One way to advertise your business is, of course, on the Internet. You can build your own Web site, or you can hire someone to do it for you - and the Internet itself provides guidelines. Just type "creating a Web site" into a search engine and you can find loads of resources to either walk you through the process or to find people who can create a Web site for you. Most companies - even small businesses - have found this format is an inexpensive way to make their presence known to potential customers. A well-designed Web site increases your credibility, makes it easier for potential customers to discover the products and services you offer, and allows you to sell directly on the Internet.

You can also advertise your business on other companies' Web sites in a variety of ways that match your needs and budget - for example:

• Banner ads: The rectangular ads that appear on a Web page inviting viewers to click on the banner, which then takes them to your Web site.

• E-mail lists and newsletters: Send a quick e-mail to customers who have expressed interest in receiving information from your business. Be careful not to send an e-mail to just anyone: You don't want your business to be viewed as spam or junk e-mail!

• Links to your Web site: When consumers are searching the Web for information on a particular topic, they find links to other Web sites promoting products or services related to that topic - such as books, magazines, and other publications, as well as associations and organizations of users of that product, service, and so on. These links are called sponsored links.

• Interstitial ads: This fancy name is for something you now see all the time on the Web - the pages or pop-up boxes that appear mysteriously after you click on a link but before you get to the place you clicked to get to. An interstitial page may open and close automatically, and they can be highly effective if done well. If these ads are interesting, consumers may allow them to remain on screen for far longer than the usual banner ad, so the CPM (cost per thousand) should be quite high. Pop-up ads have a drawback. As you probably know from your own experiences surfing the Web, pop-up ads can also be quite annoying, so if yours isn't interesting or relevant to what the consumer was originally looking for, many consumers will shut it down immediately.

• Rich-media ads: These ads include drop-down boxes, moving images, sound, or music that starts when consumers move their mouses over the ads, small games, and other forms of multimedia advertising. In general, both customers and the Web sites that offer rich-media ads like them because consumers don't have to actually leave the site to interact with the banner, and clickthrough (which is when a consumer actually clicks on an ad to visit the Web site being advertised, instead of just viewing the ad but not going further) can be quite high.

• Keyword advertising: This Internet form is where you pay a search engine, directory, or some other Web site to have your ad or the link to your site pop up first when someone does a search on the keywords you buy. For example, if a consumer is searching for information on knitting, she may type "knitting" into an Internet search engine. Because your business is designer knitwear or knitting instruction (and you've paid that search engine for keyword advertising), your ad is among the first to appear to the customer.

• Word-of-mouth advertising: The Internet is also the perfect place to take advantage of this form of online advertising via message boards, online clubs, blogs, chat rooms, and the list goes on - and most of it is free.

These types of online advertising are just a few you should consider for your business. Spend some time surfing the Web to see what type of ads are being run by other companies that offer the same type of product or service as your business, and decide what works best for you (and your budget - don't forget the budget!). Don't be hesitant to think outside the box to see what other businesses that don't compete with yours are doing, because you may also want to borrow some of their approaches to Internet advertising!