SmallBusinessNewz

Target Case Sparks Site Accessibility Controversy

Those of you selling online may want to start paying closer attention to the accessibility of your site if you are not already doing so. Last week, Target settled a lawsuit with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), paying out upwards of $5 million because their site was not deemed accessible enough.

Want to Boost Your Readership?

Article marketing can be one of the most effective forms of Internet marketing, whether you write for established publications, have your articles syndicated across content networks, or simply maintain your own blog. The strategy is worthless however, if you can't keep the readers' attention. On the Internet, attention spans are shorter than anywhere due to the sheer amount of options for obtaining information. Tips for Capturing Reader Interest

Don't Look Past Your Local Internet Audience

When it comes to Internet marketing for small businesses, it can be easy to get caught up in the enormous number of tactics and resources available online. You might even forget about the good-old fashioned local media that has been working for businesses for ages.

Where Does Security Fall Into Your Budget?

As I talked about last week, security is one very important factor in gaining customer trust, particularly online. So where does that fall in your budget?

7 Steps to Earning Customer Trust Online

Keeping in theme with my recent article about ingredients to surviving in online business, let's talk about earning customer trust. A recent survey found that 81% of consumers don't trust small online businesses.

Washington Tax Laws Affect Small Businesses

The growth of Internet sales is causing some interesting tax issues for small business owners and casual sellers. My bookkeeper has spent hours on the phone with the IRS trying to figure the best way to handle the new Washington State tax regulations that went into effect July 1, 2008. You see, the system for local retail sales tax in the State of Washington has gone from an origin-based system to a destination-based system. Basically, how you tax goods now depends on where the product is shipped to, not on where the product comes from.

5 Key Ingredients to Surviving in Online Business

This is a basic list of key things that are critical to having a successful online business. This article is more for the person who is new to online business rather than the seasoned professional. 1. Design I really can't stress enough how important a professional-looking design is for attracting sales. Quite frankly, many people will just not trust a site that is poorly designed.

Cheap Small Business Web Sites

In today's Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal is an article called Creating a Successful Site for Almost Nothing by Vauhini Vara. (Link will expire soon for non-subscribers, so click now!) And unlike a lot of similar-themed articles for mainstream media, this one is pretty well researched and written. If you've never had a Web site before, following the instructions in this article is a great start.

Find People with Twitter Directory Twellow

Much has been written in recent months about the allure of Twitter and why people stick with it through thick and thin.

Selling Online? Don't Forget Taxes.

Keeping in the spirit of watching out for the IRS, you might be interested to know that President Bush is about to sign new legislation that will require PayPal and other online payment services to report annual gross receipts to the IRS. As Martin Vaughan at the Wall Street Journal reports, online sellers are facing new tax rules.