The marketing of your Web site is not much
different than marketing any other product, service or event. The same basic rules apply,
however, there are some specifics about the Internet and the World Wide Web that may
require a little research and self-education on your part. The one major difference is
cost. Armed with a little knowledge and 1 2 3 Cyber Register, you can very effectively
market your Web site at the lowest possible cost.
The first step (besides creating an attractive and useful
site) is to spend some time surfing the Web. Look at your competitors or similar sites -
what works - what doesn’t? Use your browser to view the source of their main page -
look for META tags (described in detail in the search engine tips
document) to see what keywords they
are using. Do they have links to other useful sites? Do they provide visitors with
something more than a sales pitch? Did their site contain all the information you would
expect to find? Forgetting they are your competition - would you be inclined to re-visit
their site?
If this is all new to you, give yourself some time. Plan
your marketing strategy as you plan out your Web site. Put your plan into action and then
re-evaluate it after a month or two - it may require additional or different actions on
your part.
When it comes to the Web, there are three ways people
will find your site:
1. Self-promotion: Listing your URL on business cards,
letterhead, flyers and with traditional media such as Radio, Television,
Newspapers and Magazines.
2. Search Engines / Online Directories / Newsgroups
3. Links from other sites
Promoting Your Web site:
Search Engines / Online Directories /
This is where the user is actively searching for
information through keyword searches, or categories in a directory. 1 2 3 Cyber Register
will take care of this for you by submitting your site to over 900 search engines /
directories
Links
The Web is basically built on Links. Links get you from
one page of a site to another. More importantly, links to your site from another related
site can generate a great deal of traffic. If you have a Web site about your new Low-Fat
Cookbook, you could get links placed to your site on hundreds, if not thousands, of
related sites on Health, Nutrition, Cooking, etc. Unfortunately, there is no easy or
automatic way to do this. It requires visiting all the related sites, getting the Email
address of the owner/webmasters and contacting them asking to trade links. The effort can
be well worth it. Many site receive a great deal more traffic from links than they do from
search engines.
Banner Ads
A very popular but expensive method of promoting your Web
site. These are the little rectangular graphics (468 x 60 pixels became a standard) that
you see near the top or bottom of some popular Web page. If you click on them, they
transport you to another Web site. The price of a Banner ad depends upon the size you want
and which Web site is offering the ad. Also, you can use some free banner ads using free
link exchange banks.
Domains
Although not necessary, having your own domain
can be worth its weight in gold. For one thing, it is portable. If you change service
providers or hosting services, your domain name will stay the same. Secondly, it can make
finding your site a lot easier. If you wanted to find out about the newest Toyota cars -
what would you type into your browser without doing a search first? Do you think
www.toyota.com might work? O.K., so you are not a major corporation - remember your
cookbook site mentioned earlier - which is easier to remember and best describes your
site?:
http://www.somethingt.net/~myWeb page or
http://www.cooking.com ?
Click
here to see if your domain is available
Links inside Web pages
If there are no links inside Web pages from the Web page,
it seems that some search engines will not register a Web site.
Link to Competitors’ links
If your Web site is not listed in the top thirty, contact
all the sites in the top twenty for your category and see if they will trade links with
you. Links are what the web was built on, and they remain a powerful method for people to
find your Web site.
Alternative forms
Search engines are the primary way people look for Web
sites, but some people find Web sites through links, traditional advertising, newsgroup
postings and online directories. These alternative forms can effectively draw traffic to your
site.
Specialized Search Engines and
Directories
Other than the main search engines, there are many other
search engines / online directories that specialize in specific criteria. These Web sites
are a great source for traffic and are included in our search engine
submission packages.
Web Page Design
Promotion is necessary, but if your visitors don't like
your website design, they probably won't return. Design your website to conform with
current HTML standards and validate your pages. Hint: Validate your pages online at
Dr. Watson's web page
validator.
