A Guide To Website Promotion

A great deal has been written about website promotion, yet many businesses fail in attaining visible results: increasing traffic, getting more clients and so on. Why? Because many online entrepreneurs do not exploit the proper website promotion tools at their fullest.

Here is a list of website promotion strategies you need to consider if you want a successful online business.

1. Search Engines Strategies

Probably the most important website promotion strategy is to ranking high for the relevant keywords on the main search engines. The most important search engines are: Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask and AOL. Each has a different algorithm to index a web page, but all still consider the following factors:

Page title – describe what a web page is all about. When the search engines index a web page is the page title that appears hyperlinked on their results. Use keywords not just your company name. And don’t ignore the importance of a good page title: this is your identity on the search engines.

Description – don’t use keywords you don’t have on the web page, as this might hurt your ranking. Not all search engines index the META description, but all “spider” it to determine the relevancy of your web page. Write a logical description: when indexed, it appears under your hyperlinked title in the search engine results. It is the second element of identity on the search engines.

Use header tags H1, H2 etc. Include the targeted keywords in these tags. Headers and sub-headers are as important for the search engines as they are for your visitors. Headers help both search engines and visitors to determine page relevancy.

Place your keywords carefully in your text. Usually place the most important keyword phrases in the first paragraph of your text. No stuffing. Write the as they come naturally to express an idea. And remember that Google might penalize you if you have a keyword density higher than 1,5%.

Use keywords in your links. Once again: no stuffing. Just write a short description of the web page you are linking to. This description has to be related to the topic of the page. Don’t try to mislead the search engines and definitely don’t mislead your visitors!

Submit your website to minor search engines as well. You don’t need to submit your site to Google or Yahoo: they will come to you. But you do need to submit your website to other search engines such as Scrub the Web, Subjex, Alexa, Aeiwi, ExactSeek, mamma, Burf, Dogpile and so on. Some are free, some require a submission fee. It really depends on what you need and what financial possibilities you have, but having your website indexed in as many search engines as possible cannot hurt.

Use sitemaps to help the search engines spider your web pages better.

Develop a separate web page for each of your services and optimize it for one or two of the most important keyword phrases. These are known as “content-focused” web pages and they will rank higher in the search engines results.

2. Linking Strategies

Links are really important: they bring traffic, boost site popularity, help your website rank higher in the search engines, increase your page rank etc. When a very popular website links to your website, that will boost your website’s popularity too.

Submit your website to the most important directories: try dmoz, Yahoo directory, Best of the Web, About and Business.com.

Submit your website to specialized directories or industry related directories.

Exchange links. Remember to write a different description and title for each link you submit somewhere. Link solely to complementary sites. Google doesn’t look for just any links, but for quality links.

Write articles and submit them in article directories or distribute them to editors as free content for newsletters or other websites. Remember to ask in exchange a back link to your website. This helps getting “one way” links, really important for increasing your rankings.

Host a business blog on your website. A blog will increase the PageRank of your website if you give people a reason to link to it: quality content.

Press releases could bring you very valuable links as well. Use a reliable news release service, such as PR Web.

Now that you are familiar with the most important search engines and linking strategies, you should not ignore other promotion tools that will enhance your website promotion efforts.

3. Traditional Media Strategies

Website promotion should be a mix of online and offline strategies. Traditional media tools apply successfully to increase traffic and get more visitors.

Promote your website URL on business cards, stationery and company documents.

Don’t ignore the importance of the traditional media. Include your URL in any display in newspapers, magazines and so on. Many people do use the yellow and white pages to search for services. Make sure your company is listed and provide the URL along your listing as well.

Send your clients business greeting cards on proper occasions. These will act as reminders and help maintain good communication channels between you and your customers.

Use your local TV and Radio to promote your website. Advertisements on national TV are really expensive, but do use them if you have the money.

Print informational brochures and periodicals. For periodicals don’t just ramble about a topic: make them worth reading. Send them free to business partners, clients, journalists and research centers.

Develop a free service (related to your business field) to attract clients to your website: a free online insurance calculator, a free e-book, free software, etc.

4. Email Strategies

Emails are virtual corporate letters. Email can be used to send out answers to inquiries, news, offers, advice and much more. The first and most important rule when it comes to business email is: DON’T SPAM! The rest comes naturally.

No matter what business email you send out, always use a signature: your name, position, company address and phone numbers, website URL. Always include the http:// in front of your domain name, as many email software programs fail to convert simple www. into links.

Publish an eNewsletter (“ezine”): this is a periodical electronic publication with useful information for your clients. You may include in the eNewsletter articles, press releases, news and special offers. But don’t forget to include a visible link to your website as well.

Send your clients special offers, discount coupons, product updates and so on. These should be personalized, clear and to the point. Once again: don’t spam.

There are email marketing companies that have developed lists of people who have agreed to receive commercial emails. You could use such a service, but if you do, make sure it’s not a type of “pay to read email” company. To pay for something like this will do you no good, as people who get paid to read emails don’t really care about your message, but just click on the links to get a commission per click.

Up to now you’ve learned the importance of search engine strategies, how to develop a solid linking strategy, how the traditional media tools boost site popularity and what email strategies work best to promote your website. In the third and last part of this short guide, we will show you how to use paid advertising effectively. We will also take a look at some miscellaneous website promotion tools.

About the author: Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes at: http://www.highpowersites.com