Who can afford to throw away money? That’s why we study our ROI (Return On Investment). And when it comes time to plan our business budget we have to wonder: If I invest hundreds of dollars on my marketing, will I make that hundreds of dollars back – and more – to make a good profit? Or are marketing professionals just taking my money?

Creative people resist having to do “business” and business people are suspicious of anything that sounds “creative.” But the most successful entrepreneurs are creative people who embrace business and business people who think creatively. Are you using both sides of your brain to give your business the best chance at success? Is your website using both sides?

Meineke used that catchphrase years ago for their mufflers, but it’s certainly been applied to many other products since then. You may say the same for your next website—and then be bitterly disappointed. Or completely satisfied. So how can you know what’s “a lot” to pay for a website?

Here’s a quick breakdown of what to consider when planning your website so your budget goes toward the options that are most important to your business.

You know how it happens – you make grand plans on New Year’s Eve to completely overhaul your health, your house, your business. You start out strong but by February, you’re losing steam and by March your grand plans are merely guilty memories.

Improving your website is a goal that will pay you back nicely this year, so don’t sabotage your efforts by biting off more than you can chew. Taking these baby steps towards improvement means you might actually accomplish your goals –encouraging you to take a few more!

This article was updated on 3/13/2019 with the article entitled "Getting Started with Do-It-Yourself SEO."

This article was updated on 3/6/2019 with the article entitled "Getting Started with Do-It-Yourself SEO."

Paying for Search Engine Optimization?
Getting what you paid for?
Wishing you could afford SEO?
Trying to do it yourself?

Or are you just ignoring the whole SEO discussion entirely?

Read on for a few simple tips that help you figure out what you have, what you need and how to make it happen.

This article has been updated on 11/13/2019 with the article entitled “Prep Your Website Now for Holiday Shopping."

Yes, the Christmas displays at the mall were set up already weeks ago, but now that Halloween is officially behind us the holiday shopping season begins in earnest.

The Internet can help your business rack up new sales. And it can rob you of sales, too. Are you doing what you can to attract new customers while keeping the old?

In honor of the Halloween season, we'd like to share some terrifying tales that happened to some perfectly ordinary business owners before they became our clients. Like any good horror story, the scariest part is that you've heard about frightening events like these happening to people you know. In fact, these horrible things could happen to you!

So turn down the brightness button on your monitor, huddle up with your marketing manager, and prepare to be terrified!

This article has been updated on 4/03/2019 with the article entitled “Offering Affordable Websites Today for Tomorrow’s Clients.”

But the correct business decision would be to turn these folks away and we just couldn’t. We had to find a way to help.

Attributed to Nicholas Carr five years ago, the term "digital sharecropping" has once again been a topic of discussion in recent weeks. Seems sort of appropriate since this year is the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, a time in our history when sharecropping was most prevalent.

Comparing sharecroppers of the 1860's to digital sharecroppers of today is an interesting exercise with some conclusions that may surprise you.