Anyone going into business today has to consider the internet. Whether you are setting up as a local sole trader, a small business or the next big thing – the internet is an integral part of everyday life and therefore is an important element of all businesses.

Below are a few items to consider as you get started

Business Name Selection 

As you choose the name for your new business, you need to check if this will work online. First and foremost you need to see if the domain name is available. Generally speaking if you are targeting a local Irish market, you will want an “.ie” domain name. If you are launching an international business you will want “.com”. You do not want a situation where you have chosen a name like John’s Restaurant, printed your marketing materials and then discover that www.johnsrestaurant.ie is already taken!

This is easy to check – simply go to a registration site like www.register365.com, enter your domain name, click search and it will tell you whether or not it is available to purchase.

Beyond the domain name, you may also want to check availability on some of the main Social Media Channels – such as Facebook and Twitter. To successfully build your brand, you would ideally want to have all of these using your company name.

Once you have selected a name, register it immediately on all of the channels that you expect you might use in the future to avoid difficulties later on.

Develop a plan for the internet in your business

“People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan”. Different companies will use the internet differently, and there is no clear right or wrong approach. What is clear is that your level of success will depend on how clear you are about the role that the internet is to play, and how well your plans align with that role.

For example, if I want to setup as an independent business consultant – I might decide that all of my lead generation is going to come from face to face networking. In this case, I simply want the internet to be a place where contacts that I meet can find out about me, the services that I provide and maybe some case studies. In this case I would want a professional looking website, but I would not really be too worried about Search Engine ranking or Social Media Marketing.

On the other hand, If I am opening a new hotel in West Cork and I want to target visitors from the UK I will need a much more extensive Internet Marketing Strategy covering areas such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Online Reviews, etc.

It is important to start with deciding what you want to achieve from the Internet, and then build a realistic plan to achieve that.

Your Website is an ongoing part of your business, not a one time project

The one mistake that I see almost daily is new businesses that plan to set up a website and have no plan or budget beyond the initial website development. Your website and broader internet presence has to be seen as an ongoing part of your business

• Businesses constantly evolve, this has to be reflected in your website
• If you want to engage existing and potential clients, you have to be current
• The internet is constantly changing and you need to maintain your position
• Many internet marketing elements are driven by up to date content and engagement.

To allow for this, you should

• Budget for the first 12-15 months, not just for the first 3. It is better to spend less on your website and keep some budget to market then to spend your entire budget on a flashy site and have no funds left to promote it.
• Ensure that your website is built on a platform where you can update the content yourself. You should also ensure that you get the appropriate training for this.
• Work with an Internet Marketing Company that you are confident will still be here in 12 months time and that will work with you on an ongoing basis.

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

My final advice is to be careful when you are cutting corners online. When choosing a company to work with, don’t take chances. There are a lot of good Web Design and Internet Marketing Companies out there, but there are also a lot that are not so good – always check references.

In many cases, your web presence will be the first impression that potential clients will get about you and your business. In today’s world, when someone passes your name to a prospect – it is very likely that before they contact you they will check you out online.

If your online presence is not up to scratch, you will have lost those prospects without ever knowing.

John Brennan
Internet Marketing Consultant