Effective Website Promotion
Website promotion is both a science and an art.
It is a science because there are both proven methods and
apparently accurate theories which can be applied to website promotion. The
accumulation of these facts and myths, the sorting out of the good from bad, and the
application of these in your website promotion efforts are the essence of that science.
It is an art form because there are many times when a
decision between two or more proven website promotion methods or design attributes must be
made for a given site or sub page with the full realization that both work, but not to the
same degree in each search engine, and not with the same aesthetic results. Maybe
one method will get you number one in Infoseek, but
makes your page appear un-user friendly and buries you in Excite...or...vice
versa.
It is also frustrating at times. One day, promotion
method "A" will work fine for most search engines, but your website is lost in
the deep dark depths of Alta Vista. You
change the site to do better for Alta Vista,
and it disappears in all the others! Then, the next day, it is gone because they
just changed their search criteria without even giving you the courtesy of an
e-mail! The nerve!
Here are a few basics of website promotion. If you
are new to website promotion, this will help. If you are an accomplished website promoter,
it might serve as a nice refresher (can't be too confident these days).
1) GET YAHOO
RIGHT! Yes...there are other more "critically
acclaimed" search engines, but Yahoo is
still the king with something like %40 of the market. It is also the most difficult
of the Top 10 or 12 search engines to get listed in and it takes time to do right!
2) TITLE. Make the Title good! Short and easy on the
surfer, but relevant to the page content. If you are a commercial business your
Yahoo Title MUST BE YOUR COMPANY NAME. Fill it with promotional expletives and its
Adios Listing!
3) TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT! We are serious! This gets
missed so often! Many people spend hours promoting their website online...and never tell
anyone offline! Place your website address on your stationary, business cards etc.
Tell the world! Wherever your company logo is, put your URL!
4) Do the E-mail Trail! I don't mean e-mail spamming,
I mean search the web for as many related websites as possible. Find people who
might be willing to list your site on theirs, usually for a reciprocal link, but sometimes
without.
5) Create a related links page! See above. If
you list other sites they might list yours. Besides, it will bring people to your
site on its own.
These are all common knowledge,
common courtesy or common sense. Still, some people need to be reminded.
1) DO NOT e-mail spam! It may bring some customers to
your site yes, but it will annoy and drive many others off. Do you like getting spam
mail? It is also not only counter to the rules of net etiquette, but the FCC says it
is illegal in the same way unsolicited
faxes are.
2) DO NOT generate numerous extra, irrelevant or
unnecessary pages strictly for promotion. YOU SHOULD have many sub pages in your
site, but don't make any baloney pages just for promotion (well...sometimes ONE front door
page might be appropriate...be don't over do it!). It is bad style,
considered "Spamming" ,and can get you banned from
many search engines permanently.
3) DO NOT use invisible text in HTML to load your site with
extra keywords or use any tricks to accomplish the same thing. Invisible HTML
"COMMENTS" tags are okay, just don't load them up with keywords. Keep them
short and sweet. Again, it is counter to net - etiquette and is considered
"Spam" by the major search engines.
4) If your site has frames DO NOT promote ONLY the frame
site. Many engines do not go past the frames. Ensure you promote all your sub
pages as well.
5) DO NOT delete or otherwise alter sites that are not
yours! Many of the smaller search engines out there let you remove or update URLs
from their data base. This is becoming less and less the case but many search
engines allow you to request an update or modification with as little as a URL and an
e-mail address. If you are smart and/or creative, you stand a good chance of being
able to get it right. So...If the site is not yours, don't do it!
Its...well....its just wrong and you don't need us to tell you that. What would your
mother think?
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