PRINCETON, N.J. - Even if youíre not doing direct selling on the Internet, a Web site is a crucial marketing tool for small businesses, says StartupJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís guide for entrepreneurs. 
Web sites are cost-effective forms of advertising and lead generation, and can be used for communicating with customers, employees and suppliers. In fact, the Web gives small businesses the chance to compete in the same arena as larger competitors.
And once youíve put in the time and effort to design an effective Web site,how do you draw traffic? Through search-engine optimization (SEO), which helps place a site high in search-engine rankings when Web surfers look for information related to the site.
ìEditing your siteís copy to include keywords, writing more search-engine-friendly Web coding, and arranging for related sites to link to your site can improve your siteís rankings and keep them high,î says Tony Lee, publisher, StartupJournal.com. ìBut keep in mind that overusing keywords may lower your rankings. If you say the same thing over and over, the search engines will catch on and typically will either bury your site in their rankings or not list it at all.î
StartupJournal.com recommends that you make sure that you submit your Web site to the most popular search engines and directories, including Google, Excite, Infoseek, WebCrawler, Lycos, Alta Vista, HotBot and Yahoo!.
StartupJournal.com also offers these tips for building and promoting a successful Web site:
* Decide what the purpose of your Web site will be.
* Determine your needs.
* Find a reliable Internet server.
* Know what to expect.
* Find affordable Web hosting.
Ask for references and check them.
For more information and guidance on starting and running a business, visit
Web sites are the key to small-business success, says Startupjournal.com
.
