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Small Business Web Design & Marketing on a Minimal Budget

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Can You Market Your Florida Business on a Minimal Budget?

Developing and marketing your small business website is a must for any Florida business. If you’re a true small business, a mom and pop business or a self-funded entrepreneur, finding room in your budget for website services can seem challenging at best. But, allocating funds for website design and search engine optimization services should be on the top of your list of necessary operating costs. How do you know where to begin to find quality, affordable website services? If you choose incorrectly, how might it effect your expenditures and success going forward?

Bay Area Graphics & Marketing can help you to understand your options. We offer affordable website design and marketing services that will accommodate your business at every stage.

The Cost of Website Design Services in Tampa Bay

The cost of website design and the subsequent costs of website maintenance and marketing can fluctuate greatly from one firm to another. There are often very obvious reasons for the fluctuation. If you’re like most small businesses, you must first understand how to find the right Florida website design company , one that is small business friendly.

“You Deserve to Get the Best Return on Your Marketing Dollars.”

It can be extremely confusing for small business owners to  understand the ins and outs of web design and SEO.  Most do not know what they should look for, the questions they should ask and how to discern between the massive amounts of information provided online and by local website service providers. Small businesses are always searching for affordable web design and marketing firms in Tampa Bay and in Florida and there are many to choose from. Below are some quick tips on how to get the help you need to build and market your small business website, even on a minimal budget.

1. Do your research. Spending your money wisely doesn’t mean saying yes to everyone who promises you the moon. Anyone who promises you a top ranking is just not being honest. Look for a company who follows Google’s Best Practices and understands the importance of content, website health and functionality as it applies to visitor appeal and search engine ranking.

2. Web design and SEO pricing that seems affordable to some, may not be cost-effective or affordable for others. Know your budget, then, ask the company you are considering how they can work within your budget, and exactly what you can expect.

3. There are Florida web design and marketing firms who charge enormous fees for their services and yet they do not necessarily produce better results for their clients. Alternatively, the cheapest SEO and website design services may not have the longevity and stability that you want. Take your time, ask questions and be forthcoming with your answers, as well.

4. Understand that marketing your website to rank high on Google also means maintaining good health and functionality of your website. If your SEO firm cannot do both at a reasonable price, then you may wish to look elsewhere.

5. Social media marketing. Social media is important. How much time or money you allocate to it depends very much on your industry and your budget. Spending all of your money or time on Facebook and other social media platforms while ignoring the organic ranking of your website is always a bad idea. Using these platforms properly will get you more bang for your buck. Look for a company who combines services, such as SEO and Social Media Marketing as well as website maintenance. Not all firms have the experience to help you with each of these most needed services.

6. Work with a website design and marketing firm who isn’t opposed to working together WITH you to market and promote your business. After all, it’s YOUR business. How does this benefit you? One example: Many small business owners are contacted directly by companies who are selling paid directory listings. We have seen many businesses ruin their ranking simply because they were roped into paying for services that served no purpose at all, other than propping up the directory.  To avoid costly errors, your SEO firm should be agreeable to work together with you, to help you to determine where your money is best spent. Additionally, ask if your rep can teach you or your staff the proper way to update your sites or even how to engage properly on social media.

7. Once you begin looking for a Tampa website design and marketing firm to assist you, remember if the company you are considering is using paid ads it doesn’t say much for their ability to get you ranked high organically. We would suggest moving away from these companies.

8. Maintain realistic expectations. Keep in mind that doing something is always better than doing nothing at all. If you have a very limited budget, discuss this with your website design & SEO firm. If they are truly small business friendly, they will be able to offer an affordable SEO package without contracts or strings attached.

9. Speaking of contracts. Avoid them. SEO contracts lock you into services that may or may not be beneficial. If your SEO firm is doing a great job, then you’ll stay with them. We think it’s just that simple.

10. Look to consolidate the tasks that you need the most into one service. In other words, avoid paying a web designer to maintain and update your website and an SEO & Marketing company to build your online business. Streamlining your services, get rid of services that are not producing results and put those funds into areas that give you the best return on your investment.

11. If you do not have a website, it is very important to understand the difference between a designer and an SEO specialist. Once you understand why, it will make sense to use a website designer who will optimize your site prior to launching. More often than not, we are optimizing websites that should have been optimized and were not. This is simply not cost effective.

Our Love for Small Businesses 

Bay Area Graphics & Marketing has been providing help for Florida Small Business owners since 2001! We have always had a heart for the Florida small business owner, and we continue to derive great pleasure from their success! Find out how we can help your small business succeed too!

Reach out to us below, or call 813-778-9548.
You can also direct message us and chat with us on Facebook.

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    “You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea.”
    Larry Page, co-founder of Google

    Florida Small Businesses Website Design & Marketing Services. We Call Tampa Bay Home!

    Tampa web design, SEO, marketing

    Florida Website Design & SEO Services Kept Simple

    Posted by | SEO, Website Design | No Comments

    Tampa Website Design, SEO, Marketing – Focusing on Simplicity

    At Bay Area Graphics & Marketing, we’ve always had a simplistic approach to website design, Search Engine Optimization and small business services.  Our focus? Customer satisfaction. As small business owners since the 90’s we first considered what we needed and wanted.  Then, we asked small business owners what they wanted once their needs were fulfilled. Their needs boiled down to being able to obtain affordable website services, loyalty and dependability. In short, they wanted simplicity.  Small business owners didn’t need the cheapest web design services in Tampa, they needed quality web design and SEO services that they could easily afford. They wanted a website design company who was dependable one that would help to make their business run a little smoother. Affordable website, marketing and design services with an emphasis on transparency and simplicity. We began by taking a minimalist approach to our own needs which helped to reduce costs that would otherwise be transferred to our customers.  Why does any of this matter?

    The Trend Towards Simplicity and Minimalism in 2018

    While researching online trends in 2018, what we discovered was that consumers searched for and were being drawn towards more simplistic approaches to just about everything. From minimizing space, to clothing to becoming more self sufficient. The trends also were towards learning how to relax, which often meant finding time to relax. In a nutshell, we couldn’t help but notice that people are clearly reaching out to cure and reduce the stresses of managing their business and personal lives.  But, we also realized, this wasn’t a “new” trend. We knew this to be true decades ago when we asked consumers what they wanted and needed from a web design and marketing agency. Although we were building our Tampa web design and SEO business in the late 90’s, by asking consumers we understood that small business owners were already stressed about the complexities of what the internet meant for the future of their small business. We felt the need to reduce that stress while using our talents. Back then, the cost of a small business website was astronomical and many small business owners were being left behind. We truly couldn’t understand or justify the high prices that web design firms were charging. We deduced it to “because they could.” Website design firms were different then, and they had a need to cover the cost of impressive office spaces, staff and their own massive advertising costs. Initially, people who could afford it were willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for s simple website.  We took a different approach, a simplistic approach. So how did simplifying things work out? Well, we’re still here decades later and some of those top agencies that were around then, are long since gone.

    Quality in Simplicity

    There is quality to be found in simplicity, and less is very often, more. What does it have to do with our services? Well, these are services most small business owners need on a frequent basis. Many business owners are hard wired to deal with complex situations and some often create difficulties where it they don’t yet exist.  I think we have all heard the old phrase “keep it simple stupid” or “less is more.” Let’s go with the both of these. People have a tendency to complicate matters that are not complicated. Or, they complicate things they may not understand. Simply put, that’s not wise or in the case to follow, decent.  Frequently, small business owners in our industry and others, will complicate and confuse matters –on purpose. Example: We’ve heard many stories of other firms convincing the consumer that the sky is falling.  If the sky is falling, the person complicating matters was surely the only one who can stop it from falling and their fee to stop it will be comparable to the task, right? After all, it’s the sky, and it’s falling. What’s worse, is finding out that the company you trusted actually caused the sky to fall, only to charge you to fix it. See how that works? Sadly, it works for falling skies, a fall in website ranking, a broken website– or just about anything.  In this situation less of that way of doing business is surely more. We keep things simple by being honest, fixing what needs to be fixed, and by keeping troubles at bay so our customers can focus on other matters –like having time to relax. 

    IF the Sky Actually Falls, You Won’t Need Our Services

    Look, as small business owners we know that when things become too complicated, it eventually takes a toll on everyone.  We also understand having worked closely with small business owners for decades, that the daily grind of operating a business can be complicated.  It is the nature of the beast. Our goal when working on our client’s website design projects or their search engine optimization and marketing is to keep focused on what is important and true. Give our clients what they need and want and work methodically towards solutions to problems that may arise. We keep the necessary website services affordable while keeping the process easy for customers to understand. We do not insist on contracts because we do not need to. If an SEO or web design firm makes you sign a contract that locks you in to services for months or years,  you most likely need to start looking for the hidden fees or reasons behind it. (Usually it’s in small print in the form of “price per keyword or phrase” or location or hosting or other additional services.) We offer affordable website design packages and Pay as You Go SEO services which keeps the process of search engine optimization and website marketing simple. If you need to focus on ranking for multiple keywords, we’re already on it. We also combine our services into one, so for instance, if you have a WordPress website, and you need WordPress maintenance or updates, we’ll take care of those for you as part of our SEO service. We won’t make it complex, up-sell our services or create problems (like falling skies). Because let’s face it, if the sky actually does fall, you surely won’t need our services. 

    Saving Time, Money, Energy in 2019 

    Moving into 2019, we believe the trend towards simplicity will remain as it did in the 90’s and in 2018. We believe more small business owners will continue to search for ways to simplify their own lives which means making changes in their business relationships. This may include making some changes that will result in saving money, time and energy. These are all good and positive things to aspire to. We will continue to keep our process of developing small business websites that rank well, easy and affordable. Our SEO service and web maintenance services will continue to be straightforward, without complicated rules, price structures or questionable short-cuts that can actually cause problems, rather than positive results. Trusting that your website services are in the hands of focused, experienced professionals will allow our customers to spend more time to search for additional ways to create harmony, simplicity and success in their business. 

    “Simple can be harder than complex, you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end, because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs

    Let us help you simplify things, so together, we can move mountains! 

    Tampa Florida website services, search engine optimization services

    Telephone: 813-778-9548

    Email: info@affordable-webdesigntampa.com