Web
Page Promotion:
Getting the Word Out
If you utilize these guidelines, you will find that your web site will be
much more effective. The marketing of a web site is much more than getting
hits. It is getting the hits that work.
Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) provide a list of their members home
pages. Some of these lists are rather simple. Others are broken down into
business, personal, and other categories. This is free public relations and
people do browse these lists, if for no other reason, to see their own listing.
If you can add a description, certainly do so and spend as much care on it
as you do in submitting to the search engines.
 Resources:
There are many "What's New" sites on the Internet. A good starting
point is Yahoo's "What's New".
Don't forget that the Search Engines and Directories may have a "What's
New" area for submissions. Here are some others:
Several search engines (Alta Vista and Infoseek) make use of the META
tag to specify descriptions, keywords, author, etc., in addition to analyzing
the text of your web pages.
There's no silver bullet in getting a page to appear at the top of every
search engine's listings. Generally, any page is competing with several hundreds
or thousands of others for the same audience. You can only 'beat' the others
by offering something unique, and reflecting that in your choice of keywords.
Here are some general tips that help a page to gain more attention while
remaining relevant to the product or service provided:
This is what the web will know your site or page as. It's worth a lot of
effort to get it right the first time as "updating" a page with a search
engine may prove difficult. Normally the first heading (H1) will be
the same as the title (TITLE). TITLE should contain your most
important keywords. If someone searches, for say, 'web development tips,'
and a search engine returns several pages, one of which is titled Web Development
Tips, then they'll probably visit that one first. Don't add extraneous text
and keywords to the title.
Use
the H1 tag to restate your title.
Use the H1 tag near the top of your home page to restate the page's
title. It's fine to put an eye- catching logo at the top of the page, but
a logo means nothing to a search engine. Consider using both a logo and the
H1 tag.
Determine the two or three dozen keywords that seem to be the most important
to your site, then ensure that the most important of those are in your title
and mentioned early on your web page. Examine your competitors, or similar
sites on the web.
-
What keywords have they used?
-
Where do they show up in a query using those keywords?
Yes, you must state those things that your pages are definitely about, but
you must also find keywords that set you apart from the others. Not many
people are likely to search for the exact title of your page but the correct
choice of keywords will serve to bring your site nearer to the top for people
who search intelligently. You can do nothing for those who simply type in
a couple of words and hope.
Don't repeat the same keywords too many times, because it can work against
you. In the past, pages rose to the top if they included lots of repeated
words. This data manipulation trick is called "spamdex," but it no
longer works in most search engines. For example, InfoSeek warns that using
a keyword more than seven times in a meta description will cause the description
to be ignored. Pages with repeated words are now penalized and will no longer
appear prominently on a search results list.
The keywords you consider most important may not be exactly what users enter.
Use a thesaurus or brainstorm with others to come up with keywords and synonyms,
and then rank them, most important first. This is important -- so spend some
time on it. The lack of success with some search engines does not mean that
the site isn't being found. People might find you by entering more words.
Adding just one or two extra words can dramatically make a site more relevant,
and it can be hard to anticipate what that word will be.
This paragraph is in the HTML HEAD (in a META tag) and in your
introductory text. This is what the search engines will usually display to
the user if your page is among the search results. People who manually index
the web will most likely use this for an annotation. Search engine catalogs
contain the text read from the various web pages the engines have visited.
If you want your Web page to be found using certain search words, be sure
to include those words near the beginning of the Web page. If you don't want
your site to be found using certain search words, make sure they are not
included on the Web page. The spider makes determinations about relevant
words based on how the words are used on the page. If a page lacks descriptive
text, then there is little chance that page will come up in the results of
a search engine query.
It's not enough for that text to be in graphics. It must be HTML text. Some
search engines will catalog ALT text and text in comment (!--)
and META tags. To be safe, a straight HTML description is recommended.
If you really cannot put a text description there, use the META tag.
Some search engines only catalog what they find in the user-visible text
portions of your Web pages. They ignore anything in META tags, comments,
and anything in Java and Perl scripts or CGI directories. If you use frames,
consider using the NOFRAMES tag to include information for searchers
and for people whose browsers do not support frames. Spiders are often not
able to index automatically redirected pages.
The more frequently words are found in Web pages cataloged by most search
engines, the more difficult it is to find any particular page containing
those frequently used words. For example, "HTML forms and CGI" will
appear in hundreds of thousands of other Web pages. Your page might appear
as number 51,939 on the search results list of 93,000 Web pages that all
four of those words appear in.
Removing
or Revising Pages.
If you do not want your site to be cataloged at all, follow the instructions
on "robots.txt" files. The robots will ignore your site when this
file is found. Be sure to delete any old pages from search engines that you
no longer want cataloged. If you revise your pages, resubmit them so they
can be re- indexed.
Offer
Text-only Versions.
If your home page has lots of graphics or Java scripts, if you use page
redirection, or if most of your site is contained in databases, Perl and
CGI, consider creating a text-only Web page that describes your company's
or organization's Web site.
Describe
the "who/what/when/where/why" of your site.
This kind of page is a huge help to people searching for specific information,
for the visually impaired who use ASCII-to-voice systems and for people who
use text-based browsers like lynx. Put this text-only page in your top-level
directory, link it to the home page and submit an ADD SITE request for the
text- based page.
Resources:
There are many Web Site Promotion Services available on the Internet. A good
starting point is
Yahoo
-- Try /Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Site_Announcement_and_Promotion/
for a start. Here are some others:
Getting your web site listed as "Cool Site of the Day" or be designated
a "Point Review Top 5% of the Net", will generate a tremendous amount
of traffic to your web site. You can't receive these accolades unless the
web reviewers learn about your site. The best way to get noticed, reviewed,
and maybe even recognized with an award is to submit information to them
just as you did to the search engines. You probably
can even use the same text you used for those announcements.
One good paragraph of fifty words or less is probably about right. The reviewers
probably won't read much more than that to decide whether your web site is
worth a look. The important thing is to write the announcement and to submit
it.
There are over 300 review sites where you can submit your web site. Some
of them have special criteria for inclusion. For example, there are review
sites that only look at scientific web sites. Don't submit your site unless
it is appropriate. The science guy doesn't want to know about model railroading.
Not all web reviewers are created equal. A review or award from one reviewer
may produce thunderous traffic, whereas another may not even produce a ripple
on your site access statistics. Except for a few of the biggest, you can't
really tell what will produce the most visitors to your web site. All I can
say is submit your web site to as many of the appropriate ones as you can.
If you recognize some names, you should probably submit to them first.
Resources:
If you don't know where to start, here are a few web sites that keep track
of these reviewers and you can follow their links to the submission points:
Post an announcement on all relevant Usenet newsgroups. If your page is a
commercial one, you should limit your postings only to newsgroups that are
designated for commercial announcements. Remember, you are trying to build
goodwill, not ill will. You might do this gradually, posting only one message
a day and spaced a few days apart. If you start getting flames (irate e-mail
messages) you'll know you are doing something wrong, and these messages will
tell you exactly what that is. To avoid any problems you should read the
charter for the newsgroups that describes its intended use.
If you have some expertise in a field related to the subject of your web
site, you can post answers to other's questions on an appropriate newsgroup.
Giving polite, informative answers will earn you a measure of respect from
the other newsgroup participants and making sure that your "signature"
includes your web site URL will garner quite a few "hits" from them.
This is free "targeted" advertising to potential customers
or clients already interested in what you have to say or sell.
Resources:
There are many Newsgroups on the Internet. A good starting point for announcing
your site is
news:comp.infosystems.www.anounce.
Check your provider's listing of the newsgroups he carries to find one
appropriate for your needs.
As we hone our banners, meta-tags, and key words in order to get the hits,
we sometimes forget that once we bring web surfers to our sites, it is imperative
that we make use of that traffic. A successful banner can bring in initial
hits, but in order to make those hits work there are a few things that we
must remember:
Use
Descriptive Banner Text.
Even though a misleading or cryptic banner might increase your hits, it will
not bring in the types of visitors that you want. When designing your banner,
provide a hint as to the type of information that the user will find on your
site. This will target your audience and increase effectiveness in the long-run.
Make
Your Site Accessible.
The Internet is a melting pot of people with varying degrees of computer
literacy. Many of the your click- throughs will come from users who are new
to the Internet. If you can create content that is clear and easy to understand,
there is a much better chance that your visitors will utilize your site to
the its fullest extent.
Reciprocal
Links.
Don't insist on reciprocal links. Don't say, "If you link to mine, I'll link
to yours." Not only is that selfish, it's rude and it doesn't work. Do provide
a reciprocal link to any and all web sites that link to yours, provided it's
the kind of web site with which you want to be associated. Don't bother with
the "free link" sites either. These are a frequently disorganized,
and sometimes totally random, listing of web sites that are not going to
provide you with any worthwhile traffic.
Do request reciprocal links. Reciprocal links are the word of mouth advertising
of the Internet. Other sites providing links to your site are extremely important
in getting your web site the kind of exposure that generates traffic to your
web site. I stress that you be generous in providing links to other web sites
because a smart web master will recognize the favor you are doing him and
he is more likely to put a link to your web site on his. On the other hand,
if a web site has no links to other web sites on its pages, why should someone
bother to do him a favor? Those kinds of web sites are obviously isolationists
caught up in their little private world. Leave them alone.
Sell
Your Goods and Services.
If your site is created for commercial purposes, make sure that you have
a sales pitch on your home page. Many of the visitors that will visit your
site as a result of your banner will stop at the homepage. If you let them
know what you have to offer from the onset, there is an increased possibility
that you will attract interest and ultimately make sales.
Bring
Them Back.
A nice way to increase your hits is to give the web surfer a reason to return
to your site. Your banner will only bring visitors to your site once. It
is your responsibility to make them come back. Provide a useful service or
an information section that is updated weekly. Allow them to want to bookmark
your site.
Resources:
Your press release should target both general interest and special interest
media. Your targets should include print, broadcast, and Internet media.
General interest media includes your local newspaper, magazines, and radio
and television stations. Special Interest media includes trade publications
and newsletters that focus on some niche area of interest. The important
thing to remember as you pursue this avenue, is that your press release must
be "newsworthy", i.e., news, if it is going to be published
and generate the traffic to your web site that you are seeking. You should
also recognize that what's news to one organization isn't necessarily news
to another.
If you have the right kind of site you might get into a national magazine.
If it's a special interest site it might correspond to a special interest
section of the publication or be involved in a special event of the time.
For example, if the periodical has a section that covers politics and your
web site focuses on politics. You might send them your PR Release on your
model railroading web site, for example, just as they are putting together
a special report on how model railroading is taking the nation by storm.
Most periodicals have a list of upcoming topics, and closing dates, that
can be had just for the asking. You might call the editor for the department
you are targeting to reinforce your message.
If one of your local stations has a local events or talk show that covers
computers, the Internet, or the area of interest of your site it might be
an appropriate subject to talk about when you call into the show. Most local
stations have a public service announcement service so you should submit
your site to that also. You could also offer to tape a 10 minute segment
on a regular basis for them focusing on your area of interest on the
"Information Superhighway".
Writing
the Press Release.
Writing the press release should not be too difficult. Keep it brief. About
two pages double spaced is about right. Always include some direct quotations
as if you were being interviewed. With some good direct quotations, the reporter
can write the story as if he actually bothered to interview you. Since reporters
are very busy people, this extra touch will be very appreciated and your
web site is more likely to get some press coverage. A well-written press
release can be used verbatim by some trade publications. The trade publications
that have no paid subscribers and a lot of advertisers often don't have a
lot of reporters hanging around looking for something to do. The editor just
might pop your entire release, unedited (He's busy too), right into the
publication.
Resources:
Advertise your site everywhere your budget allows, put it on your literature,
business cards, flyers, etc. If you have built your web site as a means of
generating traffic to your business and/or business web site, be sure also
to publicize your web site by putting it on your letterhead, your business
cards, your invoices, your advertising, and any other form of communication
you use regularly to keep in touch with your customers and to pursue new
prospects for your business. Don't forget to put a brief description or the
web sites name along with its URL in your signature file for your e-mail
program. Every time you e-mail someone you want to automatically advertise
your web site.
Next we'll learn about Measuring Your Web Site's
Effectiveness.
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