Regardless of whether you want to believe Al Gore's claims of having founded the Internet, one thing is for certain: The information superhighway has forever changed the business world. The World Wide Web has rendered concepts such as physical distance and time required to compare services obsolete.

Being cyclic in nature, the real estate market inevitably cools, evolving into an environment where sellers outweigh buyers, and supply outweighs demand. As a result, the mortgage market becomes increasingly competitive. As a broker or lender, a vital mortgage marketing tool to compensate for the ups and downs of the marketplace is your website. Here are some things to look for when designing your Internet presence.

Create an Image

The designer's top priority should be to create a customized site for you that reflects the image that you want to project. If you haven't defined your image, decide which market you're interested in serving, and create a look that will appeal to that sector.

A successful website will be customer-oriented, where people can fill out forms online that are immediately delivered to you. A prompt response to potential customers creates the sense that you're on top of your business and your prospects' needs.

Customer Service

If you're working with a design company, make sure that they have a strong commitment to customer service. You'll want support should your site develop glitches or crash. When your site is down, you lose customers.

When you enter into an agreement with a designer, make sure that it includes updates. Too often, someone will design your site and never be heard from again.

Search engine optimization

Even the most perfectly executed site will not be an efficient mortgage marketing idea if nobody can find it. Creating key words and Meta tags, used by search engine crawlers, are means of increasing customer awareness of your site. Avoid excessive use of "flash" or "frames," as they make it difficult for search engines to list. Submit to multiple search engines and do so monthly.

The Internet creates opportunities for vast consumer exposure at a fraction of the cost of traditional means of advertising. In the world of marketing, it's always wise to go with the flow of technology. Think of it as web and flow.