Internet marketing and web design have never been of greater importance to the small business owner. Especially with the rise of mobile devices, Americans are now more active online than ever. In fact, in just the last six months, email opens on tablets and smartphones have grown by 80%! Internet marketing is one of the number one ways to increase leads, and there are many companies out there that can help you take your online marketing strategy to the next level.

Internet Marketing’s Major Players

Internet marketing is all about increasing your online visibility and appealing to users. If you talk with a professional about internet marketing, you’re likely to hear plenty about search marketing, PPC, email marketing, and social media. What can they do for you? Let’s take a look:

• Companies that take time to blog at least 15 times a month get five times the web traffic of those who don’t..
• About 85% of users totally ignore paid ads found on search engines.
• Email marketing has an ROI of $44.25 for every $1 spent, and consumers who regularly sign up for company emails spend 85% more on products than those who don’t.

Though all of these things are important to internet marketing, they have one goal: to draw users to a particular website. For that reason, a well-designed site is one of the most important components of an internet marketing strategy. in the absence of a flesh-and-blood sales rep, the website ultimately is the closer, and it needs to look its best.

Web Design That Seals the Deal

Though most businesses will acknowledge that it is important to have a great website, many are not familiar with the typical web design costs and are taken aback when they first meet with a custom website design company. It is important to note that website design costs will differ between website design agencies, especially dependent on project scope. Here, however, we’ll at least look at the factors effecting website design costs for top website design companies and small scale companies alike.

1. Server and Hosting Requirements- Hosting problems in and of themselves take between two and ten hours initially to address for every project, and further problems take about ten to 20 hours to sort out during any given year, per client. Most web design firms will charge accordingly.
2. Scope- This seems to be the hardest for most clients to understand. What the client wants and what the client needs, though often two very different things, have a major impact on website design costs. A site that needs to perform many complex functions will cost more than sites that simply provide landing space.
3. The Client- You might not like it, but it’s true. Website design and development companies will often either structure their contracts on hourly bases or get a read on you to determine if you’re picky or difficult to deal with. The easier it is to work with a client, the less expensive the website design costs. Newer sites even allow freelancers to submit anonymous information about their experience working with different clients, so a bad reputation could easily precede you and affect your costs.

There are certainly other components, most of which are broken down in price quotes. Typically, a custom site will cost a minimum of $2,500, though the price certainly will vary. Some sites sell for as much as $50,000. Before you go in for a meeting, be prepared for that. Sticker shock is common, but avoidable. You do need a website, and you do need a quality one. At the end of the day, you’re likely to make up what you spend in leads and conversions. See more: www.quezmedia.com