Make your home page great and reap rewards

2 Make sure the web solution is scalable. It will save you the cost of having to rebuild it from scratch every few years.

3 Once it’s up and running a lot of work on your website can be done in-house, which saves money

4 You can measure the number of in-bound phone calls coming from the website using a phone number that is published only on the website. Remember, you can’t control what you don’t measure.

5 You should review and set goals for your website every six to 12 months.

6 Around 50 per cent of internet searches that result in visits to your website will be through your company name. This is called a Branded Search. Make sure your home page looks great, says what you do, that the company name is prominent and that it is easy to find all the main pages using the navigation menu.

7 Search the internet for your products, but not just using the obvious search terms; use some that your competitors use.

8 Make sure all your web pages look good. Potential customers could land on any page, so make sure they look impressive. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

9 Once you have got your website running well – be proactive. Send out regular email shots to existing customers and prospective customers.

10 Social media is a great tool for SMEs as it can be done at minimal cost. Use LinkedIn to build networks and Twitter to improve your website ranking.