Web Site Promotion: Essential & Ongoing

Building a Web site, buying a domain name and finding a suitable hosting solution are good beginnings. But only beginnings. If your site is not found by your targeted audience then all your hard work and money spent is in vain. You need to develop a Web presence and gain visibility among your competitors.

Promoting your site on the Net starts with the initial design and content.
> Behind the scene:What you don't see on your pages can be as important as what is displayed. There are META tags in the head section that need attention, the <ALT> tags for your images, and the choice of words to use for links, just to start. Even how you name your folders and documents can carry weight with some of the search engines.
> Displayed: Your use of white space, the layout and formating of your text, and the optimization of the files that you use for graphics can influence your ranking.
> Content: And then there is the content itself: the quality, quantity and wording. There are many that believe as I do, that in the long run content is the most important factor.

Your page is now designed and optimized for promotion. So up it goes to your host's server for all the world to see - if they find it. Assuming you have chosen and bought a powerful name for your site, memorable and catchy, you are ready to go. Now you need to start submitting your pages, not just the homepage but each page that has viable content and appropriate linking.

Do you have an expense account for this or are you doing it on a shoestring? If you have money targeted for site promotion you probably would be best to go straight to Yahoo and Google and invest in their express submission options. Then head over and bid on some keywords or phrases. Maybe even invest in Pay-for-Click.

If, however, you have more time than money all is not lost. Start submitting using the free submission forms with Google, Altavista, Inktomi, Open Directory and other directories and search engines that have this option. (Yahoo will only accept free submissions for non-profit and personal sites. With time though you may well find your site on Yahoo as it uses the Google database for secondary results, and Google uses Open Directory...)

If you would like to have a more thorough understanding of search engines and directories, and how to use them for site promotion, I highly recommend the book: Search Engine Positioning (CD-ROM incl.) by Fredrick Marckini. It is the most comprehensive and uptodate book that I have found. This book covers the history of search engines, (which I found fascinating), how to prepare your pages for individual engines, how to submit, who to submit to, how the search engines and directories determine the ranking of a Web site, link popularity, pay for submissions, buying advertising and... and... and. It is my bible.

Now you have your search engine submission project underway, what do you do next? According to Susan Sweeney, C.A., the president of Connex Network incorporated, an international Internet marketing and consulting company, there are at least "101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site". And her book by that name will outline them all for you. How to use your competitors sites, viral marketing, permission marketing, using signature files, newsgroups, e-mail newsletters and on. This book also includes advice on designing pages for effective promotion, and offline promotion of your online site.

Another one of my favorite reference books, because I always have more time than money, is "Internet Marketing for Less than $500/Year" by Marcia Yudkin, a master of creative Internet marketing. That $500 a year that she is talking about includes the registering of your domain name, Web hosting, and Internet access. WOW. A good book and easy to read.

The thing is - if you are not going to make this very important part of Web site developing a secondary vocation then you need help. You don't have to hire a professional but you do need to know where to go to get your questions answered, to receive sound advice and effective direction. Leave the figuring out of the constantly changing search engine formulas to the experts, and simply keep up to date with the best and most current ways to submit and promote.

Keep a few basic reference books on hand, subscribe to a couple of sound newsletters, visit the Web sites of the experts and read their articles. Perhaps you might even take an online course or complete some of the many available online tutorials [Go HERE for a selection of Tutorials on eMarketing offered by Beginners.Co.UK]. And, of course, invest in the software that is best for you: for the design, for the graphics and for the promoting.

Some resources to help you

1. NowTime's Webmasters Resources
2. WebPresence101
3. Web-Education.net: Articles and Tutorials
4. The Website Webstore