The growth and potential in the internet and online e-commerce is becoming increasingly understood amongst all sectors and sizes of business. Many businesses are now looking to get ahead of the competition online in the form of their website and also their standings and presence in search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Investment by businesses in web services such as web design, search engine optimisation and web development is increasing, especially to local web design companies, but what are the benefits in choosing a local web design company? Perhaps the biggest reason is the relationship that will inevitably need to be developed between the business and the web designer. The specification, design and overall decisions will need to be confirmed as quickly as possible in order to maintain a quick turnaround of the online website. Put simply this can be maximised quickly and effectively by dealing with a regional web designer that you can not only see face to face but also that has built up a rapport that will know your preferences and needs better. During the web design and development process, changes will often be needed to be made, which will include a diverse range of aspects and areas including the concept designs, feedback, alterations and these changes can often be agreed a lot quicker with a web designer that is local and one where a rapport has been built. Web design services now cover a whole range of internet and e-commerce related activities. Online marketing covers areas such as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, which is managing and effectively setting up a campaign based on keywords and search terms which you pay per click as well as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) that increases the presence of your business on search engines. Other more general web development and web design services include hosting, but also social media and increasingly mobile phone applications. Another advantage businesses can realise via going through a local web design website is the depth and level of contacts and local knowledge that can be made available. This could relate to anything from potential business leads, especially in the form of B2B (Business to Business) customers to local suppliers, retailers and technology that could ultimately benefit your online operations and your business as a whole. Local web designers will also have knowledge of your competitors and their designs and logos. It is important to not only create a unique and effective brand, logo and website design but to also have this quite distinctly different from the competition, whilst simultaneously illustrating who you are, what you do and the main benefits and reasons a customer would choose you. Author: Harry Pearce