How to Fit a New Website in Your 2012 Budget

How do you go about determining a budget for your company website? The whole process should start by establishing a realistic marketing budget. Most experts will agree that a marketing budget will vary depending on your industry. A general rule is that the budget should be between 2% - 12% of gross sales. If you're a million dollar company, you should set up a budget between $20,000 - $120,000. If you're a $100,000 company you should set aside a budget between $2,000 - $12,000 to market and promote your brand.

A custom website can be a powerful way to promote your business and help you reach new customers. Many business owners must realize that they are building a brand and not just designing a website. Of course a website is not a stand-alone marketing tool. In many cases a website is your customers first impression of your brand. Making a great impression is crucial to the conversion process.

The price of a custom website can vary greatly by the needs of your business. It should be tailor made to fit each individual company and it can be compared to adding options on a car. The more options you add to it, the greater the price.

Just like a car, a website will also need to be maintained. Who will update the content? Who will add new pages to the site. Who will add more products to the online store. Who will be there to fix the site if it goes down? These are all additional costs that needed to be added into your marketing budget.

Another important part of website that gets overlooked is SEO or Search Engine Optimization. This is very important to how your website gets ranked in the major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

There are definitely some costs to having a great online presence. The key is to understand those costs and plan for them because it is the key to a successful future.