Promotion of your web site

Your masterpiece Web site is now online, the content is killer, the design is superb, it's the best on the Net. You are prepared for a tidal wave of hungry visitors. But it's not that easy.

Everybody wants to promote his or her Web site. Nobody wants to spend much money doing it. Here are 10 tips to help bring visitors to your site:

1. Search Engines
   "Let us submit your site to 100,000 search engines for only .... " You've seen it before and possibly you've been tempted but why is this a really bad deal? For starters, there aren't 100,000, or even 100, sites that are worth submitting to. The top 50 Search Engine sites get 98% of the hits and most of the so-called search engines out there get zero. Be warned - if you go ahead with one of these services, be prepared to be inundated with junk-mail.
   Submitting your site to the major search engines is of critical importance and there is more to it than meets the eye. Seek out specialized directories that are appropriate for your site (travel, investment, shopping, country-specific, etc.). As with most things, however, doing your submissions properly requires an investment of time, so there are many out there offering to do it for you for a fee. Some are good, some are incompetent and some are simply scam artists.
2. Build it and they will come!
   No they won't. It's amazing how many companies spend good money to build a web site, then balk at the cost of letting people know it exists. Your Web site address should be on every piece of company media from letterheads to coffee cups, invoices to fax cover sheets, press advertising to telephone book inserts - a mention on any piece of media material will increase the amount of exposure your site gets. We've even seen web addresses written on car license plates. Any place it may get attention.
3. Add a signature
   Most email packages allow you to set up a signature to add to the bottom of your email messages. Include your web site address, a short description, phone number and address, if relevant.
   Let your contacts know what you do and how they can see it. Here's an example:
   Customer Support
   ADA Media
   Web Development that Works!
   www.ada-media.com
   info@ada-media.com
   USA (928) 442-3817
   
4. The right E-mail Address
   Use only email addresses that are part of your site's domain. Don't use email address that include your ISP name, such as "so-and-so@yahoo.com". It does not look professional and you are only advertising for them. Messages can still be forwarded to any other address using your 'normal' email alias without the sender ever knowing, but make sure your official addresses is '@yourcompany.com'. If you haven't already done so, change your default email address in your email program without delay.
5. Link Exchange
   Request links on Industry related sites. You may 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 you want.
6. Keep everyone informed!
   A newsletter or mailing list can be a valuable addition to your site. Newsletters work wonders for sites that use them well. Give an incentive and a reason for someone to join your newsletter. People are not willing to just hand over their e-mail address without a clear idea what they will get in return. The newsletter should always carry relevant, useful content and not just blatant advertising. As long as it is useful, people will appreciate it and pass it on to several friends. Remember to actively ask them to pass it on. If you don't , they may just forget or not even think about it.
7. Web Visitor Statistics
   Some wise man said, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Be sure to keep your web visitor reports safe, analyse them (or get someone to do this for you). These reports can really help you boost your traffic by telling you how many visits are coming from each search engine, where other visitors are coming from and what keywords people are using to reach your site.
   
   
   
8. Sponsorship
   A good business plan requires that every avenue of publicity be exploited if a business is to thrive. One of the best things you can do is take out sponsorship to publicize your web site's address. You may not have considered this in the past. Look at your target market and it might surprise you how little you might have to pay for some excellent exposure.
9. Additional domain names
   Hopefully you have your own domain name but why have only one? Do you own both the '.com' and '.net' version of your web address? Spend a bit of money registering several more appropriate domains and set them up to refer people to your web site. Properly set-up, they will improve your chances of being found in search engines and will increase the chances of anyone finding you who may be guessing your web address. It also stops your competitors from registering your company or trade name!
10. Keep at it!
    Once the promotional process is started don't stop - keep up the good work. Repeated exposure of web site's address will keep traffic flowing to your site. Do not expect traffic to jump immediately. Remember, if no one knows where you live, no one will come and see you!