The potential for firms in the North West to do more business over the internet has been highlighted at a talk on e-commerce at Chamber of Commerce House in Derry.

There was a packed attendance for the talk, 'Website Optimisation', which was given by David Curry of the Coleraine-based firm Worldsites Ireland. Mr. Curry said
that the vast majority of business websites were ineffective in terms of earning money simply because they weren't set up or marketed properly.
Mr. Curry continued: "A lot of business people go through the motions and set up their website and then that's it - they ignore it or forget about it. They don't
make the necessary investment in time or money to make it work. "Either they don't believe they have the sort of business that makes money on the web or they think
that simply because they have a website the business is going to start rolling in without any more effort!"

"The fact is that any business can do it. Our clients range from a florist in Donegal - who now delivers lots of flowers in Dublin for customers in the US - to a business which
has a turnover of 20million a year, much of it on the web."

Mr. Curry said he knew of may people who had used the web to set up highly profitable businesses. "We've had clients who started out operating from a spare bedroom and
they're now using warehouses to ship goods out. One businessman I know is spending £15,000 a month on ads on Google and says it's really working for him."

He said the first step was to get your site noticed on the web - which could take a lot of work, or relatively little - and then setting up the site properly to convert visitors into sales."

During the presentation last Tuesday, David Curry gave a string of recommendations for business websites, backed up by practical examples from work carried out by Worldsites.

Speaking afterwards, event organiser Catriona Doherty, Business Information Officer with the Chamber, said they were delighted by the turnout. "It shows the growing
interest in e-commerce and that businesses are still unsure of how best to use the web. These days everyone has a website but they don't know what to do with it!
"What David's talk brought home is that this is an area where business is growing fast but you do need the know-how to make the most of it."
Ms Doherty said the success of the talk meant she would be organising another one on the subject in the near future.

Ian Crowe, deputy vice-president of the Chamber, said there was still a lot of confusion and a lack of knowledge about how the world wide web could help business. "All the
figures are suggesting that e-commerce is becoming more and more important," he explained. "The business boom that was expected on the net may have been delayed but it's certainly on the way. There are lots of opportunities there and it's very important that this city and the North West makes the most of them."