I liken this situation to having a leaking roof. While you may pay to fix the first few leaks, there comes a point where it is more cost effective to just have the whole roof replaced. The majority of our clients are companies like this. They have had a web site, sometimes for years. While the economy was good, they were getting leads from anywhere, and their web site was not something they thought too much about. As the economy changed, they realized that they needed to reach out to more people if their business was to survive. When this happens, companies look into additional advertising resources, such as billboards, TV and radio.

However, since these can also be very expensive and need ongoing payment, most businesses find that it would cost much less to re-examine their web site and maximize their online effectiveness.

It is at this point that I share some personally and professionally very sad news.

Last month I was informed that, for the first time since the economy turned in 2008, we have lost our first client to bankruptcy.

The decision to close was made because these
results had come too late to save the business.

What is particularly sad is the fact that this is not a client who couldn't be found online, but after revamping their site with us had been doing well in the search results. Unfortunately, the decision to close was made because these results had come too late to save the business. The owners shared with me that they should have come to us sooner, but they had procrastinated for many months. It is ironic that if they had contacted us when they first realized they needed to, this bankruptcy might have been avoided.

This reiterates something I have said several times in my columns, and tell everyone who calls in: a web site is not an instant, magic, fix-all solution.

Despite almost 20 years of Internet ups and downs, so many people still believe the, "If you build it, they will come" myth, which sadly is not true. The bottom line is that if you need to rethink your site, you need to act quickly and allow yourself and your site the necessary time work for you.

Unlike many web designers, we do not simply download a template from free sites like Joomla, WordPress and Drupal and sell them.

Our sites are hand-coded to the requirements of the client. Once the web site is live on the Internet, we spend several months monitoring and tweaking the site and key words in order to get the best possible search results.

Our WebUpdate sites start at $2,500 and can expand and grow as your business grows, adding more features and functions as needed.

If your site is not bringing you the results you need, now is the perfect time to consider our WebUpdate systems, which employ advanced marketing, SEO, promotion, and security features designed to give businesses the best competitive edge online.

Terry Young is the founder and CEO of Internet Marketing and Design. Since 1997,
his computer programming and graphic design knowledge have kept his company
at the forefront of the latest technology in web development.