SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Consulting - get on on the net and catch customers

Companies are queuing up to get on the internet to promote their businesses? SEO consulting grows in importance. But how do they go about getting themselves hooked up?

Find an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

You need a reasonably modern PC and a modem before you get an ISP. There are over 400 ISPs specialising exclusively in business customers. Many give a month's free trial and switching your website to a rival ISP should be fairly easy.

Even if you have no website to move, you will be able to get a good idea of an ISP's reliability by using your account to send and receive e-mail and surf the net. This is your chance to assess whether your modem is too slow - or too fast. The maximum modem speed an ISP can handle varies from 28.8k upwards.

Most firms specialising in business accounts offer ISDN connectivity as well, but you might want to hold off on this until you know it will be worthwhile - ISDN use pays off only above a certain volume of traffic.

Some ISP's offer an unlimited number of e-mail addresses and all will claim that their phone support is second to none. If they boast 24-hour, seven-day service, try calling them at 3am one Sunday. Monthly charges vary, but not much (over £10, but under £20) and should buy you unlimited online time (local call charges excepted).

How much web space does the ISP allow each user to have on its server? A few suppliers offer unlimited space, the rest vary from one to 10 megabytes (Mb) with five a fairly common amount. To assess your needs, visit the Provender site (www.provender.net) - this uses about 2.5Mb of space.

There are countless ISPs from which to choose. Some offer a comprehensive package for business, which embraces everything from hosting to secure online payment options.

Assess the Opposition

One good thing about the net is that embedded in it is all the equipment you need to carry out your own market research.

Try a simple Yahoo search in your field of business. The number of sites you turn up - remember that no search engine will return a fully comprehensive list - will give you an indication of the strength of the online opposition.

Visiting sites in your market area will provide you with a wealth of insights into e-commerce practices and tips on how to - and how not to - design sites in a way that will keep surfers interested.

Design Your Site

There are two routes. One will cost you less, but lead you into a nightmare of grief and frustration. The other will cost you more.

First, you can now buy off-the-shelf internet solutions, formatted with templates into which you can drop your details, prices and unit codes. Products designed for the DIY site-builder are flooding on to the market - many linked to online functions and hosting services.

DIY sites are feasible, but you may find the result lacks a certain flair. The alternative approach to designing a web site is to use a web designer. It will advise on content and persuade you that interactivity is the name of the game and that customer interest can be held with any number of devices now common to many successful sites - e-mail newsletters are a current must have.

Ask for a list of examples of each studio's work then surf those sites. If you do opt for a studio-designed site, make sure it can be easily updated or amended.

A key factor will be your domain name. Nominet UK is the national registry for all internet domain names that end with "uk". The usual procedure is to register a name through one of Nominet's agents - mainly ISPs and Internet consultancies. The average number of UK registrations per month has risen from 2,000 3 years ago to 7,000 today.

Promote your Site

This is the most difficult but the most important part. Web developers will usually build in some promotional activity - commonly notifying the key search engines of your site's existence. They may even do a minimum amount of SEO consultancy But most off-the-shelf solutions have similar in-built facilities. It is vital to let Yahoo and the rest know you exist, but getting your site to appear high on their must-see list is an art form. Choose your keywords with care. If selling cheese online, "Cheese" might be a good one. As might "cow", or "goat" or "cheddar".

This WON'T BE ENOUGH. Think cross-media. Pick a domain name that people could guess at - "cheese.co.uk" would be good - and use it on all your advertising, business cards, packaging, e-mail and vans.

Another trick is to link your site to others in a similar but non-competitive field (if you sell Cornish cream, maintain a hotlink to the Cornish Tourist Board). This will cost nothing, since it works both ways.

You really need a web developer who is also an experienced marketing consultancy who can help you market your site and really get it to deliver for you.