Website Publicity Strategies
Links
The absolute fastest way to get your web site into the public eye is to ask related sites to link to your web site. All other things being equal, if many other web sites have links to your site, you will appear higher in search engines. And, of course, people will sometimes follow the links to your web site. Typically, if they link to you, they will want you to link to them. So in your web site design, have a page or a section for related links. Then email the webmaster of related web sites, humbly asking for a link, and offering a reciprocal link. Something like:
___________________________________
Dear Webmaster,
I would greatly appreciate a link in your web site. SunRay Supplies sells horse grooming and equine health supplies. Since your company trains horses, I would think that your customers would appreciate such a link. And I would be happy to link to your web site in return.
Thank you in advance,
Everything to keep your horse healthy and happy.
____________________________________
Yes, this really is as much work as it sounds. But it's also very, very effective. If you're serious about Internet publicity, and you have the time, try it!
Content
One way to draw people to your web site is to tell them something they actively want to know. Are you an expert in your field? Write some short how-to articles related to your business. Publish them on your web site. Even if you're not an expert, you'd be surprised how many people will search the Internet for information that you know (and they don't.) If you run a business, you're fairly certain to have knowledge that the general public does not have. Share it!
Statistics
If you have statistics enabled on your web site, you can check to see how many people are viewing your site, which pages they looked at, and how they got there. Go to http://livestats.turbonet.com and enter your server ID. Typically, it's the main part of your domain - for www.turbonet.com, the server ID is
turbonet
If you have a Plus, Deluxe or Real Estate web site with Cactus TurboNet, you should have statistics enabled. Find out which search engines are sending people to your web site. Are you getting referrals from anywhere else? If so, does this give you ideas for better web publicity? Perhaps you need to re-submit your web site to search engines. Maybe you need to change your key words. Knowledge is power!
Print methods
Don't forget to mention your web site in fliers, on your business cards, in newspaper ads, etc. It can multiply the effectiveness of a good ad. This is because even the best ad in a newspaper cannot tell the prospective customer everything he wants to know about your business. Newspaper or magazine advertising is just too expensive. But your web site has plenty of room to tell your story. Be sure to include your hours of operation, location, phone number, fax number, email addresses, etc. on your web site.
Page created by Monica Ray, Cactus Computer. Monica@TurboNet.com