Chrome 10 vs. Internet Explorer 9 Reconsidered

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | March 10, 2011, 7:26am PST I, and a lot of my readers, were puzzled about why my recent SunSpider results showed IE 9 doing so badly compared to Chrome 10, so I took a closer look. This time IE 9 took first by a nose. …
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Google Alerts – puzzled by

…and more puzzlement
In the 19th century painters typically depicted horses running with all four legs outstretched and off the ground. But in equine circles there was much debate about how exactly they ran. Were all four hooves actually off the ground at the same time, …
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The internet cheating game

Puzzled by the pub quiz? Don't worry, the solution will be on the internet. But be warned, says John Walsh, winning this way makes you a bigger loser If you …
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…and more puzzlement

Pictured is barber Paul Dray on Micklegate with his parking ticket. Picture: Tony Saxton L0288TS A WIDE-EYED Selby businessman has hit out at what he termed … See all stories on this topic »

Selby Times

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Puzzled by Benefits of Internet for Small Business?

Many people who run small or home businesses are understandably confused about using the internet for business purposes.

They understand and use email but can’t see how or why they should use the internet. For example, a local auto-repair business (or hair-dressing salon, or dentist) is justified in asking: “I don’t sell digital products like music, or even products like books that can be shipped to customers, so where does a website fit in and how can it help my business?”

These are fair questions and it helps explain why so many small businesses in the U.S. still don’t have their own websites.

Remember also, these are often one-person businesses run by people who wear so many hats that they simply don’t have time to do many of the things they should be doing to be successful. As a result they rely on older and more traditional methods of advertising and marketing their products and services.

In today’s harsh economic climate and fast changing world, business owners can no longer to do things the traditional way if they’re to succeed. There’s also a growing customer base for whom the internet is intuitive and they can’t be ignored.

If you’re a small business owner who’s confused by all the hype and techno-jargon, it’s time to gain a better understanding of how a website can benefit your business. Reading this Internet Primer will help you get started and hopefully convey how crucial it is nowdays to understand this stuff so you too can have a business website.

Benefits of a Website for Small Business

It’s amazing that many small businesses in the U.S. and other developed nations do not have their own websites. According to research firm IDC, nearly half of small businesses in the U.S. don’t have a site.

“The Internet is increasingly used by customers as an information source, so a firm that doesn’t have a Web presence will be at a disadvantage when prospects are conducting a search,” says Ray Boggs, vice president of SMB research at IDC.

Boggs’s statement is backed up by National Retail Federation research showing that over 92 percent of adults regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store.

For any small business – even those that don’t provide products or services suitable for selling over the Internet – a website remains an invaluable marketing tool that will help:

• cut costs
• increase sales
• improve customer service
• enhance productivity

If you run a small business and don’t have your own website, then you should read How a Website Can Benefit Your Business.