A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

So, now I have a website.  That isn't enough though.  Contrary to what some people may believe, you don't just put up a website and start getting orders immediately.  It has to be marketed, just like any other business.

I have advertised a bit, by including the site address in my signature on the message boards that I regularly visit where that is allowed.  I've had good luck on the Mexico travel boards, and have aleady received a few orders.  Before doing this, check the rules of the message board you are using.  Some explicitly forbid any business links, or talk.

Next thing I have to do is study, study, study about how to make the best use of advertising dollars when using keywords and buying Pay-Per-Click ads.  To get me going, I found two very good tools to begin with.

The first is a website, SEOBook, which is not only all about search engine optimization all of the time, but also posted a great article comparing various keyword services and tools.

Second is a free program I downloaded (need free software?  I'm a whiz at finding it, hehe).  WebCEO is a tool that not only suggests keywords that you can use on your page, but you can enter the URL of a competitors site, and it will tell you what keywords they are using!  It can also tell you how many times a particular keyword has been searched recently.  This software has many other great tools.  I urge you to check it out if you don't already own it.  And no, I do not work for or have any other interest in this company.  I just know a good thing when I see it.