Internet Marketing - Website Design For Small Business

SEO: Compelling Solutions For A Critical Issue!

Running a small business feels like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle sometimes. Between fierce competition and limited resources, business owners face obstacles that would make anyone's head spin. The good news? Today's challenges have today's solutions, and many of them start with having the right online presence. The Competition Problem Gets Real Large corporations throw massive budgets at marketing campaigns while small businesses count every penny. Local shops compete against national chains that can afford prime locations and flashy advertisements. Meanwhile, online giants dominate search results with their deep pockets and endless resources. This David versus Goliath scenario plays out daily in every industry. Small businesses need smart strategies rather than big budgets to level the playing field. A professional website becomes that slingshot that helps smaller operations compete effectively against larger competitors. Marketing Budget Blues Small business owners know the struggle of stretching marketing dollars. Traditional advertising costs pile up quickly, and results often feel uncertain. [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Digital Marketing for Startups, Internet Marketing|

The Benefits Of A Small Business Website

Why a Small Business Website Makes Sense Hey! If you’ve ever wondered whether your business “needs” a website, here’s what I’ve learned—and what might just convince you it’s worth the step. Be Seen, Be Found These days, one of the biggest challenges for a local business is just getting noticed. A website puts you on the map—literally. When someone searches for what you do (whether it’s late at night, over the weekend, or whatever), your business shows up. That means more people find you, which means more potential customers. Credibility Counts Here’s something interesting: Most people check online before reaching out, and having a clean, clear online presence helps build trust. Even before someone calls or walks in, they’ll likely check you out online. If your site looks professional, that first impression is solid. Your Business, Even When You’re Not Working A website never clocks out. People can browse your services at any hour—did you wake up in the [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Affordable Web Marketing, Cost-Effectiveness of Online Marketing, Internet Marketing|

Boost Your Business with a Website, Social Media, and More

Small business owners today face exciting opportunities online. However, knowing where to start can feel overwhelming when you're juggling daily operations alongside marketing your business. Smart online marketing doesn't require a massive budget or technical expertise – just the right approach and professional support. Your Website: The Foundation That Works 24/7 A professional website serves as your digital storefront, working around the clock to attract customers. Unlike physical locations, your website never closes and can reach potential customers while you sleep. WordPress-based websites offer the perfect balance of functionality and reliability for growing businesses. Business owners often underestimate how quickly a professional website pays for itself. When customers can find information about your services online, they're more likely to contact you during business hours. Additionally, search engines favor businesses with well-designed websites, helping you appear when local customers search for your services. Social Media That Actually Drives Business Social media marketing works best when it connects directly to your [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Affordable Web Marketing, Internet Marketing, Lead Generation Strategies, social media marketing|

University of Arkansas Marketing Genius

Sometimes A Great Idea Is Right In Front Of You! Small Business Insights: Marketing A while back I went to my first University of Arkansas football game. It was a spectacular fall day...too warm for November 1st, that's for sure. As we made our way to the cheap seats, we made the obligatory stop at the concession stand for an $8 souvenir mug of Diet Coke and a hot dog. Once seated, we immediately took to eating our almost entirely tasteless "meal" of encased meat--it was a spectacularly bland dog. But just as the first wave of belches began to percolate in my still hungry gut it occurred to me: how was it possible that the vendors within this glorious steel and concrete shrine to Razorback pigs had missed the marketing gold that is (insert drumroll here): "Hawg Dog?" For those of you not living in "The Natural State" of Arkansas (where there is no formal recycling plan; turns out "Natural" is a [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Internet Marketing|

Marketing Emails-How Kohls Is Abusing Their Mailing List

Be Good To Your Customer & Respect Their In-Box! Small Business Insights: Marketing My wife recently signed up with the Kohls mailing list in an effort to secure the occasional coupon and special offer as we entered the back to school and consumer-spending-frenzied-fourth quarter. And because she's been around me just long enough, she used our mutual Yahoo email address vs. her personal account. And in case anyone wasn't listening closely let me repeat that little pearl of advice: Secure a Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail account and use them specifically for mailing lists, registrations, and similarly disposable instances. They are easy to get, plentiful and available from any machine with an internet connection. The first marketing email came in this past Monday and congratulations to them for keeping very close tabs on new sign-ups and getting right to work. As one that spent several years in retail internet marketing, I know that's important. And with retail taking it's current [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Internet Marketing, Ramblings|

Winning The Domain Lottery: Selling A Valuable Domain

When A Domain Was Caught Up In A Bidding War AKA: The Good Old Internet Gold Rush Days Back in the mid-1990’s (or more fondly, “ancient times” as we know the internet ages at the same pace of a dog), I had a fine civil servant’s job in Sonoma County, CA. And like everyone else I’d found myself quite amused by the new internet and my Mac Performa (rockin’ the 4 megs of RAM, baby!). To get perspective on just how long ago this was, my co-worker Sue did a little moonlighting as a realtor agreed with me that the internet had genuine possibilities as a tool for selling houses. This was a cutting edge idea, no doubt about it. Put up the house listing, add pictures and sales information…it was pure genius. Armed with a recent dalliance with “Photoshopping” my face into famous pictures and scenes (alas, those are long lost) and emailing them to amused friends at [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Internet Marketing, Technical|

It Ain’t Magic. It’s Just Good Service

Earn Your Client’s Trust & Keep It Small Business Insights: Customer Service Just about every time I turn around, there is some new piece of technology or some new buzzword-filled marketing trend, that is claiming to be the magic pill that web-based businesses have been searching for to get more sales. Just do this one unique thing, they tell you, and all your e-commerce dreams will come true. The “one thing” almost always conveniently involves spending money on a product or service that promises to be the “it factor” you’ve been missing. Can I tell you a secret? In all my decades of experience as a small business owner myself, I’ve only found one thing that really works, and it’s as old-school as it gets. What I’m talking about is great customer service. Taking care of people is the oldest practice in the book, but it works. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten contracts because, according [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Internet Marketing, Web Design Services|

Everybody Hates Laundry, But That’s No Reason Not To Do It

Everybody Hates Laundry, But That’s No Reason Not To Do It Small Business Insights: Marketing A Guest Blogger post by Daniel Titus Earlier this week I was meeting with a colleague who has designed a massive site for a large and ever-evolving organization. The site has been built; the code is working; everything is ready to go, but they still haven’t launched yet. Why? Because the week before the scheduled launch date there was a change in the information—then another and another. The information can’t stay current enough for approval, so the launch gets delayed. Exasperated by it all, my colleague exclaimed, “Look, you’re always going to have changes; that’s why I have a job! You can’t wait until all of the changes are finished to do something or nothing will ever get done. It’s just like the laundry!” I thought that was very insightful. In the past, I’ve compared websites to everything from houses to dentistry, but laundry was a [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Internet Marketing, Web Design Services|

Small Business Internet in 2025: 15 Years of Lessons

Speeds, Reliability, and SEO Impact (15 Years of Lessons) Originally published in 2009, updated for 2025 to reflect the dramatic changes in how small businesses use internet connectivity Back in 2009, I was anxiously waiting for AT&T’s U-verse to reach my neighborhood in Little Rock. My DSL line was crawling at 6 Mbps, and the promise of 18 Mbps felt revolutionary. I called support weekly, tracked rollout maps, and daydreamed about how faster internet would transform my web design business. Fast-forward to 2025, and that “blazing-fast” connection seems laughably slow. Today’s small businesses rely on 100 Mbps or more just to run daily operations. The shift isn’t just about speed — it’s about reliability, cloud adoption, and how internet performance directly affects your website traffic and bottom line. 2009 Reality: When 6 Mbps Was “Enough” Fifteen years ago, the internet played a very different role in business operations. Email dominated, cloud tools were new, and video calls were rare. [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Digital Marketing for Startups, Internet Marketing, Technical|

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