A: These are very common concerns. There is only one thing you can do - sit down, take a deep breath and meditate on the following: Successful websites take time to yield results. Sure, you can pay Google or Yahoo to feature your site near the top. But, you would have to be a millionaire- literally- for this approach to be effective. Anybody who claims otherwise is a snake oil salesman. Someone that offers that same success in a year is more on the level. Persistence, diligence and patience are the valuable tools when you build a site from the ground up. It's also important to follow certain protocols and rules to make your website more search-engine friendly. Think of your site as a a long-term investment; eventually, you want it to bring you more money than it costs.To expect results anytime in the near future is unrealistic. For example, let's say you own a company in New York City and you have a site to bring customers in. Let's say you sell shoes. You want your site to be at the very top of a Google page when someone types in the search "New York City Shoes". To expect results anytime in the near future is unrealistic. Even if you do pay a lot for search engine result placement, you will have to  wait about a year to see solid, quantifiable results. In the meantime, your site should be used as a reference for your sales team. Your sales people can show potential clients what you have to offer by giving your site address to them to look at. To be brutally honest: I whole heartedly promise, in the first year of your websites' construction you will have no calls from people who found your site online just by searching. You will have to lead people there. Successful Internet marketing depends on daily vigilance. I always advise that at least one person in your company work on Internet marking techniques for at least two hours every day. Most good website marketing techniques are free, and  some are very low-cost- utilize them. You should also avoid things that will slow your Internet presence. For instance, making dramatic changes to your site frequently is a bad thing. If you do this, it will make it more difficult for search engines to index or "learn" your site so you can show up in results properly. This doesn't mean you can't change aspects of your site. It's just means you should take your time and plan carefully. Any successful website "evolves" and develops slowly.