As a small business on the internet it is of the utmost importance to have a strategy. Here are five specific web strategy tips for small businesses looking to increase and improve their presence and sales online.

1) Undertake continual Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The single most important piece of strategic advice for any small business with a website: undertake continual search engine optimization. Proper optimization will, among various other benefits, result in more pre-qualified visitors to your site visitors who are searching for what you have to offer. These are visitors who will become your customer, your subscriber, and your fan visitors who will increase your bottom line.

2) Run Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaigns and Split test Paying for clicks is a guaranteed way of getting targeted traffic to your website. With this traffic you will be able to generate more conversions (sales, leads, phone calls, newsletter subscribers, contact form submissions, etc.).
Split testing sounds fancy, but the concept is simple: take two or more versions of a webpage, or a section of a webpage and split test them to see which of the versions is most effective in causing visitors to do what you want them to do.

Split testing can and should be conducted on a continual basis as well, and is very effective in combination with PPC efforts. Spend a minimum amount to send visitors to the alternate version(s), measure the results, and go with the more effective one.

3) Start a Newsletter, Blog or Both Whatever your business or cause, a newsletter or blog will help your strategic aims immensely. Through both, you get to relate to your visitors, educate them about your products, services or newest promotions. Further, both will bring visitors back to your website and business. By bringing them back, you are increasing the likelihood that they become a client or otherwise convert to your businesses causes.

4) Write and market Articles - Article marketing is an awesome way to provide your website with increased targeted traffic and more sales or leads. Articles generate more content for your site and can become new points of entry to your site. Further, placing your articles on other sites can help your SEO efforts by providing valuable one-way links that improve your search engine rankings.

5) Analyze and Track your Stats If you are not tracking and analyzing the stats generated from your website activity, you are flying in the dark without a compass. Where you currently stand, what has changed, what the trends are if this data is actionable it is extremely valuable. That is, take action from the data you gather develop new strategies to increase visitors, tweak your sales process slightly to get them buying more often, add more content to your website to keep your visitors on longer your website data is power.

Beau Mueller is a SEO and Web Strategy professional who is Co-Founder and Partner in the Hawaii Search Engine Optimization firm, Axiom Groove.