Six Tips for Promoting Your Web Site - By Bronson Tang - By: Bronson Tang,
Six Tips for Promoting Your Web Site - By Bronson Tang When you think of traffic, you might envision smog-filled, congested highways with frustrated commuters battling to get to the office. But when it comes to promoting your Web site, traffic is a good thing. So how do you increase traffic to your Web site? This is accomplished through Web site promotion, also known as Web marketing or search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines rank Web sites based on content, therefore, SEO can help your Web site rank higher on main search engines such as: Google, AOL, Lycos, MSN or Yahoo. Below are some basic tips for promoting your Web site. For the more technologically advanced, additional tips are offered at the end of the article. Either way, utilizing these simple tools can improve your search-engine ranking and subsequently create more traffic to your Web site: 1. Create industry-specific key words: The above-mentioned search engines find you by scanning your Web site. So to successfully attract visitors to your Web site, it's vitally important to include appropriate key words and phrases. Creating a content-rich Web site with industry-specific words and/or phrases increases your chances of being ranked higher on the search engines, in turn creating more visitors to your Web site. Listing your individual services and/or geographic location also can improve your search-engine ranking. The following free services are recommended for additional assistance with creating your list of key words and phrases: Overture -- This word-list development tool allows users to "test" the viability of specific key words and phrases. It enables users to gauge how much a particular word or phrase has been used by providing a usage tally based on the number of times the word/phrase was searched in the previous month. Google -- For the less technologically inclined, Google offers a similar word/phrase search feature. Entering a specific word or phrase on Google will provide you with a "total number results" in the upper right corner based on the key word and/or phrase you entered. 2. Create key words and phrases for first paragraph of home page text. To determine your Web site's importance and overall subject ranking, search engines primarily look for key words in the first paragraph in the body of your Web site's text. However, exercise caution here, as more key words do not equate to a higher ranking. Search engines frown upon excessive amounts of key words. Typically, key word density in the entire body of the text should be no greater than 1.5 percent to 2 percent. 3. List your Web site with key directories. There are many effective online directories where you can register your Web site. The most valuable directories are: Open Directory Project or ODP (www.dmoz.org) -- hosted and administered by Netscape Communication Corporation. It provides core directory services for some of the most popular portals and search engines on the Web, including AOL Search, Netscape Search, Google, Lycos, DirectHit and HotBot. AllTheWeb.com -- This search engine operated by Fast Search & Transfer ASA (FAST), a leading provider of real-time search and filter technology. Both of these directories are definite musts for listing your Web site, and both are free. 4. Other avenues for listing your site. In addition to directory listings, you also can list your site on the following: main search engines; industry Web sites and sponsored/pay-per-click sites. Main search engines. For a fee, some companies will submit your Web site to the top search engines. However, beware of companies making promises that sound too good to be true. Here are two of the more reputable companies operating in this space: Submit It -- This site will submit your Web site to 20 main search engines for one low fee. They also offer useful tools for checking your Web site and tracking your submissions. Self Promotion -- This is a useful site and it's free, although the owner of the site has suggested donations, which are given to the Salvation Army. Industry Web sites. These Web sites are either specific to your industry or industries you would like to target. Check with the industry sites that you use to find out how to get listed. Sponsored links or pay-per-clicks. Next time you're searching the Web, take note of the sites that pop up first in your search. Often you'll find indicators that the site you've found is a "sponsored" link. These sponsored links are essentially paid advertising or pay-per-clicks. In an attempt to get your Web site to the top of the search list, there are a handful of companies that offer sponsored advertising, in which you pay for every hit to your Web site generated through your sponsored link. Thus, every time a person clicks on your sponsored link you are billed. This is a fast, cost-effective and simple way of attracting users to your Web site. We recommend using: Overture Sprinks 5. Place Web site address on print media. Don't overlook obvious avenues to promote your Web site. Be sure to include your Web site address on all print media, including business cards, stationery, literature, e-mail signature, company newsletters and all marketing material. 6. Tune up and test your existing Web site. Once you've implemented one or more of the above suggestions, wait approximately three to five weeks, then take a moment to assess your Web site's ranking -- additional adjustments can be made to "fine tune" your Web site. There are several useful tools to assist in checking your Web site's ranking, thereby allowing you to compare and contrast your Web site with those of your top key word competitors. Useful tools include: Self Promotion Web Position For the more technologically advanced: The technologically savvy user also can take advantage of these additional tips to increase their search engine ranking: Write a descriptive page title bar.The page title bar is the horizontal title bar you see in the uppermost left corner when viewing a web page. It contains a description of the Web page you currently are viewing. To further SEO, make sure your page title bar includes key words or phrases related to your industry. The page title bar is what your audience will use to identify you on the search engine, so make it enticing. Other tips include: The page title bar is the horizontal title bar you see in the uppermost left corner when viewing a web page. It contains a description of the Web page you currently are viewing. To further SEO, make sure your page title bar includes key words or phrases related to your industry. The page title bar is what your audience will use to identify you on the search engine, so make it enticing. Other tips include: Page title needs to be descriptive for each page Five to eight words per page title Remove "filler words" such as "the," "or," "and," etc. Key words and/or phrases in your key words meta tags.While the meta tags are not required when creating a Web page, they do identify the contents of a Web page. Meta tags contain such things as a general description of the page, key words for search engines and copyright information. The following is a meta tag example: META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="halloween, search, links, lookup, seek, find" The meta name is the designation of the type of meta tag. The content is where you would insert your key words or phrases. As in the example above, both the corresponding meta name and content need to have quotation marks. Other resources: Search Engine Forum -- Useful site for answering frequently asked questions. Search Engine Watch -- Excellent site for those interested in keeping on top of trends, as well as tips, helpful tools, etc. regarding SEO.
1. Create industry-specific key words: The above-mentioned search engines find you by scanning your Web site. So to successfully attract visitors to your Web site, it's vitally important to include appropriate key words and phrases. Creating a content-rich Web site with industry-specific words and/or phrases increases your chances of being ranked higher on the search engines, in turn creating more visitors to your Web site. Listing your individual services and/or geographic location also can improve your search-engine ranking. The following free services are recommended for additional assistance with creating your list of key words and phrases: Overture -- This word-list development tool allows users to "test" the viability of specific key words and phrases. It enables users to gauge how much a particular word or phrase has been used by providing a usage tally based on the number of times the word/phrase was searched in the previous month. Google -- For the less technologically inclined, Google offers a similar word/phrase search feature. Entering a specific word or phrase on Google will provide you with a "total number results" in the upper right corner based on the key word and/or phrase you entered. 2. Create key words and phrases for first paragraph of home page text. To determine your Web site's importance and overall subject ranking, search engines primarily look for key words in the first paragraph in the body of your Web site's text. However, exercise caution here, as more key words do not equate to a higher ranking. Search engines frown upon excessive amounts of key words. Typically, key word density in the entire body of the text should be no greater than 1.5 percent to 2 percent. 3. List your Web site with key directories. There are many effective online directories where you can register your Web site. The most valuable directories are: Open Directory Project or ODP (www.dmoz.org) -- hosted and administered by Netscape Communication Corporation. It provides core directory services for some of the most popular portals and search engines on the Web, including AOL Search, Netscape Search, Google, Lycos, DirectHit and HotBot. AllTheWeb.com -- This search engine operated by Fast Search & Transfer ASA (FAST), a leading provider of real-time search and filter technology. Both of these directories are definite musts for listing your Web site, and both are free. 4. Other avenues for listing your site. In addition to directory listings, you also can list your site on the following: main search engines; industry Web sites and sponsored/pay-per-click sites. Main search engines. For a fee, some companies will submit your Web site to the top search engines. However, beware of companies making promises that sound too good to be true. Here are two of the more reputable companies operating in this space: Submit It -- This site will submit your Web site to 20 main search engines for one low fee. They also offer useful tools for checking your Web site and tracking your submissions. Self Promotion -- This is a useful site and it's free, although the owner of the site has suggested donations, which are given to the Salvation Army. Industry Web sites. These Web sites are either specific to your industry or industries you would like to target. Check with the industry sites that you use to find out how to get listed. Sponsored links or pay-per-clicks. Next time you're searching the Web, take note of the sites that pop up first in your search. Often you'll find indicators that the site you've found is a "sponsored" link. These sponsored links are essentially paid advertising or pay-per-clicks. In an attempt to get your Web site to the top of the search list, there are a handful of companies that offer sponsored advertising, in which you pay for every hit to your Web site generated through your sponsored link. Thus, every time a person clicks on your sponsored link you are billed. This is a fast, cost-effective and simple way of attracting users to your Web site. We recommend using: Overture Sprinks 5. Place Web site address on print media. Don't overlook obvious avenues to promote your Web site. Be sure to include your Web site address on all print media, including business cards, stationery, literature, e-mail signature, company newsletters and all marketing material. 6. Tune up and test your existing Web site. Once you've implemented one or more of the above suggestions, wait approximately three to five weeks, then take a moment to assess your Web site's ranking -- additional adjustments can be made to "fine tune" your Web site. There are several useful tools to assist in checking your Web site's ranking, thereby allowing you to compare and contrast your Web site with those of your top key word competitors. Useful tools include: Self Promotion Web Position
Bronson Tang is an associate of Etomicmail, LLC a San Diego-based Corporate Email Protection and Security firm that specializes in researching and developing products that help companies and their employees save time and increase their productivity.
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