How to Promote your small business web site without costing you a nickelOrganizing a Cost Effective Small Business Web Site Promotion And how to promote your website!
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by Rajesh Tavakari
April 10, 2007
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| Rajesh Tavakari |
| Rajesh V. Tavakari, Senior SEO of Website Promotion & Ranking Services offering affordable website promotion and natural optimization services since
1998. Website. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter
provided this courtesy notice, author name and URL remain intact. |
| Rajesh Tavakari
has written 6 articles for PromotionWorld. |
| View all articles by Rajesh Tavakari... |
Small Business Web Site Promotion
The most important thing to remember when you want
to encourage visitors to visit your web site is to make sure they will want to
return again. ‘Visitors’ means not just human web surfers, but also the search
engines and directories. Small business website promotion, no matter how much
you promote your site, will be the look of the site that will keep visitors
there and hopefully buy your products or services.
Optimize your Site for Search Engines; Check your
links Small business website promotion starts with a
search engine spider indexing or cataloging your site by following the links
from one page to another. Just as human visitors dislike a broken link, so do
the spiders. If a link doesn’t work they’ll simply move onto the next page. No
matter how sophisticated the search engine software is, it can’t index what it
can’t find. Also remember that a spider will not be able to follow a link that
requires a form submission or Java Script so small business website promotion is
very important.
While considering the subject of links, if you are
using HTML and CSS on your site, make sure that both work properly. A certain
minimum level of requirements must be met so that your pages will display
correctly. It is only if these are met that a spider can do its work. There are
free facilities online that can check both of these for you.
* Make sure your links
work.
* Do not use forms or Javascript if you want a
search engine spider to find your pages
* Check that HTML
and CSS work properly.
Do not make your Pages too big! Most of us have heard the expression ‘size isn’t
everything’. While this may not be true of many things, it does matter when it
comes to web pages. People do not like having to wait an eternity for a web page
to load. Search engine spiders may not fully index a page bigger than 150k in
size. Remember that the size of a page does not simply depend on the actual HTML
file itself, but includes everything on the page such as images, banners
etc.
If you have a lot of images on your pages, then
either reduce the number of them, or use a program such as Macromedia Fireworks
to optimize them for the web. If the page has a big file size because there is a
massive amount of text in it, then you should consider splitting the text into
smaller, more manageable pieces and putting them on several pages and linking
one to another. SEO Chat has a tool called "Page Size Lookup" which can tell you
the size of your web page; you can check it out at
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/page-size/ * Keep the file size to below
150k
* Optimize images for the web
*
Use a free page size checker to find out the actual size of the
page.
Search Engines and Directories; What is the
difference between a search engine and a directory? People frequently use the term ‘search engine’ as a
catch-all expression for anything they use to search the Web. They are different
things though, and an understanding of the differences will enable you get use
both effectively to promote your site more successfully.
How does a search
engine work? Search engines use highly sophisticated software to
search the web for new pages. It then automatically creates and updates their
indexes. Whenever they find an active hyperlink, they will follow it and add
that to the index and so on. These ‘crawling’ programs are generally referred to
as ‘spiders’.
Normally, all this is totally automatic, but
sometimes human intervention is involved. The spider will return periodically to
the pages and check for updated content. Often there will be a delay between you
uploading your page, and the spider finding it, unless you submit your URL
directly to the search engine itself. You can submit a web URL to Google ™ free
of charge. * Search engines are usually
automatic
* They will revisit your
pages.
* Spiders will find all the pages on your site as
long as there are active hyperlinks for them to follow.
*
You can submit a site to most search engines free of charge.
How Directories Work The primary difference between a search engine and
a search directory is that a directory is compiled by a real person. Frequently
the site owner will submit a short description of the site together with its URL
to the directory compiler to be considered for inclusion. Directories are
arranged into categories to make it easier to find what you are looking
for.
When you submit your site to a directory, you
choose the category you want your site to be featured in. A reviewer then checks
to ensure that your site is in the most suitable category. Another difference between a search engine and a
directory is that whereas a search engine could list every individual page in
your web site, a directory will generally only contain a single entry covering
your entire site.
* Directories are compiled by
real people.
* They are categorized.
* A reviewer checks to ensure your site is in the best
category.
* A directory will usually only contain one
entry for your entire site.
Shared Indexes and Hybrids
Things are never so straightforward though. Some
search portals are a hybrid, combing a search engine and a directory. The search
engine part returns automated results, while the directory gives human found
results.
Normally, a hybrid will supply hits from the directory as the
primary source, with the search engine results of individual pages as the
secondary source.
It cannot be stressed too strongly that search
engines and/or directories are by far the most important way of getting your
site noticed. To do this, you have to properly prepare the site and submit your
URL to them.
Keywords are important: Choose the right keywords Think what your web site is all about. If you had
to describe your site in one word, then that word is your first keyword. Then
think about other words to describe your site. Make a list of them, with the
most important at the top of the list and so on. You want a list of between ten
and fifteen words. Since these keywords will be used in a variety of ways, it is
important that you take some time selecting them.
Keywords are important because they are possibly
the most important thing that a search engine uses to determine whether a page
is included in the search results. Even although different search engines use
keywords in different ways, most experts agree that the frequency and position
of your keywords is an important factor. * Select keywords to describe
your site.
* Choose 10 – 15
keywords.
* Take your time picking keywords – they are
extremely important.
Pick a Good Title for your Web Page
tag. This goes into the < head> section of your web page.
The <title> tag is what is shown at the top of your web page when it is
displayed in a web browser. Search engines, however, often use the <title>
tag as the title of the listing in the results.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The <title> tag looks like this</div>
<div> </div>
<div><title>The name of my Web Page
When you write a web page, there is always a <title> tag. This goes into the < head> section of your web page. The <title> tag is what is shown at the top of your web page when it is displayed in a web browser. Search engines, however, often use the <title> tag as the title of the listing in the results.
The <title> tag looks like this
<title>The name of my Web Page </title>
Not only is it good practice to make your <title> tag have a good description of the content of the page, but if you can manage to work into it some of your keywords, so much the better.
Why you
should use Meta Tags? What are meta tags?
Meta tags are a special type of HTML code that goes
into the section of a web page. Site visitors do not normally see
them, but search engine spiders do. Just as some HTML tags have an attribute
with a value, so too do meta tags.
As far as optimizing your web page for search
engines is concerned, the most important meta tags are keywords and description.
The syntax for the keyword < meta > tag is as follows:
The description < meta > tag is as
follows:
Unlike some HTML tags, it is not strictly necessary
to have the meta tag closed, but if you want to have valid XHTML, then you do
need to close all your tags.
Consider your URL
Since we are discussing matters that will influence
how a page appears, it is worth considering the actual URL of the page itself.
Since the URL that appears in your browser reflects the file path for the page,
it makes good sense to have the file name reflect the navigation of the
site. You can see at a glance that this page refers to
the Lower Square, which is part of the Castle, which in turn is part of
Stirling. Not only does this meaningful URL impart information to the visitor,
but for the web designer it makes sense to have the separate files arranged in a
logical manner. This will only apply to pages that have not been dynamically
created by a database program, of course.
* Choose a meaningful title for
your page.
* Put your keywords into the
* Give a brief description of the page
into the
* Pick
descriptive file names, since they become your URL.
Extra Things you Can Do
* Ensure that your keywords
appear in the body of your page.
* Don’t repeat your
keywords too often – some search engine will disregard your
pages.
* Keep your keywords as near the top of the page as
possible.
* Remember to include your keywords in the alt =
“ “ attributes for any images.
Where to Submit your Site: Free Places
Google and Yahoo You should now have your web site ready to submit
to search portals. There are free automated programs available that will submit
your pages to a selection of search engines. There are drawbacks to using them
though. Some search engines will not accept automated submissions, so you have
to do it manually. Most search engines will accept manual submission of your
site to them. Google, far and away the most popular search
engine, allows you to do this for nothing. You can also submit your site to
Yahoo free, but you need to be a member of Yahoo. Yahoo is useful because
several other search portals use Yahoo’s database.
The Open Directory
Project
After Google, probably the most important place to
submit your site to is The Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.org/). This is the largest
human-maintained directory of the Web. Because it allows virtually anyone to
access its resources, many search portals such as AOL, Netscape and HotBot take
advantage of this and include their data into their own systems. This means that
once you are included on the ODP database, you are also included in many
others. * There are places you can
submit your site free of charge
* Google is probably the
most important place to submit to.
* Yahoo is a good
second choice if you don’t mind registering with them.
*
Do not forget the Open Directory Project.
Paid Listings
Although Google and Yahoo do not charge you
anything for submitting your site to them, they do not guarantee where or when
your site will appear in their listings. However, they do have sponsored links
that appear either above or beside the listing of search engine hits. These are
useful for promoting your small business web site since they are targeted links.
If, for instance, someone searches for “bagpipes”, then not only will they get a
list of bagpipe related sites returned, but they will also see the ‘sponsored
links”.
Free Promotional Techniques
Ad Swapping This is one of the easier ways of getting your web
site promoted. What it involves basically is that you display an advertising
banner, button or text link on your web site, and other sites do the same for
your ads.
The simplest way of swapping banner ads is to join
an existing banner swapping network:
Banner networks work because you are provided with
a few lines of HTML code to include on your web pages, usually near the top. The
HTML creates banners from other sites on your pages. When a visitor clicks on
them, they are re-directed to their web site. At the same time, you
provide the network organizer with your own banner to display
elsewhere.
There are many banner ad networks available, so
choose with caution. Try to find one that will direct traffic to your site, by
displaying your ad on related sites. In order for the network to make money,
they will perhaps ask you to display 2 banners in return for displaying yours
once.
No network will promise a 1:1 ratio, so avoid those
that do. Do not consider paying for extra banners until you have proved to
yourself that the free ad is generating enough visitors to your site. Although
most networks will promise not to display ads for pornographic or other
unsuitable sites, in reality you have no control over them.
* Banner ads are
free
* Try to choose a network that is related in some way
to your business.
* Avoid those that make extravagant
claims about the ratio of ads.
* Be aware that you have
virtually no control over what ads appear on your site.
*
You might get buttons or text links instead of banners.
Although banner swapping can yield increased
exposure of your site, sometimes a more targeted approach is required. The
object of the exercise is to get your ad seen by as many possible visitors as
possible, therefore if you can arrange a deal with the webmaster of a busier
site than yours it could be advantageous.
You may have to compromise. In return for
prominently displaying an advertisement for a busier or better known web site
than yours, you might have to agree to less prominence on the other site.
Web
Rings
These are networks of similarly themed sites which
creates links from one to another to form a chain. You will display a web link
icon and a list of at least some of the other sites in the ring. If you are just
launching your web site it is probably best to try to join an established
ring.
There are possible flaws in joining a web ring. You
will need to allow space on your pages to display the ring logo. Visitors might
think that you are part of an organization, and if some of the sites are badly
built, you might be associated with the rest of them. You will have no control
over which sites join the ring, and link to you and vice versa. * Web rings are
free.
* They are normally similar web sites to your
own.
* You have no control over the quality of the other
sites in the ring.
Article Submission Sites: What is an Article
Submission site? An article submission site, and there are roughly
250 of them, are an effective way of promoting your own goods and services as
well as generating traffic to your web site. Their purpose is to provide
webmasters, e-book editors and e-zine publishers with free content for their own
publications. The articles are usually arranged into different categories, and
the site is normally searchable. How they work
You write an article or series of articles about
what you have to offer on your web site. The purpose of the article is not to
directly sell your goods. Let us suppose that your web site sells a wide range
of possible gifts for all members of the family. Your article might be about,
for example, birthday gift ideas for teenage boys. The purpose is to make your article interesting
enough and informative enough for it to be used somewhere else. Since you have
included some biographical details about yourself, including your own URL, and
your article is published exactly as it appears on the article site, your URL
appears in the end-user’s web site. Thus you are getting free publicity, and the
publisher is getting free content.
* Article submission sites get
you free publicity.
* Publishers get free page
content.
* Your URL appears wherever your article is used,
and so generates traffic to your site.
All article submission sites will allow you to
submit your article for nothing. You register with the site, and you can select
what category you want your article to appear in. When you write your article
you will include the same keywords as you did when you wrote the HTML for your
web site. Thus a search engine will find your site, as well as the article you
wrote about it. Some article sites will allow you to bid for better
placement within their pages. Basically, the more you bid, the higher prominence
you will get on the article site’s home page. Thus you are the first thing a
publisher notices. Even if you are outbid for top spot, chances are you will
still be on the home page. Since a lot of the sites also have separate front
pages for each of the categories, even if you don’t achieve prime position on
the site’s home page, you likely will in the category pages.
* Use the same keywords you used
on your web pages.
* You can bid for increased placement
on the article site’s pages.
As you can see, there are many ways that you can
promote your small business web site. By far the simplest way is to ensure that
your web site has carefully chosen key words for search engines to find. You can
also submit your web site to search engines, ad exchange networks, web rings and
article submission sites free. | 
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