Enjoyed this post… although the mystery and mysticism can be a little fun at times, no?

I’m teasing. I particularly enjoyed the “A Ha!” factor of this post. The truth of the matter is that small businesses should be working at attracting customers online — given the fact that we’re in the 21st-Century for one thing, but especially in this economy.

Looking forward to future posts!

I’d add that it is most important to decide what the SMB’s true measure of success is, and set expectations accordingly, before chasing the elusive top spot. For companies:
1) for whom e-commerce is not the prevalent sales model
2) in high competition keyword categories
3) for whom lead quality is more important that hit count
4) where off-line brand awareness is the goal
Other internet strategies (display ads, content syndication, etc.) may take precedent over SEO

Thanks for your input. It’s this kind of feedback and communication and I hope to see occur more here at Frank Thinking. Your additions to my list are spot on especially regarding pacing yourself. It’s this whirlwind of ideas that that the SMB’s start to come up with that eventually wears them out and discourages them.

I think most of the job of internet marketing consultants is to help these folks harness their passion and turn it into something real.

Thanks for stopping by!

Frank Reeds last blog post..Getting Past the “A-Ha!”

Good post and very much agree with your comments. I’ll add a few of my own too… and since it’s that time of year I’ll equate starting Internet marketing (A-HA’s) with my annual New Year’s resolution to “get in shape” and join a gym. Which I do every time this year and then by late February I stop going and cancel my membership. Why? It’s hard, results take too long, I have to find the time, and it’s an added expense that may not payoff for awhile! (Sound familiar?)

Truth be told, I actually solved this problem years ago and now go to the gym 4 days a week religiously. How’d I get there…? Same way I did with Internet marketing:

- Start with reasonable expectations: Like most good things… it’ll take awhile.
- Take baby steps: start small and easy by creating a simple website and/or blog and then adding to it over time.
- One step at a time: Just because your site went live doesn’t mean you need a blog day one. You can do that on day two.
- Measure your progress: It’s really important to see the progress you’re making as this will encourage you to keep going. So be set up to measure right from the start.
- Have fun! Celebrate when you get your first: visitor to your site, comment on your blog, or online customer; and keep setting goals to celebrate wins.

Before you know it, you’ll become addicted to Internet marketing just like the rest of us!