| So, now you have a beautiful site. I mean, it is really
great. You love it. Your spouse loves it. Your Dad loves it...
even the dog loves it.
But, regrettably, they are the only ones who have actually
seen it yet. In fact, there is a whole world out there just
chomping at the bit to see your site, right?
Wrong... Whether your website is promoting your business,
supplying valuable information, educating the public, providing
entertainment... or just showcasing your technologically
sophisticated dog, the sad reality is not everyone in the world
is going to see your site. In fact, they don't even want to.
Happily, there are thousands and thousands (okay, maybe just
hundreds if you are bragging about your dog) of "surfers" out
there on the information super-highway who really do want to see
what you have to offer.
HELP THEM FIND YOU!
But how? Do you know how to prepare your site so that the
robotic spiders out crawling the Web will actually recognize
your site as valuable place to be? Will you get listed on all
the search engines, especially the "biggies". Can you get
yourself listed on pages featuring sites like yours, or that
will compliment yours? I won't lie to you, it can be a real
challenge to get listed on the major search engines, which is
why "offline" site promotion is very
important to incorporate into all aspects of your company's
marketing scheme.
WordArt will work with you to optimize your site for search engines providing you with tools to monitor results. In the meantime, here is a brief look at some tactics...
Meta Tags
Meta Tags are HTML code used by search engines to
specifically index your web site. Meta Tags consist (primarily)
of two separate fields: description and keywords. The Meta Tag
description field should be brief and to the point, providing a
clear and succinct description of the page and its contents.
The Meta Tag keyword field can be used to specify additional
key words or synonyms that describe the contents of a site. META
tag keywords are used in the indexing process but will not
display on your Web page. The keywords can include up to 1000
characters of text. Be sure that the key words chosen are
relevant to the contents of the page.
All websites created by WordArt have keywords and descriptive
text coded to each page. Usually this is done shortly before the
site is finalized and ready to "go live".
We recommend you spend some time really considering who your
target audience -- who you are wanting to visit your site and
why they want the information you provide. Brainstorm words that
your target audience would most likely be using when they
conduct a websearch using a search engine. Come up with a list
of about 25 - 30 words (and common mis-spelling of these words)
This list will be your keywords that are coded into each
page. You will find that these are words you commonly use within
the text on your website.
|
More ways to promote your website - offline!
Probably one of the most important, and most often
over looked, methods to promote your business online, is to
promote your website offline!
Here are a few general tips for the offline marketing of
your website that are easy and generally inexpensive to put
into action. Some will apply to your business more easily
than others, but consider them all:
- Start with your existing marketing - make sure you put
your Web address on all your flyers, brochures, business
cards, catalogues, order forms etc. If you're not planning
to print more stationary for a while why not invest $20 or
so in a self inking stamp then stamp the address on
anything that leaves your hands in the meantime.
- The simplest, most economical way to go is make sure
EVERY email that leaves your computer has a "signature" at
the bottom featuring your website. Most, if not all, email
programs have this option.. USE IT!
- Include your Web address in all your
newspaper/newsletter advertising, and don't forget
encourage people to visit you at www.YOURWEBSITE.com
- Include your web address in your telephone answering
message, after all you have a captive audience! Let them
know they can find out more via the net 24 hours a day.
- When customers call, ask if they have Internet access.
If they do, encourage them to also visit your web site for
up to date information about your business. (explain that
they'll be able to access the information quicker than
waiting for it to be mailed or faxed out to them). If they
visit the site once it's likely they will return next time
they need to know something -- AND refer their friends!
- Use your web address as a screen saver and set it to
scroll across the screen when your PC is not in use. By
seeing your web address every time you sit in front of
your computer, you will be reminded of it subliminally...
when you think it, you say it.
- If you are on the road a lot, it makes sense to have
your web address displayed on your vehicle for all to
see...let's face it web addresses are a lot easier to
remember than phone numbers.
Obviously not all the above points will be practical for
everyone, but even if you get one or two offline website
promotions up and running you'll be going a long way towards
getting people to visit your site, and that's what you want
isn't it? |
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