26 Ways to
Promote Your Website!
You have a
website, but it isn't getting the number of
visitors you'd like. What can you do to
stimulate traffic? Why don't you take a few
minutes to review.
Here's a checklist of 26 items you need to
consider. Many of these you're probably doing
already; others you meant to do and forgot
about; still others you've never heard of. Of
course, a great deal has been written about
this.
The most
important first step is to register your site
with the main Web search engines, so we begin
with steps to prepare your Web pages for optimal
indexing.
1. WRITE A
PAGE TITLE.
Write a descriptive title for each page of 5 to
8 words. Remove as many "filler" words from the
title, such as "the," "and," etc. This page
title appears on the Web search engines when
your page is found. Entice surfers to click on
the title by making it a bit provocative.
Place this at the top of the Web page between
the <HEADER></HEADER> tags, in this format:
<TITLE>Web
Marketing Checklist -- 26 Ways to Promote Your
Site</TITLE>.
Hint: use some descriptive keywords along with
your business name on your home page. Instead of
"Acme Cutlery, Inc." use "Acme Cutlery --
Pocketknives, Butchering Sets, and Kitchen
Knives". The more people see in the blue
highlighted portion of the search engine that
interests them, the more likely they are to
click on the link.
2. LIST
KEYWORDS.
To get your juices flowing, site down with some
associates and brainstorm a list of 50 to 100
keywords or key phrases -- the kind of words or
phrases someone might search on to find a
business or site like yours. Then refine the
list to the most important 20 or so. Place those
words at the top of the Web page, between the
<HEADER></HEADER> tags, in a META tag in this
format:
<META
NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="promoting, promotion,
Web marketing, online sales ...">
Note, however,
that some research on search engine algorithms
indicates that a fewer number of keywords may
help you better target the most important search
if you're working to increase your page's
ranking on the search engines. Consider using
both lowercase and capitalized forms of your
very most important words, since some search
engines are capitalization-specific. Make sure
that you don't repeat any word more than three
times so you're not penalized for "keyword
spamming.".
3. WRITE A
PAGE DESCRIPTION.
Select the most important 20 keywords, and write
a careful 200 to 250 character (including
spaces) sentence or two. You don't need to
repeat any words used in the page title. Keep
this readable but tight. Eliminate as many
"filler" or "throwaway" words as you can (such
as: and, the, a, an, company, etc.) to make room
for the important words, the keywords which do
the actual work for you. Place those words at
the top of the Web page, between the
<HEADER></HEADER> tags, in a META tag in this
format:
<META
NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Increase visitor
hits, attract traffic through submitting URLs,
META tags, news releases, banner ads, and
reciprocal links">
4. SUBMIT
PAGE TO SEARCH ENGINES.
Next, submit your page to the important Web
search engines and directories. To do this,
consider using a submission service such as
www.SelfPromotion.com (SelfPromotion.com
is the net's leading resource for do-it-yourself
Web Promotion -
best of all, it's FREE)
The most important search engines that
robotically "spider" or index your site are:
AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Lycos, Infoseek,
WebCrawler, and Northern Light.
5. SUBMIT
PAGE TO YAHOO.
Yahoo is the most important listing of all --
though it's technically a directory, rather than
a search engine. It uses real humans to read
(and too often, pare down) your 200 character
sentence, so be very careful, and follow their
instructions.
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/
Hint:
I've learned to use less than the maximum number
of characters allowable. If the Yahoo editor
starts chopping your wordy copy, he or she may
not leave as much as you'd like.
6. SUBMIT
PAGE TO OTHER DIRECTORIES.
You've probably seen offers to submit your
pages to 300 different search engines. These
don't help much, except to increase the
perceived "popularity" of your site by some of
the major search engines. The most important 25
directories are probably enough, unless you find
some specific to your industry. Most of the rest
aren't really search engines at all, just an
excuse to solicit you for "upgraded listings."
These marginal directories come and go very
quickly, making it hard to keep up.
7. REQUEST
LINKS ON INDUSTRY SITES.
You probably belong to various trade
associations that feature member sites. Ask for
a link. Even if you have to pay something for a
link, it may bring you the kind of targeted
traffic you crave.
8. INCLUDE
URL ON STATIONERY, CARDS, AND LITERATURE.
Make sure that all reprints of cards,
stationery, brochures, and literature contain
your company's URL. And see that your printer
gets the URL syntax correct. In print I
recommend leaving off the http:// part and
including only the www.domain.com or simply
domain.com portion.
9. PROMOTE
USING TRADITIONAL MEDIA.
Don't discontinue print advertising you've found
effective. But be sure to include your URL in
any display or classified ads you purchase in
trade journals, newspapers, etc. View your
website as an information adjunct to the ad.
Catch readers' attention with the ad, and then
refer them to a Web page where they can obtain
more information or perhaps place an order.
Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more
effective, and less expensive than online
advertising.
Consider other
traditional media to drive people to your site,
such as direct mail, classifieds, post cards,
etc. Since SuperBowl 1999 we've seen TV used
extensively to promote sites, since the Web is
now considered a mass medium, though it is
probably too broad for all but the most general
portal sites.
10. DEVELOP
A FREE SERVICE.
It's one thing to say, "Come to our site and
learn about our business." It's quite another to
say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator
available exclusively on our site."
Make no
mistake, it's expensive in time and energy to
develop free resources but it is very rewarding
in increased traffic to your site. Make sure
that your free service is closely related to
what you are selling so the visitors you attract
will be good prospects for your business. Give
visitors multiple opportunities and links to
cross over to the sales part of your site.
11. REQUEST
RECIPROCAL LINKS.
Find complementary websites and request a
reciprocal link to your site (especially to your
free service, if you offer one). Develop an
out-of-the way page where you put links to other
sites -- so you don't send people out the back
door as fast as you bring them in the front
door.
12. ISSUE
NEWS RELEASES.
Find newsworthy events (such as launching your
free service), and send news releases to print
and Web periodicals in your industry. Note:
opening or redesigning a website is seldom
newsworthy these days. You may want to use a Web
news release service, such as one offered by
Eric Ward's URLwire (http://www.urlwire.com)
or Audette Media's Internet News Bureau (http://www.newsbureau.com
13. REQUEST
LINKS FROM BUSINESS LINK SITES.
Especially if you offer a free service, you
can request links from many of the small
business linking pages on the Web. When you have
something free to offer, many doors open to you.
Surf the Net looking for places that might link
to your site. Then e-mail the site owner or
webmaster with your site name, URL, and a brief
200-word description of what you offer there.
14. CAPTURE
VISITOR E-MAIL ADDRESSES and Request
Permission to send updates. On your website's
response form, include a checkbox where the
visitor can give you permission to e-mail
updates about products or services. Now your
e-mails to visitors are not "spam."
You're
responding to their request for more
information. I recommend capturing first and
last name in separate fields so you can market
personally to them. But only ask for the
information you need or they won't fill it out.
15. PUBLISH
AN E-MAIL NEWSLETTER.
While it's a big commitment in time,
publishing a weekly, monthly, or quarterly
newsletter is one of the very best ways to keep
in touch with your prospects, generate trust,
develop brand awareness, and build future
business. You can distribute your newsletter
using your e-mail program, or have people
subscribe on your website directly to a
listserver program (such as Majordomo) offered
by your Internet Service Provider.
16. INSTALL
A "SIGNATURE" IN YOUR E-MAIL PROGRAM.
Most e-mail programs such as Eudora,
Netscape, or Outlook allow you to designate a
"signature" to appear at the end of each message
you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company
name, address, phone number, URL, e-mail
address, and a one-phrase description of your
unique business offerings. Look for examples on
e-mail messages sent to you.
17. PROMOTE
YOUR SITE IN MAILING LISTS AND NEWS GROUPS.
The Internet offers thousands of very
targeted mailing lists and news groups made up
of people with very specialized interests. Use
Google Groups
http://groups.google.com to find appropriate
sources. Don't bother with news groups
constituted of pure "spam." Instead, find groups
where a dialog is taking place. Don't use
aggressive marketing and overtly plug your
product or service, even if you see some jerks
doing so. Rather, add to the discussion in a
helpful way and let the "signature" at the end
of your e-mail message do your marketing for
you. People will gradually get to know and trust
you, visit your site, and do business with you.
18. JOIN A
MALL.
You may gain a little traffic this way, but
not a lot. The biggest mall, if you will, is
Yahoo. Get a good listing there, and you won't
need other malls very much. Paying to be in a
mall is seldom a good investment.
19. ANNOUNCE
A CONTEST.
People like getting something free. If you
publicize a contest or drawing available on your
site, you'll generate more traffic than normal.
20. JOIN A
BANNER EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
Try this banner exchange programs,
http://www.adquantum.com. Essentially,
you agree to show a rotating banner on your site
for other members, and they do the same for you,
and there's a possibility you'll earn something
through paid banner ads, too.
21. PURCHASE
BANNER ADS ON APPROPRIATE SITES.
You may need to spend money to boost traffic
by purchasing banner advertising. Choose sites
that seem to attract the kinds of people who
would be good prospects for your business or
product. Expect to pay $10 to $40 per thousand
people who see your ad, and achieve a
click-through rate of 0.5% to 1%. You can find
media brokers who can help you find appropriate
and cost-effective places to advertise,
especially if you have a significant advertising
budget for branding purposes.
22. BUY A
TEXT AD IN AN E-MAIL NEWSLETTER.
Businesses are finding that some of the best
advertising buys are for small 4 to 12 line ads
in established e-mail newsletters. Ads can both
inform and motivate readers to click on the URL,
and tend to bring much more targeted visitors.
23. RENT
TARGETED E-MAIL LISTS.
We abhor "spam," bulk untargeted,
unsolicited e-mail, and you'll pay a very stiff
price in reputation and cancelled services if
you yield to temptation here.
But the direct
marketing industry has developed targeted e-mail
lists you can rent consisting of people who have
agreed to receive commercial e-mail messages. Do
a smaller test first to determine the quality of
the list.
24. EMPLOY
SEARCH ENGINE POSITIONING.
Registering your site with the search
engines is the first step. But with tens of
millions of web pages, your site may hardly be
visible. These days you may need to construct a
series of gateway pages, each tuned for a
particular search phrase and search engine.
Many small
businesses outsource search engine positioning
because of the considerable time investment it
requires.
25. BEGIN AN
AFFILIATE PROGRAM.
Essentially, a retailer's affiliate program
pays a commission to other sites whose links to
the retailer result in an actual sale. The goal
is to build a network of affiliates who have a
financial stake in promoting your site. If
you're a merchant you need to (1) determine the
commission you are willing to pay (consider it
your advertising cost), (2) select a company to
set up the technical details of your program,
and (3) promote your program to get the right
kind of affiliates who will link to your site.
Two affiliate programs to consider:
(1)
Commission Junction sets up the entire
program for the merchant, handles administrative
details, and pays the affiliates.
(2)
AffiliateZone installs excellent software on
your site to allow you to track purchases
through affiliate links, and enable you to
administer the program yourself.
26. ASK
VISITORS TO BOOKMARK YOUR SITE.
It seems so simple, but make sure you ask
visitors to bookmark your site.
We certainly
haven't exhausted ways to promote your site, but
these will get you started. To effectively
market your site you need to spend some time
adapting these strategies to your own market and
capacity.
SK Kor
Internet Marketing Consultant
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