Promote Your Web Site
If you are a large
corporation, you probably have an advertising department with a budget
just for promotion. Many of us, however, are on limited budgets, so we
will explore some free or low-cost promotional activities.
To help get visitors to
your web site, you need a good mix of search engine promotion, good use
of keywords, and traditional print and media marketing.
In the January 2004 issue of Equestrian Retailer, we suggested that you need good web site content rich in keywords. In the November 2003 issue we talked about how you generate those keywords and how they should be placed in the programming code of your site using metatags.
Search Engines
Your site should be submitted periodically to the top search engines. If you hire a web master, submissions should be part of the maintenance package they provide. There are also a number of for-hire web site promotion services available on the internet. There are “pay-per-click” and pay-for-placement programs and affiliate programs that may be of value to some readers. The key is to find reputable companies and popular placement locations to maximize your advertising dollars.
Free Tools
There are also a number of free search engine submission tools. You can (and should) submit manually to many of the most important search engines. Google, at the time of this writing, has about 70% of the search engine market. That means most people will use Google when they search for something on the internet.
If you search for your most important search term or keyword and your site does not come up in the top thirty listings on a search engine, look for topic-related directories that do. Then submit listings to each of those that will take free submissions.
A number of related web sites also have “links” pages where they will list your site as a courtesy to aid their visitors. Some will require reciprocal links on your site. There are some benefits in having a links page on your own site, but adding new sites to it is time consuming, so you may not want to pay a web master to do it. If you maintain your own site and have the time, a links page is something to think about. Popularity (being listed on other web sites) is a criterion for ranking in some search engines.
Submit your ezines, articles or newsletters to related websites that accept free content to help build your link popularity. Newsletters, popular productive discussion forums, FAQ's, blogs and tips on your subject are all means to inform your visitors and bring in new traffic to your website.
Printed Material
Put your web site address on every piece of printed material you generate: email signatures, business cards, stationary, checks, invoices, and ads. How about adding it to the message on your answering machine and voice mail? Put it on your business signs and office windows and business vehicle. Display the address in bold letters that are easy to read. The present generally recognized format for display is www.yoursitename.com.
Traditional media advertising, including print ads, brochures, posters, magazine articles, sponsorships, and radio and TV advertising, all displaying your web site address are still important.
Today’s Buying Public
The present day buying public is becoming “web savvy.” (Web site oriented.) By the end of 2004, 30% of the population of the United States will buy online, purchasing $65 billion in products. Many more will research the products they buy offline on the internet before they make a purchase. They look for web addresses in order both to learn more about products and to buy them online. Your web site is like a quickly updateable brochure where potential customers can learn what they need to know about your product and be convinced that they should buy it. You need to provide that tool. Customers have gone from asking for a paper brochure to asking if you have a web site. Those of you who do not have a web site are losing a large segment of today’s buying public.
by Lee Raine
A version of this article appeared in the May 2004 edition of Equestrian Retailer Magazine.
In the January 2004 issue of Equestrian Retailer, we suggested that you need good web site content rich in keywords. In the November 2003 issue we talked about how you generate those keywords and how they should be placed in the programming code of your site using metatags.
Search Engines
Your site should be submitted periodically to the top search engines. If you hire a web master, submissions should be part of the maintenance package they provide. There are also a number of for-hire web site promotion services available on the internet. There are “pay-per-click” and pay-for-placement programs and affiliate programs that may be of value to some readers. The key is to find reputable companies and popular placement locations to maximize your advertising dollars.
Free Tools
There are also a number of free search engine submission tools. You can (and should) submit manually to many of the most important search engines. Google, at the time of this writing, has about 70% of the search engine market. That means most people will use Google when they search for something on the internet.
If you search for your most important search term or keyword and your site does not come up in the top thirty listings on a search engine, look for topic-related directories that do. Then submit listings to each of those that will take free submissions.
A number of related web sites also have “links” pages where they will list your site as a courtesy to aid their visitors. Some will require reciprocal links on your site. There are some benefits in having a links page on your own site, but adding new sites to it is time consuming, so you may not want to pay a web master to do it. If you maintain your own site and have the time, a links page is something to think about. Popularity (being listed on other web sites) is a criterion for ranking in some search engines.
Submit your ezines, articles or newsletters to related websites that accept free content to help build your link popularity. Newsletters, popular productive discussion forums, FAQ's, blogs and tips on your subject are all means to inform your visitors and bring in new traffic to your website.
Printed Material
Put your web site address on every piece of printed material you generate: email signatures, business cards, stationary, checks, invoices, and ads. How about adding it to the message on your answering machine and voice mail? Put it on your business signs and office windows and business vehicle. Display the address in bold letters that are easy to read. The present generally recognized format for display is www.yoursitename.com.
Traditional media advertising, including print ads, brochures, posters, magazine articles, sponsorships, and radio and TV advertising, all displaying your web site address are still important.
Today’s Buying Public
The present day buying public is becoming “web savvy.” (Web site oriented.) By the end of 2004, 30% of the population of the United States will buy online, purchasing $65 billion in products. Many more will research the products they buy offline on the internet before they make a purchase. They look for web addresses in order both to learn more about products and to buy them online. Your web site is like a quickly updateable brochure where potential customers can learn what they need to know about your product and be convinced that they should buy it. You need to provide that tool. Customers have gone from asking for a paper brochure to asking if you have a web site. Those of you who do not have a web site are losing a large segment of today’s buying public.
by Lee Raine
A version of this article appeared in the May 2004 edition of Equestrian Retailer Magazine.