...e ?3. What challenges do you face right now with the PROMOTION ofyour website ?4. What challenges do you think you'll face with your webbusiness over the next 12 months ?5. What is your Number ONE single biggest problem in runningyour web business ?6. What is your 2ND single biggest problem in running your webbusiness ?7. How experienced do you consider yourself with all the areasof WEB DESIGN ?8. How experienced do you consider yourself with the PROMOTIONof a web site ?For m...

...ost questions respondents were asked to choose theiranswers from a list and could select as many answers as theythought applied to them.In answer to Q1. How long have they been running a website ?27% answered less than 6 months.18% said 6 to 12 months.18% said 1 to 2 years.37% had more than 2 years experience.To answer Q2. What challenges do they face right now with theDESIGN of their website, respondents were given 36 possibleanswers to choose from.The top 10 challenges respondents gave in DESIGN were, inorder:1. Optimizing Web PAGES for Search Engines2. Optimizing Web SITE for Search Engines3. Choosing/adding a Link Directory4. Adding a content management system5. Tracking pages visitors view on their site6. Finding content for the web site 7. Creating Images for webpages8. Choosing the right web hosting9. Choosing/adding an Autoresponder 10. Adding and using RSSNews FeedsTo answer Q3. What challenges do they face right now with thePROMOTION of their website, respondents were given 24 possibleanswers to choose from.The top 10 challenges respondents gave in PROMOTION were, inorder:1. Getting more visitors from search engines2. Writing content to attract search engines3. Finding other sources to get more visitors4. Gain/maintain more links to their web site5. Get better Google Adwords results6. How pages rank with search engines7. Testing web pages for best changes to make8. Creating better headlines for web pages9. Getting better Adsense results10. How/Which Search Engines to submit toIn regard to challenges over the next 12 months and thenumber one and two single biggest problems in running a webbusiness, the common theme was getting enough traffic,cheaply and finding the time to do everything.On how experienced respondents considered themselves with allareas of WEB DESIGN the majority felt competent but would liketo learn more.When asked how experienced they considered themselves withthe PROMOTION of a web site the majority knew nothing or justhow to do the basics.ConclusionIt was clear from these early results that issues with searchengine ranking and getting more traffic by what ever means wereamong the greatest challenges for website owners in 2005. Otherspecific problems were in creating content, managing and gettinglinks and finding the time to do it all. The majority ofrespondents felt they knew little or just the basics aboutwebsite promotion. It remains to be seen whether these results change as morepeople complete the survey, since it's still ongoing. Not enoughresponses have been collected to make these resultsstatistically sound, so if you would like to contribute to thesefinding then you can take the short survey at the link below.I will publish an update to these findings on my site. As athank you for completing the survey I have some good advice onthe site to help with the 3rd highest issue with web design thatof choosing an adding a link directory. I am also giving awaysome free automated link directory management software.