Should I start another site?

I'm thinking about getting into web design (web development) for small buisnesses and churches. I have a blog that deals with how to start an internet business. This last month I got about 1600 unique visitors.

My question is, should I start another site? Or should I use a portion of my already existing blog for the web development part of my buisness.

The one of the pros that I see with starting another site is the fact that when a customer comes to the site it is focused on what they are looking for. It will be very easy to navigate for a customer.

The cons that that I see is if I start a whole new site, I have to start promoting it from scratch. (I can still get some traffic from my blog over to the new site though.)

Any thoughts? what pros and cons can you see about starting a new site? And just for your FYI, if I start a new site the domain will be the .net version of my blogs domain.

 

Umm...advertise the new site on your current site..you don't start totally from scratch in that sense..since they're related..link them up, have banners, send an email to your list if you have one. Don't be scared of opening new sites and having to re-promote them.

 

AnaB hit the nail on the head. It's all about cross promoting your sites.

 

I agree with AnaB. Start a separate site and link it from your established site to get it indexed faster in the search engines. There are many ways to promote a new site. You can include it in your signature in forums that you visit. You can use PPC. You can advertise in ezines that go out to your target audience. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for your comments everyone. Any other thoughts?

 

Well, I would not start a new site.
Instead, I would probably help the customers "focus on what they are searching for" by redesigning current website where necessary so that it fits the new section. I would keep the blog separate while still using it to promote the new services you're about to launch. Your own website will get you going well, a new one might slow your business down. My thoughts..

 

I would start a new site but promote it heavily on my blog.

Web design is a business; if you are serious about the business then you don't operate it out of a blog. Promote it from the blog yes; make the blog the site for the web design business, no. Just my opinion and it's worth every cent that I am charging you for it.

 

Why not.. In fact, moving the blog to a separate section while converting the main part of the site into a webdesign business is something I'd definitely consider. You got to keep the existing customers. Eventually start a new topic on your blog to ask their opinion about change on the site. See if they salute the idea, then move the blog to it's place and redesign the site if needed to fit the business.

One the other hand.. can't operate a web design business off a blog? I see many successfully operating on forums like DP and earning alot without mentioning their company website names.. At the end of the day, it's the service quality that matters, isn't it.. Besides, using an existing site will save you big time. So why ignore that factor..

 

In cross-promoting sites, I understand using them to help the new site get indexed faster, but what is the cross-promotion is for a new site that has enhanced offerings of the other site. Same niche, just enhanced? Is it wise to advertise it heavily? Or just put up a link on the home page to help with indexing?