, that is the process that most constituents and lobbyists go through unless they have a relationship with the Member of Congress that allows one-on-one meetings directly.

With such a limited amount of time, I chose the following issues to talk about:

1. Anti-spam laws
As CEO of email marketing firm MailerMailer, I pay attention to legislation that affects email.  The U.S. CAN-SPAM Act provided teeth for the government and companies to crack down on unethical email activities.  Canada and European Union have since passed laws that are much more stringent and allow private citizens to file suit.  If we did this in the U.S., it would result in a quagmire of challenges for ethical small businesses.  The EU law also covers a very large base of privacy issues that include things like tracking user behavior with “cookies” on your computer. I urged our legislators not to go down that path since it is too strict.  While our law might need some refinements, the expanded coverage of the Canadian and EU laws is not something we should model.

2. Job Retraining
There is a dearth of qualified engineering talent in this country. While national jobless rates remain at unprecedented levels, there are 450,000 unfilled jobs in technology.  These are high paying positions with an average salary of $81,000.  Offering (re)training options for the un-/under-employed and incentives for companies to hire retrained workers will help everybody.

3. Taxes, both state and federal, from the full perspective of a small business
You might not know this, but the heavy unemployment has caused most state’s unemployment insurance funds to be depleted.  In Maryland, where my business is based, the fund went from $1B to $300M in two years.  As a result, the Governor had few options but to increase the unemployment tax.  This meant a 2-12% increase on payroll taxes for businesses.  If you take an average of 5% as the increase, that means for every $1M in payroll a business now has to pay about $55k in unemployment taxes compared to $6k just two years ago.  For hard hit construction companies, that amount is over $100k. This increase amounts to one to three full-time salaries, inhibiting the small businesses’ ability to expand their workforce.

The federal payroll tax for businesses and employees is 6.2% each. Congress passed a one-year reduction for the employee to 4.2%, which expires at the end of this year.  I urged Congress to extend this reduction because it offers much needed relief for many companies and employees.

4. Section 179 expensing allowances that are about to expire
The tax code allows a small business to deduct the full purchase price of equipment purchases up to $500k.  In 2012, this limit will revert back to $150k unless Congress extends the tax cut.  Why is this cut important?  Businesses who spend a lot on new equipment typically do so to expand.  That means adding more jobs.  By keeping this cut in place, small businesses will have more capital on hand to hire more workers.

Other members of our delegation spoke to their representatives’ aides on related issues.

Is There Any Business Experience in the White House?

The next day, we met as a group with senior advisors on technology and small business to the President in the Eisenhower Office Building next door to the White House.  I did not realize that the President had not appointed a single small business owner to his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, led by GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt.  Apparently, he had the opportunity to do so - several Members of Congress had nominated a fellow CompTIA member - but it didn’t happen.  This point, among others, created an energized discussion. While the advisors were very welcoming with our feedback, the meeting reinforced my impression that there is an shortage of business experience among the President’s staff.  Some understand the needs of small business, many do not.

Me (Raj Khera) in front of Eisenhower Office Building next door to White House

Lobbying is a Process

I was very glad to have participated in this lobbying effort. It made me feel that I was working toward solutions rather than complaining about the problems.  The goal of meeting with Congress was to create more awareness of issues that are important to small technology firms.  The issues are often the same across most small companies.  With the lobbying landscape dominated by large firms with resources to push their interests forward, it is important that small business owners unite in a voice to shed light on legislation that affects us. After all, we employ over 50% of the U.S. workforce.

If you could tell your Member of Congress something, what would it be? Write to Congress and share it in the comments below.

Marketing research has proven in the past that consumers like to do business with companies they trust. It's not your price for a product. It's not even how fast you can ship it. Ultimately, the aggregate consumer wants to know and trust your business before they hand over their precious credit card - and your about us page helps them find that level of comfort.

About Us Page Mistakes

Most small business owners simply do not know how to construct a proper About Us page. Instead, they write up something on the spot and usually it is filled with potentially costly mistakes. Take these for instance:

Telling what your company does
If your company name is Carol's Catering, it is likely your consumers know what you do. In fact, most About Us pages for small businesses make the mistake of telling what they do instead of who they are. Don't make your About Us section another page with a sales pitch.

Leaving out the people
Oftentimes, About Us pages do not have a single iota of information on the business owner, much less any other important people. Make the page more personal, giving insight into who operates the company and helping to make a human connection.

Boring, stiff copy
Another big mistake small businesses make is writing an About Us page that contains unmotivated copy. The tone is stiff, stuffy, business-like, and not at all creative or inviting.

What an About Us Page Should Be

Your About Us page should be inviting and contain these elements:

• Share the company story - Let the About Us page tell how the company got started. Share an anecdote that was the impetus for the company's formation. Provide a timeline. Share why your company is passionate about what it does. Customers love to understand the background of a business.
• Tell the human story - Consumers know your business is more than just a brand. Tell more about the founders and other important directors, and even about the people who customers have contact with.
• Show the company's personality - Even if your company is in a "stuffy" conservative financial industry, it doesn't hurt to show your personality. Have a little fun in the About Us page to show that you're all human, too.

Tips on Designing Your About Us Page

With common mistakes and what an About Us section should include in mind, here are a few ideas to spice up your About Us page.

• Picture and Bios - At the very least, upload a picture and bio of each executive of the company. If the company is small enough, do this with all your staff. Make the bios fun; that is, show a little creativity. Let the visitor know why it would be fun to talk to or meet the person.
• Owner Video - Create a short video of the company's owner giving a brief tour of your facility. Seeing the owner in a hard hat can let readers know that everyone is willing to get their hands "dirty" on the job. You could even do interviews with the owner and other important people in the company and post them on the About Us page.
• Show Timeline Photos - Does the company save photos throughout the years? Consider posting a "travelogue" timeline with pictures of 70's hairdos, 80's clothing styles, and even the humble beginnings of a company. This will help demonstrate that you are an established company, as well as one with a good sense of humor!
• Include Social Media Links - If your small business has social media accounts, be sure to invite online readers to join them. It is easy to obtain icons for popular social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You might even include a script showing the feeds from your recent posts on social media accounts.

With your About Us page, the bottom line is to make the content interesting. Share a little bit about the company, and show the human element of your business. Brag a little about how the company has triumphed over humble beginnings. With an About Us page that attracts and connects visitors to the business, it could spell additional conversions for your online sales.

Keeping your blog updated is a crucial step in improving your website SEO. However, what blog promotion steps do you take to help improve your readership?

Here are 3 tested blogging tips to drive more traffic and boost your readership.

1. Feed Your RSS

   RSS is the acronym for Real Simple Syndication. RSS technology was developed around the turn of the century as a means to distribute online publication media. Using RSS your published content can be syndicated, or fed to readership programs, automatically.

   RSS is a free syndication tool. For absolutely no money, you can get your new small business blog posts in front of readers instantly. RSS works on many platforms that are able to receive the RSS format, such as email, subscriber applications, or right to a reader's desktop. Luckily, RSS is the most popular online publication syndication application, so putting RSS on your small business blog is a no-brainer.

   While RSS works for you to broadcast your newly published content, it doesn't make people subscribe to your small business blog. That is still your responsibility. As part of your small business blog strategy, establish how you will encourage readers to subscribe to your RSS feed. Offer the RSS icon on your website and every blog page. Promote RSS subscriptions through your other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.

2. Ping Search Engines After Each Update

   While you can get a RSS feed to instantly broadcast and syndicate your new blog updates, it doesn't notify search engines about your new content. It is easy for people to think that major search engines like Google and Yahoo! are savvy about new website content the moment it happens. The truth is that while search engines of all sizes regularly send out crawlers or "bots" to scan for new website content, it doesn't happen every day.

   To get your new small business blog content available for search engine results quickly, you need to notify them with a "ping". Pinging search engines is an electronic means of getting their attention that something new is on your website. That way, they will know it is time to log your new content and get it ready to present it as results to web surfers.

   If your small business blog is already on a platform like Blogger, WordPress, or TypePad, their system will automatically ping search engines after every post. Otherwise, you will need to ping using third party tools such as:

   • Weblogs (weblogs.com)
   • Feed Ping (feedping.com)
   • King Ping (kingping.com)
   • Feed Shark (feedshark.brainbliss.com)
   • Pingates (pingates.com)

3. Using Shortened URLs

   If your small business has a Twitter account, you know a 140 character limitation prevents effectual linking to your website blog. But you've probably also noticed how other Twitter accounts easily post links to website pages using shortened or "snipped" links.

   Snipping your blog update URL is easy using a third party tool like the ones listed below. By doing so, you can take a link that is dozens of characters long and reduce it to about 10 or 12 letters and numbers. That way, you can easily include it in a quick update to Twitter and on any other social media platform.

   Here are a few of the popular snipping services:

   • Bit.ly - Helps you shorten and track your links for hits and number of clicks.
   • TinyURL.com - URLs that you shorten with this service never expire.
   • Ow.ly - This is a link shortener offered by Hootsuite.

   Note that there is a downfall for using shortened links. By using a third party service, you lose potential branding of your small business blog and website since the links do not contain any mention of your business name. However, the benefits of blog promotion on multiple social media sites far outweighs this disadvantage.

These files may include text documents with communications between in-house staff and/or clients, spreadsheets with financial data, ticker data from credit card sales and even scans of important signed contracts or other documents. Is the way you store and share these files putting your small business in a data security risk?

It is easy for a small business owner to overlook and neglect file security in the day-to-day routines. However, data security of your files is important. Additionally, files that are shared either from a server location, sent by email or transmitted via the internet are also vulnerable to file sharing security risks.

What Are The Risks of Data Security?

Your small business faces many risks for neglecting data security of shared files. Here are just a few:

• Lost Files - If a file is saved either on a local "C:" drive or on a shared network server, it can get "lost" when no one remembers where they put it, can be lost track of due to multiple moving of files or is even inadvertently deleted by a user.
• Accidental Sharing of Sensitive Information - A data security event may occur when a file is placed on a shared network, where anyone in the company has access to it, but does not have the proper authority.
• Downloaded Viruses - Downloading other files with an attached malicious virus may expose your files to data security issues. Private data could even be obtained by hackers or even deletion through malicious virus code.
• Sent to Wrong Recipient - Data security is jeopardized when files are shared via email and could be inadvertently sent to the incorrect recipient.

How to Promote File Security

Set up a File Sharing Policy
Your first step should be to discuss with your IT manager and heads of all departments how you will share files between each other and to outside sources. Describe when sharing is permitted and when it should be forbidden. Be sure you share the policy with all your employees so they are fully aware of the file security issues.

Set Up Standard File Saving Procedures
As part of your written business processes, you should determine how shared files will be stored. Be aware of the risks of certain procedures such as:

Stored on local drive - If a file is saved on a local hard drive on a laptop or desktop computer, what happens if the drive crashes? Or if the individual no longer can access the drive, can the file be retrieved?

Stored on shared drive - If you set up a network server for file storage, it is a great way to assure backup and recovery. However, who should have access to certain files? Where exactly will they be stored?

Set Up Standard File Folder System
If you do set up a shared server file system, be sure you design a proper and published file structure method. Make it clear that certain files should be stored in certain main and sub folders for departments such as accounting, or marketing. And be sure you set up proper viewing access to folders so those who have no need to see client data do not get to those files.

Classify Your Documents
You can set up a classification system to ensure data security of your most sensitive documents. Your most classified documents might be stored on a shared file that limited access. Or you might have your IT set up a completely different server for "eyes only" individuals.

Set up Proper Users
When you or your IT staff set up user accounts and permissions, be sure you keep track of who has access to what. Also, set up a policy on whether remote users on home or personal laptop computers should access your small business network. That could expose your system to further risks and should be considered heavily.

File security can be maintained with the proper policies in place. Be sure you think through how your small business files will be shared and how you will ensure data security within your electronic system.

To help website owners make more sense of the visits they get, a list of statistical information is available. But the collected statistics and data are meaningless if you don't know what they mean. These statistics can easily be presented using web analytics tools found either from your web host or from a third-party web analytics company. The data presented on web analytical tools can help you make more sense of your website visitors by learning how and what to keep track of, and make better decisions of the content you post.

Making Sense of Web Analytics Terms

If you don't know what the terms presented in your web analytics tool mean, you can't make decisions on how to improve. Here are the most common and helpful terms you'll find.

Hits vs. Visits
Probably the most often-asked question is "how many people see my small business website?" There is statistical data to help answer this question, but the terms and data vary significantly.

• Hits - Many website owners like to advertise how many "hits" a website gets. However, a 'hit' is counted whenever a file is downloaded from the viewer. A single page may have multiple files, including the HTML coding file, a css file, photos, graphics, and other images that make up the entire content of the webpage. Each one of these files counts as a 'hit'. You can see how a single page view can register several hits, making this data unreliable in evaluating true page view counts.
• Visits - Any time a webpage is accessed, it registers a 'visit'. However, the same individual can access the same web page multiple times, and it can be counted again and again.

• Unique Visitors - This data tells a more reliable story of how many different individuals access a specific webpage. A web counter tool will store a cookie file on the computer of each individual who visits a website. That way, whenever the individual returns to the site, the counter knows it has already been logged.

  However, be aware that many savvy internet surfers will at times clear their cookie files from their browser, or even use multiple browsers to access your site. That means the cookie has no effect on counting the visitor as unique, and can skew the results.

• Return Visitors - Along with the importance of counting Unique Visitors, you should also keep track of Return Visitors. That cookie will help your counter let you know how many visitors come back more than once.

Page Views
This data is helpful particularly for blogs. It will tell you which specific blog pages get the most views, and lets you know what kind of content is more likely to elicit views and responses.

Entry Pages
The data found here tells you where your visitors enter your site. Do most come in right at your home page? Or do they find content based on searches? (See Referrers below)

Exit Pages
Likewise, you may want to know where your visitors leave your website. Do you have a lot of exits on your checkout page? Perhaps that is an indicator that it needs to be revamped.

Referrers
You may want to know where your visitors come from. This will let you know what specific website and page a visitor came from, usually by following a link. This may tell you how many visitors come from search engine results, or from your link sharing strategy. If you market your website on other sites, this can be invaluable as to how effective your paid online marketing is doing.

Keywords/Phrases
This data is usually presented when the referrer is a search engine. You may have agonized over choosing the keywords and phrases for your website's SEO. However, this helpful data will let you know what exact and specific words and phrases your visitors used to find your website and its content.

What can a small business owner do to ensure that a supplier or vendor is the right one to provide the needed materials? Rather than picking a supplier or vendor haphazardly, you should do a thorough and pre-formulated rating and evaluation. It is critical to ensure that the supplier and vendor choices you make are capable of delivering what you need and when you need it, as well as meeting your requirements for quality and performance standards.

Popular Rating Metrics

While there could be an endless list of possible metrics on which you can make a supplier evaluation, even down to the dress code of the supplier's employees, here are the most popular rating methods that businesses use to make sound supplier decisions.

Cost - The cost you pay to your supplier or vendor can make a big difference in your profit margin. If you have a supplier that is selling you wholesale items at a price per unit that is too close to your retail selling price, you end up making very little profit.

Talk to your supplier about purchasing in bulk to save money. Perhaps you can negotiate a contract where you promise to purchase solely through that supplier for reduced rates.

The same goes for your vendors. The items you don't resell but use in your business are directly related to your profit margin. Carefully consider who you choose as your vendors. Even a choice in office supplies can save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year.

And while cost is a major and important factor in choosing a supplier, it should not be the only deciding factor. Consider the following as part of your analysis as well.

Delivery Accuracy - Can your supplier deliver the right goods? How often do you find mistakes in the delivery process? Is the accuracy of your supply deliveries directly related to your manufacturing or assembly timeline? This can be a very important factor if you depend on accurate orders from your suppliers.

Delivery Timeliness - Will your supplier meet your needs on time? This is a question that should be raised. Suppliers will at times have stocking shortages and even flat tires on delivery trucks. But if your orders are constantly delayed or frequently late, consider using a different supplier.

Responsiveness - Does your supplier or vendor respond to your inquiries or concerns? When you need to make an order, are you able to get direct contact to your sales rep? Or if you have a concern about an order, will the supplier work with you to your satisfaction? This type of responsiveness can save a load of heartache that is no fault of your own.

Capability/Flexibility - Is your chosen supplier or vendor dependable to meet and accommodate your needs on a regular and long-term basis? How secure is the business? Have they been doing business for a long time and have a great reputation? Or is the supplier or distributor new to the industry and have yet to get a good review? Is the business at risk of suddenly closing down, putting you at a sudden loss of materials? Be sure you can depend on your suppliers and vendors to meet your needs.

Quality of Service - How are the people you deal with? Consider the service of the owner, your sales rep, your delivery drivers, and even the accounts receivable people you have to deal with. Are they people you enjoy dealing with? Or are they tough and brusque?

Take the time to evaluate your suppliers and vendors. Evaluate as much as you can before you choose a vendor or supplier. In many cases, you must actually use the vendor or supplier in order to make a sound evaluation. But the more you expect of your suppliers, the more profit you can make in your business.

Your SaaS contract spells out how your software is to be used by your company, and it outlines the expectations for both you and the service provider. However, SaaS contracts are not boilerplate. You have every right to negotiate anything and everything.

If you have chosen a SaaS company, here are a few important things to consider:

Get What You Want - And Opt For More

Much like installed and licensed software, SaaS can be purchased and utilized in modules or components.

For instance, say you are purchasing an accounting SaaS. You would be paying too much if it came with every possible component or feature, but you only utilized a few of them. That is why a SaaS company allows you to choose features you need.

Say that you just need the general ledger, A/R, A/P, reports, payroll, and invoicing. You can then opt to buy up when you need additional features like sales, inventory management, capital asset management, cost accounting, etc.

Support and Maintenance

Unfortunately, there will be times when your SaaS product is not working properly. Or you may have a special project which includes your SaaS. Or you may simply have a question about how your SaaS works. Who will you contact?

You should insist that your SaaS contract must include a clause for maintenance and support. Spell out clearly when the SaaS company should be available, including days, hours, nights, weekends, etc. It should also include how and whom to contact for emergencies or escalated issues, and even how an issue will be escalated.

Do be aware that the more you put your SaaS provider on call and available, the more you will have to pay.

Liability

What if the SaaS provider makes a mistake? What if there is calamity or disaster with their servers? Are you protected if your company loses data?

Liability is a common issue, and a liability clause should be included in your contract so you are protected should you lose valuable data or revenue due to negligence on the part of your SaaS provider.

Escape Clauses

Situations may arise where you need to modify or even relinquish your SaaS contract altogether. Consider the following:

• Price modulation - You may determine at some point down the road that you are not using all the modules for which you are paying. Include an escape clause that allows you to re-address your pricing structure while your contract is active.

• Termination due to provider action - At some point, your SaaS provider may move their entire location and equipment to a different location that does not suit your needs. Or they may make changes like outsourcing their data servers after your contract is in place. Keep a clause in the contract that allows you to address these issues and walk away due to certain actions.

What About Undesired Service Provider Situations?

What happens if the SaaS vendor goes away, is acquired by another entity who won't support the software, goes bankrupt, or simply discontinues the software? What would happen to your business?

You can negotiate in your license contract to operate the software yourself in such instances. Whereas in cases of software licensing, a client can negotiate a "code escrow" in the contract so that if any of these instances happen, the client can get access to the source code.

However, with SaaS, you need to build in your own protection. Consider negotiating the following:

• Acquisition - If a SAAS company is acquired, put into your contract that the acquiring company must run the application under the same terms for the duration of the contract. This is also a good thing for the acquiring company because they know they have a built-in source of revenue.

• Data Restoration - If the SaaS company stores your data, how will you get it back? Be sure you clearly outline in the contract how and when your data is returned to you.

SaaS can be a great and cost effective way to utilize outstanding software. However, be sure you protect your company to save money, data, and get the most from your SaaS provider.

Many of you can probably relate to this.  When I started my businesses, I spent long hours over a long period of time doing research, building a customer base and managing all of the details in getting established.

MoreBusiness.com hourly traffic (U.S. Eastern time), March 2011

My brother and I planted the seeds for morebusiness.com back in 1994 and in 1996 launched it as a full blown site after seeing site traffic grow steadily.  We have built several other businesses since then, among them MailerMailer, our email marketing service.

As the publisher, I peruse our web traffic statistics regularly.  Every week, traffic to morebusiness.com is always high Monday through Wednesday, takes a little dip on Thursday and Friday and then goes a bit lower over the weekend.  The numbers seem logical.  Small business owners are usually energized at the beginning of the week to try and accomplish as much as they can.  Our web site is full of resources to help them with their business so it makes sense that traffic is higher earlier in the week.

A New Trend?

I've always seen business traffic dip on Saturdays and Sundays, with Sundays being only slightly higher than Saturdays.  I could relate to that.  Saturdays represent a nice breakpoint to recharge, buy groceries, do the laundry, take the kids to their soccer games, you know the drill.

Then, a while ago I noticed spikes occuring on Sundays.  I started to monitor our weekend numbers more closely.  For a solid year and a half, our Sunday traffic has been within 4% of our Friday traffic.

MoreBusiness.com traffic by day of week, March 2011

The numbers were telling me that more people were doing research online on Sundays. Saturdays still continue to be the lightest work day, but Sundays are extremely close to Friday levels of web activity.  A disclaimer: this is not an in-depth study examining the work patterns of business owners.  Rather, it is trend information backed by data: our morebusiness.com's web log files revealing traffic patterns to our popular site designed specifically for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

What Does This Mean?

What can you do this information?  If you are small business owner, you know that it can be lonely.  Your friends and family who haven't gone through the same rigor may not appreciate why you drive yourself to work so hard.  So my fellow entrepreneurs, look at the data - when you're burning the midnight oil or working on Sunday afternoon, take solace in the fact that you are not alone.

This time of year, the competition is fierce for online marketing. You need strategies that will get your message to the right people, but not cost a sleigh of money. Here we provide three tips to get you started on forming your strategy.

1. Set Up Your Metrics Tracking

   You will not know how your online marketing campaigns are working without exact numbers. Be sure you establish tracking for the metrics that are important to you. That might include:

   • PPC Conversion - Get the numbers from the search engines where you have set up pay per click (PPC). They will let you know how many clicks you receive from your ads, and more specifically, how many clicks result in a sale. This can be established through PPC codes provided by the search engine that you place within the code of your website.
   • Secondary Metrics Tracking - You can also set up with search engines to determine how many clicks result in secondary, or non-revenue, events, such as a newsletter signup, brochure requests, etc.
   • Other Banner Ad Tracking - If you set up banner or text ads on other websites, be sure you get the tracking codes from that affiliate so you can track the effectiveness of those ads.

2. Increase SEM Messages

   Using those metrics we mentioned, it is always a good idea to test different messages to see which one works the best. That may require a small increase in your PPC budget, but the better results in sales can easily offset that expense in the long term.

   Test at least two different PPC messages. For instance, you might try one that offers free shipping and one without. Test the results and then go with the one that works the best.

3. Increase Email List Mailings

   You may use your customer email list to send out regular newsletters throughout the rest of the year, but during the holiday sales period, you should utilize that list more frequently to provide notices of sales, promotions, reminders, etc. Don't forget to provide a link to your website, and as always, check those metrics!