From a small grocery store to a relatively large business, having a strong online presence has become very essential for business growth.Experts say any business worth its salt must have a strong website and also drive traffic to it. If not, such a business should be prepared for an early collapse.According to them, it is very crucial for businesses to see the building of strong online presence as an investment.This, as such, means that the website must be built in a flexible and cost-effective way that will in turn boost the growth of the business.The Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Babatunde Osho, who spoke during the unveiling of an initiative aimed at increasing the number of Nigerian SMEs online recently, links strong online presence to increased customer base for any business. Without an established presence on the Internet, Osho says businesses may not achieve the desired growth.He says, The more small businesses are online, the more customers they will be able to reach. The more customers these businesses reach, the more profitable they will become. The multiplier effect on the economy will be substantial.In an attempt to help Nigerian SMEs leverage the Internet for growth, Google Nigeria inaugurated a joint initiative, known as Getting Nigerian Businesses Online with MTN and Eco Bank.The Country Manager, Google Nigeria, Mrs. Juliet Ehimuan, says the initiative is aimed at helping SMEs create their first website and make the most of the opportunities offered by the Internet.She says, Google believes that the power of the Internet will help small businesses in Nigeria to succeed. The number of Internet users in Nigeria has increased fourfold since 2008, and now stands at over 43 million. Having a website means that customers can find local businesses and local information easily and quickly. This year, we plan to help thousands of Nigerian SMBs get online, together with our partners.According to her, the GNBO is targeted at taking thousands of Nigerian businesses online over the next year, enabling them to develop a free, easy-to-build, professional website for desktop and mobile.It also offers a free sub-domain name, free hosting for the life of the website, a free local business listing on Google Places with the purchase of a custom domain name as well as 10 free email accounts to match the domain name, among others, she adds.The Chief Executive Officer, Adapt Interactive, Mr. Muyiwa Aluko, a web developer, who believes that the Google initiative will transform the Nigerian SME landscape and contribute to the countrys fast-paced economic growth by making it quick, easy and free for businesses to register an online presence, highlights the tips to growing business online through an effective website.He advises businesses to create effective websites by engaging professionals who can deploy cutting edge and up-to-date techniques in delivering quality websites.According to him, hosting a poorly designed website can actually be worse than not having a website at all. Of course, the Google initiative, according to the country manager, has in place professionals that will help businesses with the basic assistance required in getting a simple and effective website up and running.Aluko advises that businesses should continue to evolve their websitesbecause their websites must grow with them.He, therefore, advises small businesses to negotiate with web developers for continuous maintenance and updates.He says, When negotiating with your web developer, make sure to talk with him or her about ongoing maintenance and updates. Websites are not static presences. If you want to enjoy the full benefits of marketing your business online, youll need to update your website on a regular basis.He notes that fresh content is one of the most basic premises of effective online marketing.If your website looks exactly the same each time customers and prospective customers visit it, they will stop coming back. Adding new content also helps your website index with the search engines, which means that its easier for people looking for the types of products and services that you offer online when you update your website on a regular basis, he adds.Aluko, whose company currently manages over 25 websites, says entrepreneurs should select high quality web hosting to drive their websites.According to him, the best website in the world will not help any business if it is not up and functioning all the time.When you choose a web hosting provider, be sure that the organisation has a good track record with uptime. If the company who develops your website offers hosting, it may be in your best interest to take advantage of their services. This can make it easier for your developer to make frequent and quick changes to your website as needed, he adds.He says entrepreneurs should not only have websites; they should drive traffic to their websites.According to him, a companys website is its virtual office and the level of traffic coming onto the website is like the number of people visiting its office and this has a serious impact on business growth.He adds that entrepreneurs may want to drive traffic to their websites by getting involved in one or more appropriate online forums or social networking communities. He further advices that business people should seek additional knowledge about how to drive traffic to their websites.Grain traders seek participation in agricultural loan schemeFarmproduce traders in Mubi, Adamawa, have urged the Federal Government to review the conditions for accessing the N200bn agricultural loan to enable them to benefit from the facility.The Chairman, Farm Produce Dealers Association, Alhaji Buba Liman, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Mubi that reviewing the stringent conditions would help to boost agro-processing at the grass-roots level.He said that several produce traders in the area found it difficult to access the facility.According to him, the traders also find it difficult to access similar facilities from commercial banks in view of their low capital base.The chairman told NAN that due to the conditions, the N200bn loan, initiated by the Federal Government had not served the interest and needs of small scale traders in rural areas.Farm produce traders find it difficult to access the facility despite our contribution to the development of agriculture.It is desirable to review terms and conditions to enable us to benefit from the facility, Liman stressed.The chairman appealed to Mubi North Local Government to rehabilitate roads in the Mubi grain market to provide a favourable trading environment.He said the association had spent more than N400,000 on the construction of drains to control flooding in the market.He said the association was also sensitising traders to best storage techniques.
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