Web Site Promotion
Are you feeling lost in the shuffle? Do you need more traffic to your Web site? Are you bee-ing found on the search engines? (Or for that matter, how does anyone get found in those gigantic search engines amongst the bee-zillions of Web sites?)
Having a Web site does not automatically mean people will bee buzzzing to it like they did in the early 1990s. Those days are looong gone. Today's competition for the Web audience is fierce and getting fiercer each day. Web site owners and managers have to constantly promote their sites to stay in the minds of readers and search engines alike. They must also maintain and improve their Web sites so they are worth return visits. The following resources can help you learn about site promotion, submit to search engines, improve your positions on search engines, and check your progress to increase traffic to your Web site.
 KeywordsLonger KeywordsWho's the biggest? |
A Simple StrategyLocal DirectoriesOther Resources |
KeywordsKeywords are the words that people type into a search box to find Web sites for information, goods or services. You will want to create pages that target and emphasize specific keywords related to your Web site's content so that you rank near the top of the search results.
Always target keyword phrases -- meaning two to three keywords in a row. Studies show that 80% of Internet searches contain two to three word phrases, not single words. Therefore, list
all the keywords and concepts that apply to your Web site and start pairing them into likely phrases that people might use to narrow their search. By doing this, your page will still bee relevant for those single keyword searches but will also capture traffic from the more common multi-word queries. We call these multi-word phrases "power combinations."
Let's say you run a travel business specializing in European tours. Some of your keywords might be:travel
Europe
airlines
tours
reservations
accommodations
flight
getawaysSome of your power combinations might be:
European travel getaways
European tour reservations
European travel accommodations
European flight reservationsBecause search engines normally return "partial" matches by default, using the plural form of your keywords such as "reservations" will often return matches with "reservation" too.
The next thing to do is localize. If your travel business is in New York, include this city in your keyword combinations:New York travel getaways
New York tour reservations
New York travel accommodations
New York flight reservationsMany people would rather book reservations with a local agency. Therefore, they will preface searches with their city and / or state (or province).
Next, put yourself in the shoes of the Netizen using a search engine trying to find a product or service that you offer. Once you've created these keyword power combinations, go down your list and ask yourself: "Would I really type that into a search box if I were looking for XYZ product or
service?" If the answer is "no," or "probably not," re-think your choices and try to find a more natural or logical arrangement of your keywords.
Finally, once you've identified your power combinations, create doorway pages that repeat some of these phrases in the title, headings, body, and other areas of the page.
Longer
KeywordsWould you like an easy trick to double your visibility on search engines?
In general, choose the longer form of a keyword. The reason for this is a concept called "word stemming." Word stemming can pull in search results that are not an exact match for the keyword searched on, but may be close to or the same thing. When a search engine does use stemming or word stems, it means that searches for word roots will also include the variations of that word. For instance, searches for consult would also return documents that have the words "consulting" and "consultants."
Search engines that practice word stemming will return your Web site for searches on those other word variations so you should incorporate the longest form of your important keywords in your META tags. For example, including the word "consulting" in the META tag will likely get your Web site returned for searches on both "consult" and "consulting" on many search engines. This is an important consideration when you are designing your Web site and deciding which keywords to include and which to leave out. Always choose the longer form of your important keywords and use the plural form of the word by adding an "s" where possible.
Lastly, try not to create more than one or two pages at a time to target the same keyword or phrase. If you have many of your pages returned together, all in the same search, then you risk getting "red flagged" for abusing the system. This can get you permanently removed from a search engine.
Who's the Biggest?According to Relevant Knowledge, a company that measures audience projections (unique visitors) for Web advertisers and publishers, search engines are among the top traffic-drawing sites on the Web. Here's a list of the major search engines (in alphabetical order).
Ý You must find the right category in Yahoo! and use the submission link from that page. Site descriptions cannot be longer than 200 characters (which may still get edited by their editors).
A
Simple StrategyThe search engine game is constantly evolving (read: changing). Using site submission services can bee a waste of money in most respects (unless you need a tax shelter). A simple, yet effective, strategy may bee to:
1. Select the top four search engines for your subject matter;
2. Make a list of the most important key concepts of your Web site;
3. For each concept, develop a separate entry page for each search engine. (If you have three key concepts, you will have 12 entry pages. Design each entry page to take advantage of its search engine's techniques (this is, use META tags for search engines that use them, but not for engines that don't). Make the entry page a headline for your Web site, with lots of teaser information, inviting the reader to continue to your home page;
4. Register each entry page with the appropriate search engine;
5. Track the hits to each page and make adjustments to each entry page accordingly; and,
6. Use site submission services to register with the rest of the search engines.
Local
DirectoriesIt doesn't take a genius to figure out that search engines can't statisfy everyone's craving for a top 10 ranking. In fact, search engines have bee-come very selective in what sites they list these days. This not only ups the ante for search engine positioning, but also for publishing a high-quality Web site.
The point here is: Do not forget about getting listed in local and regional Web directories -- especially in your geographical area. Working the Web is not an "either or" proposition. Get your site listed in as many places as possible. The more your URL is linked by others, the more traffic you'll have and the better your rankings will bee from search engines that factor in link popularity.
Other
ResourcesFor more information on site promotion strategies, try visiting these resources. Please keep in mind there are companies that will try to take advantage of your burning desire to bee in the "top ten." Get references, read reviews and listen to the experiences of others bee-fore spending your beebread.
Disclaimer: Beeline Publications does not endorse or recommend any product or service and will not bee held responsible for any outcome you may experience. Always exercise sound judgment for best results.
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