7. Free search tool.1-Click Answersis a downloadable search tool available from the Answers.com search engine. It allows you to search multiple information sources and find instant answers containing concise information on the topic you're searching for.

After you've downloaded the personal (free) version, you'll have a search bar right on your desktop. When you search on an item, you'll get results from some or all of the following resources, depending on your search term:

• Dictionaries
• Thesauruses
• Atlases
• Glossaries
• Encyclopedias

... all in just one step! No more messing around with multiple search tools; 1-Click Answers consolidates them in one source to save the precious time of the busy netpreneur.

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8. Free content.FreeStickyis a good place to find free (or cheap) content for your site, so you can keep your site fresh and interesting for your visitors--and keep them coming back for more. Find articles, news briefs, headlines, tickers, tips of the day and more. The broad variety of topics range from financial advice to hip hop headlines, from travel guides to lottery results. You can also give away free software applications directly from your site, many of which are available for co-branding.

Another good source for articles is www.EZineArticles.com, which offers free content designed for both websites and e-zines.

Watch that you don't just load up your site with a lot of stuff that you think is interesting, however. The material you provide has to be relevant to your business and your customer base. Also be aware that the sponsorship information that is usually included can pull your readers' attention away from your purpose, and, more important, the sponsors' links can draw traffic away from your site. It's always a good idea, when posting content on your site, to use your discretion and make sure it's worth the risk involved.

9. Free e-mail campaign ROI calculator.Marketing Today's ROI calculatoris an easy-to-use device that allows you to accurately estimate what kind of return on investment you can expect from your upcoming direct mail or e-mail campaigns and promotions. The calculator is a simple tool that acts as an excellent reality check when you're determining your marketing costs.

The most accurate way to operate this tool is to use the response rate you received from your previous mailings to calculate your ROI for future mailings. All you have to do is enter the numbers: the number of mailings you'll be doing, your total costs, the response rate you expect, the conversion rate you expect, and how much you expect each buyer to spend (that is, the cost of your product or service).

Hint: If you don't have previous response rates and conversion rates to base your figures on, you should estimate much lower than you think necessary. If you guess too low, you'll just end up with extra cash on hand; guess too high, however, and you'll be making a costly mistake.

10. Free web design tool. Most internet entrepreneurs have very little, if any, web design knowledge. That doesn't have to be a barrier, however, to creating a professional-looking web site.

One of the hardest tasks for someone with no design experience to do is to choose the color scheme for your site. Well, this easy-to-use, free tool from ColorMatch 5Kallows you to create a complete color scheme at the click of the button. It also gives you the HTML codes for the colors you choose--every web color has a code, such as #000000 for black--so you can use them on your site and not have to worry if that pink really does match that orange.

11. Free site search tools. If your site is more than a few pages and doesn't have a good internal search tool, you're probably losing many a frustrated visitor. SiteLevelcan set you up with effective, free search tools for your website.

While appeasing your visitors, a site-level search engine also enables you to find out what your users want and need. SiteLevel's search tools allow you to track what your visitors are searching for and see what they're finding--or not finding--so you can adapt to their agendas and increase visitor satisfaction and the stickiness of your site. SiteLevel also lets you customize your own search results page to make it suit the look and feel of your site.

The basic, free version of this tool has more than enough "oomph" for the average small-business website, allowing you to index up to 1,000 pages and incorporate a variety of search strategies.

12. More free marketing tools. You got it...Free Sitecontains free stuff! And lots of it!

Although not everything on this site is e-business related, you'll find plenty that is. Probably the most useful section for e-businesses is the "webmaster" section. Here you'll find the "Internet Seer" site monitoring tool that provides downtime alerts so you don't lose valuable customers. You'll also find:

• Tools to help you check your keywords and your link popularity
• Suggested methods of winning awards for your site
• Scripts, banners and polls
• Guestbooks, message boards and more

Free Site also lists free technical support and online tutorials; free personal management tools; plenty of Java script resources; free fonts, clipart, graphics, icons, and buttons; plus much, much more. And although you should be wary of freebies that ask for advertising space in return, you might want to bookmark this page.

Final Thoughts

One of the great advantages of starting an online business, as opposed to taking the more traditional brick-and-mortar approach, is that costs are so much lower. Hosting fees are your main overhead, but these are nowhere near the rent you'd pay for office space for an offline business. And when it comes to creating and building your website--as well as marketing it--you can further reduce your costs by making use of some of the great free tools and resources out there.

The tools I've recommended are personal favorites, and I know you'll find them incredibly useful. But when you're choosing free services or software, always proceed with caution and stay in control with each decision you make. Find out whether any advertising will be included and whether you'll be bound by any restrictions or obligations. "Free" can sometimes mean only that there's no charge--not no consequences.

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