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Promoting Your Website
in 2006
Happy New Year! I hope this year proves to be a prosperous
one for you. To help make that happen, I have listed
several ways to increase the number of visitors your site gets.
You or your designer should be able to do these. If not,
give Virtualtech a call.
Write
a Page Title. Write
a descriptive title for each page of up to 10 words. Remove as
many "fluff" words as you can, such as "the,"
"and," “Inc”. The page title will appear as a
link on the search engines.
Include your top search terms in the title and repeat these in
the first few lines of the web page. Unless your company
name is one of your top search phrases, don't put it in the
title. (Your customers will be searching for what your company does... if they know your name, they don't need to search for you)
Write a
Description META Tag. Many search engines include this description
below your hyperlinked title. Think of the description as your
"classified ad", as this will help searchers choose your link over
someone else's. Keep the
description to less then 30 words and put your most important
search terms first.
Develop
Search Term Specific Pages. These are not
"doorway" pages, but rather, web pages that focused on
a different search term or phrase. For example, instead of
only listing
your products on the home page, develop a separate page for each
one. These pages will rank higher for their search term
since they are so targeted.
Submit
Web Page URL to Search Engines. Look
for the "Add Your URL." or "Suggest a Site" link on
search engines. Currently the top search engines are Google, Yahoo,
and MSN allow you to submit to them at no charge. Be wary of
the emails that promise to submit your site to thousands of search
engines for $39.99. The only thing this will bring you is
more junk email.
Submit
Your Site to Internet Directories. Be sure to list your site in the
free Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.com)
and Alexa (www.alexa.com).
You can also find a list of industry specific directories at
Directory Archives
(www.directoryarchives.com).
If you are in a very competitive business and have the marketing
funds, the Yahoo!
Directory is a good choose. Business sites require a $299 annual
fee.
Request
Reciprocal Links. Find complementary web sites and request a
reciprocal link to your site. 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. (Be sure the links are
relevant links and that you don't get too many as they may end
up hurting your ranking.) Your best results will
be from sites that get a similar amount of traffic as your site.
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 from an info hub that you need.
Write
Articles for Others to Use in their Newsletters. You can
dramatically increase your visibility when you write articles in
your area of expertise and distribute them to editors as free
content for their e-mail newsletters. Just ask that a link to your
website and a one-line description of what you offer be included
with the article.
Press Releases. Find newsworthy events
within your company and send press releases to print and Web periodicals.
PR
Web (www.prweb.com)
is a great place to start.
Include
Your Web Address anyplace your Phone Number is. This
will include business cards, brochures, and ads. Don't
forgot to add your web address to your voice mail message.
Using Traditional Marketing. Don't stop
using your current forms of advertising. Instead, change
the focus of these ads to direct people to your website rather
then calling you.
Offer a
Free Service or Free Advice. Don't let your website become a
commercial only. People skip commercials when watching TV, and the Web is no different. Instead, include
something useful on your site. If you remodel kitchens,
give them free planning guide, or if you are an accountant give
them free tax tips. This will keep them coming back and
also help position your company as the one to do business with.
Use a Signature File on all your e-mail
correspondents. Most e-mail programs allow you to designate a
"signature" to appear at the end of each message you
send. Include your company name, phone
number, web address, and a one sentence description of what you
offer.
Publish an E-Mail Newsletter. While it's a
big commitment in time, publishing a
e-mail newsletter ("ezine") is one of the very best ways to keep
in touch with your prospects, generate trust, and build future business. It also encourages those who visit your site, but aren't yet ready to make a purchase, to give you their e-mail addresss so that you can contact them in the future.
Send
Offers to Your Visitors and Customers. Your own list of customers
and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them
will be your most productive list. Send offers, coupon specials,
and product updates on a regular basis. I suggest once a
month if you have enough going on.
Buy a
Text Ad in an E-Mail Newsletter. These ads are inexpensive and
can be very targeted. Read a few issues of the publication
to ensure you like what you are reading and that the content
supports your product or service.
Purchase
Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads. Yahoo Marketing and Google AdWords
are the most popular. Your ranking is
determined by how much you've bid for a particular search term
compared to other businesses. This can be a cost-effective way to
get targeted traffic, since you only pay when someone actually
clicks on your link. The best results come from bidding on
specific terms, rather then broad terms. For example - if
you sell mortgages, don't bid on "mortgages". Instead, bid
on terms like "mortgages Wisconsin", "home loans Appleton
Wisconsin". If using a regional area makes sense, then use
it.
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