News by SB Informer

Small Businesses Now Have Greater Exposure on Search Engines Helping Them Increase Sales to Qualified Customers!

SB Informer
Wednesday, June 28, 2006; 05:35 AM

Menlo Park, Calif. - Homestead Technologies, Inc. (www.homestead.com), provider of website creation software, ecommerce solutions and online marketing products and services for small businesses, today launched SearchLight (www.searchlight.homestead.com), an affordable and efficient way to deliver advertising to small business websites from over 20 different search engines, including Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com and more. Homestead is providing the service to both Homestead subscribers and small business owners who host their websites with other web service providers. Homestead helps small business owners become successful online by making their websites appear more prominently and frequently within appropriate search engine results - enabling potential customers to find their products or services faster and more easily.

"SearchLight solves one of the greatest challenges faced by small businesses online," said Justin Kitch, Homestead founder and CEO. "Small businesses are losing valuable sales because potential customers simply cannot find them online. Their business websites are not visible within search engine results, or they're buried in the results by the national chains, making them virtually non-existent to qualified and motivated customers. This growing trend is having a damaging effect on the success of small businesses as we move into the Internet Era. SearchLight strives to level the playing field with the larger, national businesses that are reaping most of the benefits from internet advertising and eroding the prospects of small, local businesses that make our communities unique."

There has never been a better time for small businesses to participate in online marketing and ecommerce. Jupiter Research expects online retail spending to increase from $81 billion in 2005 to $95 billion in 2006. Larger- sized companies attempting to capture this online retail growth have responded by increasing their advertising spend. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently reported that Internet advertising revenue reached a record high of $3.9 billion in Q1, 2006, with a forecast of steady growth. Small businesses that do not leverage the power of online advertising run a substantial risk of being excluded from the internet's vibrant, global marketplace.

SearchLight Illuminates the Difficult Path to Search Engine Advertising Success

Homestead makes successful search engine advertising easy by eliminating the time and hassle associated with launching and managing a search engine advertising program. Increasing a website's organic or "natural" search ranking is complicated, time consuming and often concludes with varied and unpredictable results. Small business owners attempting to optimize their websites without expertise can encounter a number of unexpected roadblocks: sudden search engine rules that change often and without warning, rule violations that can result in search engine delisting, and lengthy website probation periods for newly registered websites.

Says Ryan Wyrten, owner of cheaptravelconsulting.com, a newly formed travel consultancy, "I've only signed up with SearchLight for about six weeks now, but I've already received a substantial return on my investment. I've attracted about 25-30 visitors per day on the site and fielded three emails from customers in the first week, who've all come from SearchLight. They're not just emails asking for information; they are actually interested in buying, so I've gotten really good, qualified leads."

The Beacon Guiding the Right Customers to Your Website

Homestead SearchLight makes search engine advertising simple and affordable. Professional SearchLight Consultants handle all aspects of managing a customer's advertising, from key word selection and bid management to ad copy development and search engine submission. SearchLight Consultants also provide a personal review session with customers to improve website conversion and help stimulate or increase sales. All SearchLight packages include tracking, reporting and ongoing campaign optimization.

"We've had ups and downs with this business, including sporadic income with long gaps in between. At times there were thoughts of dissolving the business due to the stress that my wife and I have endured," Says Cory Harris, owner of pcexpressmarketing.com, a marketing and event management company. "I'm grateful for Homestead SearchLight because it gave us the ability to reach customers we were unable to reach through other means in the past, and we've now had inquiries and sales from international and domestic customers. We have generated more revenue in the month since we've signed up for SearchLight, than in the past year of operation. I'm not exaggerating, when I say that SearchLight has rejuvenated our business and we're glad that we've persevered."

Pricing & Availability

Homestead SearchLight is available for Homestead subscribers and non- Homestead subscribers who host and manage their websites with other web services providers. Package levels include Starter, Standard and Turbo priced at $29.99, $49.99 and $99.99 per month, respectively. Annual pay-per-click levels for each package start at 240, 400 and 800, with booster packages available for 800, 1,600 and 3,200 for additional annual clicks. SearchLight is billed monthly with a three month minimum commitment. Certain business categories are considered premium, due to the market-value of certain high- demand search terms. Premium Starter, Standard and Turbo packages are $79.99, $134.99 and $269.99. Please visit the SearchLight website located at www.searchlight.homestead.com for additional information and a list of categories associated with SearchLight premium pricing.

About Homestead Technologies, Inc.

Homestead Technologies, Inc. (www.homestead.com), provides a suite of easy-to-use, non-technical website creation products, ecommerce solutions and online marketing products and services for small businesses that wish to establish or enhance their presence online. Homestead Storefront provides the ultimate "one-stop" ecommerce solution for business owners who want to manage their online businesses professionally, smoothly and efficiently. More than 12 million people have used Homestead's award-winning design, ecommerce, marketing and hosting capabilities to create feature-rich, professional- quality websites in minutes. For over ten years, Homestead has helped small businesses succeed online, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including CNET "Editor's Choice," PC magazine, "Editor's Choice," PC World, "Best of the Web, and Forbes, "Best of the Web." Homestead is based in Menlo Park, California and its services are available at http://www.homestead.com.

 Feedback   Submit Article