by Jennifer Dickinson

Created on: February 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 02, 2009

In today's uncertain times, a small business needs to creatively curb its expenses while keeping itself at the forefront of the minds of current and prospective clients. The consumer's marketplace is at the end of their fingertips, with the next best thing found on their laptop or BlackBerry. Options that don't make their discerning cut can quickly be eliminated and swept into the undertow of the market share abyss if unable to keep up with the competition.

Small businesses can inexpensively maintain an edge by using the right tools and techniques to give their storefront the presence of an internet giant.

All businesses should first have a website or risk being engulfed by the internet ocean.

GoDaddy is an excellent one-stop-shop which won't put a business into the red. Their domain name specials start at $1.99 each.
Their web hosting services are catered to all budgets and needs and have brilliant add-ons with high visibility targeted ads on Google, MSN and Facebook.

The bulk of President Barack Obama's successful campaign and win are partially credited from his ingenious use of performance-based ads, which helped him to snag his North Carolina primary sweep. Talk about harnessing the power of the internet!

GoDaddy's Business Hosting Solutions option has an inexpensive business bundle allowing the site owner to create a ten page website with top search engine ranking, and the ability to send up to 5,000 marketing emails annually. For those who feel technologically challenged, GoDaddy's team can come up with a low-priced Dream Website Design.

Whether a business owner creates their own website or contracts out a web designer, the content must be keyword rich to drive traffic to the site. This technique is known as Search Engine Optimization or SEO. A business will only grow exponentially with effective SEO techniques. The SEO Chat website is a free excellent resource with tips and tools for effective website promotion.

Do-it-yourselfers can test out the marketing waters in other ways with the only cost being their time. The payoff is free self-promotion. Who doesn't like something for free if the result is expanded business?

A no-cost business marketing solution is a free press release service, PR-inside.com. This site showcases businesses to an international audience and has strong Google presence. With the right keywords through a free press release, traffic can easily be driven back to a business. PR-Inside's format even accommodates an optional photo and video. With the use of YouTube, business owners can create their own free videos and embed them into the press release for an overall interactive reading experience and attractive presentation.

In the long run, Return on Investment can climb when minimal or no costs are spent with creative marketing solutions. Once an internet presence is established, a business will take on a life of its own. This only perpetuates savings in time and money, as well as profit in even the choppiest of economic waters.

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