Qualified traffic.

Small business owners and startups who rely heavily on their website for sales all stress over how to get more of it. Oh, and they want it cheap. Quite the conundrum!

There are lots of ways to get more traffic. All involve some level of investment (either time or money). None involve some level of magic (unfortunately, because that would be kind of cool).

Success acquiring qualified traffic starts with getting the basics right first. And the basics don’t always involve hiring a super-expensive SEO firm that claims they are going to make you millions in 3 months (by the way if anyone tells you that, just hang up).

If your website can do all of the following, you’ll see more qualified traffic. And it won’t burn a huge hole in your wallet.

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This the first installment of our new Q&A Series – short interviews with talented, experienced, and successful entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of running online businesses. I’ve always believed that it’s a big mistake to not at least listen to those who have worn the same shoes that we are putting on every day. I hope these interviews prove to be as informative to you as they have been for me.

Our first guest is Ryan Thompson, co-Founder of FileLater. I recently had a chance to sit down with Ryan. He had some great insights on starting a business, traffic, and the importance of listening to customers.

B5: Briefly, tell me a little about what FileLater is all about.
RT: FileLater was developed to help the 15 million people who file tax extensions every year.  There are a lot of misconceptions around tax extensions, and until FileLater, there wasn’t an easy way to get more time to do your taxes. So, we created one leveraging our expertises on the internet and taxes.

B5: How long has FileLater been in business?
RT: FileLater is 3 years old, although we spent about half of that time researching, building the product, and working with the IRS to become and authorized IRS e-file provider.

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It happens to every business.

Usually with experienced entrepreneurs it happens before doors officially open.  For others it happens 3 months, or 6 months, or even 12 months after an official launch.

Eventually, a business will see the light. And it’s a strong light. A light where sunglasses are required, and maybe some SPF to be safe. Inevitably, once that light hits there’s smiling, some high-fiving, and that certain satisfaction that comes with making a discovery.

The light that every business eventually sees is the realization that their success is intimately tied to how their website performs in the search engines. All of a sudden it becomes clear that in order to thrive the business has to make itself known to the throngs of potential customers that are looking for their products or services through search. Pretty powerful light, right?

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News flash: running your own business is tough. There are a cagillion things to do and only so many minutes in a day. It’s inevitable that important success factors will get overlooked – especially when the business is just getting started.

One of the most often overlooked aspects of a companies first marketing plan is search engine optimization. For some reason, it slips between the cracks for so many small businesses. I think what happens, especially with a lot of first-time entrepreneurs or young companies, is there’s a natural desire to plow through the startup checklist so that the business can start and hopefully the money will begin rolling in.

You know the checklist, right? You’ve probably done it yourself.  Name for the business? Check. Bank account? Open. Domain? Grabbed it. Logo? Designed it. Website? Launched. Coffee maker? Brewing as we speak.

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