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Making the Most of Your Website: Start with the Basics

Making the Most of Your Website: Start with the Basics

One of my most salient memories from when I sold real estate in Oregon for my Dad's company was listing a property where the owners had initially tried to sell it For-Sale-By-Owner with no success. After the listing contract was signed my Dad told them, "Next time put your phone number on your sign."

It is easy to laugh when someone forgets something as obvious as providing a contact method for a buyer, but far too frequently website usage falls into the same category.

Below are a few tips to make the most of your website.

First things first . . .

Email signatures ? Is your website listed on every email you send out? If not, you may be missing out on exposure for your business. You may think that if someone already knows you, that they already know what you do. However often when someone knows you on a personal basis, they do not always remember your business connection.

Business cards, flyers, and printed material ? Every single piece of printed material you put out should have your web address on it as well, whether it is a coupon, gift certificate, flyer, letterhead, or business card.

Advertising ? If you are advertising in the yellow pages, a magazine, newspaper, TV, cable or radio, make sure that your web address is included. I have seen business spend thousands of dollars on a huge ad in the yellow pages and leave out their website, which is the equivalent of money flying out the window.

Any time you put something out there that says, "This is my business, this is what I do," make sure your website is on there.

Learn from the big boys:

Large corporations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on market research to test consumer response patterns and behavior. As a small business, there is sometimes the view that we can't compete with a large conglomerate. However, the Internet is a great leveler. A professionally presented web site can give a small business the same credibility on par with an international company.

Small companies can take advantage of the lessons that large corporations have paid much to learn. Corporations do not see a website as an entity unto itself, they view it as part of the total marketing strategy.

What do those million dollar Super Bowl commercials have in common? They all prominently feature the company web address for viewers to visit to get more information. The ads are designed to create awareness and corporations use their website to sell the benefits of their product or services.

The purpose of marketing is to create awareness about your product or service, highlight the benefits that you offer, and to entice the buyer to contact you. A website is an increasingly important component of a comprehensive marketing plan.

Carla Alvarez is owner of legacy marketing services which provides integrated marketing services for businesses including legacy marketing services, legacy marketing services, and business development seminars.

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In The News:

Google Universal Cart tracks price drops, surfaces promo codes and uses Google Wallet to match your best credit card rewards before checkout.

Safari's Notify Me feature and Google's price-tracking tools can monitor products and send alerts when prices drop on your iPhone or Android.

George Weiner built PACspam.org to trace who sends nonstop political fundraising texts after blocking numbers repeatedly failed to stop the messages.

A dedicated VPN IP address may reduce frustrating CAPTCHAs and bank login security checks by giving websites a consistent connection to recognize.

Apple Wallet in iOS 27 lets you create digital passes from physical cards using a photo or screenshot, but not every card in your wallet qualifies.

Anthropic's Claude AI submitted a fabricated eyewitness tip about an unsolved murder to a Philadelphia police website during automated testing.

P7 DarkSword iPhone spyware can steal saved passwords, photos, Apple Notes and cryptocurrency wallet data by checking for commands every 15 seconds.

Cybersecurity experts told Fox News Digital that a cyberattack on French supermarket freezers should warn the U.S. about critical infrastructure gaps.

The Oracle Health breach exposed medical records, Social Security numbers and diagnoses of nearly 20 million patients across multiple states.

The new Tesla Roadster drove upside down and launched into the air at SpaceX's Texas facility, but a 2028 production target remains unconfirmed.

Apple's iOS 27 lets you add keywords to iPhone photos, while Samsung Gallery tags and Google Photos search offer similar organization tools.

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads, and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Making the Most of Your Website: Start with the Basics

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