The Complete Small Business Internet Guide

Reviewed by: Bev Walton-Porter, send e-mail Published by: QUE, go to the web site Requires: N/A MSRP: $24.95 You have a business, you have a rudimentary understanding of the Internet and you know you want to put your business online - now what? If you need to know how to get from here to there, but you're a small business owner and not a techno-genius, The Complete Small Business Internet Guide is for you. What you won't find in this book is a lot of unnecessary hype, confusing terms or confusing language. What you will find is 272 easy-to-understand pages covering all-important subjects for the small business owner, such as how to use the Internet to manage your business, whether e-commerce fits small business needs and how 'Net marketing differs from traditional marketing. But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Business owners will also learn the finer points of Web site creation, how to register your own domain name (with an explanation of what exactly a "domain" is) and how to unlock success with strategic search engine placement.

Still not sure your business should even be on the 'Net? Before readers tackle the finer points of setting up a cyber shop, the authors familiarize their audience with facts that will make even the hardened e-commerce skeptic take notice, such as the fact that commercial Websites are doubling at LEAST every six months.

An earnest discussion is undertaken regarding whether the 'Net should be considered a serious tool for conducting business, Internet security digital IDs, how to know if your transactions on the 'Net are really secure ones.

In chapter three, there's an extremely handy section which covers business productivity links, and it's a fair bet this section will quickly become dog-eared from frequent use. Divided into sections covering books and magazines, communications, electronic news (or e-news), human resources, insurance, Internet and legal help, taxes and more, you'll find a full 11 pages of must-have links.

Ready to tackle the facets of savvy marketing, eye-catching public relations, audio and video Web communication, not to mention Internet law and intellectual property issues? This book will sail you seamlessly through all of these waters - with answers laid out in very down-to-earth layman's terms.

Finally, chapter 12 discusses why smart positioning on the Web is the key to your business's success. Readers get a brief overview of strategic Web positioning, META tags, phantom Web pages, no-no's to avoid when submitting to search engines, and how to verify your Web site's listing on a regular basis.

As a bonus, purchasers of this book receive a free CD-ROM which includes a 45-day trial version of Microsoft FrontPage '98 and 30 days of Netcom hosting/access service. To assist in learning the elements of FrontPage '98, readers need only to flip over to chapter 9, which devotes itself solely to the usage of the program.

If you're ready to stake your claim on the endless frontier of the Internet, The Complete Small Business Internet Guide will provide you with everything you need to get your business up and running without trial and error, wasted resources and needless confusion. If you're looking to strike gold in cyberspace, here's the perfect, concise guide to help you begin mining in the right place!

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