by: Michael J Medeiros
Promoting a Website is becoming tough. For many, problems are seen at the beginning, when attempting to register a domain name. Once a satisfactory domain name is acquired, the site is lost within a see of competition. Time and money is required to excel above the competition. Along with these common suggestions, there are five areas to consider when promoting a Website.
Core Promotion – Establishing Links
A major fundamental to promoting a Website is establishing links. Back-links allow people and Search Engines to find a Website. There are a variety of beliefs to how different Search Engines utilize back-links. However, it is anonymous that this factor is vital, and for obvious reasons.
Link exchanging with other Websites is probably the best and only affordable solution to accomplish back-links. However, be aware there are some shared beliefs that spawn trickery with link exchanges. Some theories, regarding the major search engines, suggest the number of, “outbound-links,” a page contains causes drainage. For example, if a page cut the outbound links by half, that pages recognition would increase. Webmasters with this belief often mask their links pages from search engines. This is done using a robots.txt file, which specifies pages for the Search Engines to avoid. To see if a page is masked, simply type the domain name followed by robots.txt into your browser. Ensure the page that will contain outbound links is not blocked. If the page is blocked, the exchange will not be equal.
Design a Directory of Information
While animated pictures and fancy graphics are nice to look at, they are not cost effective when beginning a Website. Delayed loading time could loose customers. Additionally, increased bandwidth may inflate overhead. If increased costs and lost business is not bad enough, graphics are not search engine friendly.
Present information, based on the premise of the Webpage, before other content. Being concise will improve recognition. More quickly than a cluttered Website that lacks focus. One or two sponsors will help maintain a friendly site, and maintain focus.
Present information similar to a Directory. Use words that are common to describe content within the Website. Alphabetize the navigation. Keep columns distinct and clean. Utilize a heading and sub-headings where there is content.
Submit your Website to Indexed Pages
Once again, there are a number of beliefs towards ways the major traffic movers rate a Website. One common belief is having an inbound-link on an established Website, is more valuable than a New Website. As a result, some Webmasters refuse to exchange links with sites that are new. Again, this increases the difficulty of adding a link to other Websites.
Another affect that stems from the reduced link theory, is disallowing search engines from link pages. Many directories, where the administrator shares this belief, will utilize a robots.txt file. Within this file, he or she may specify which pages the search engines should avoid. What is the result? The page displaying the link will not be indexed, as requested, within the Search Engine Directories. Before spending valuable promotional dollars or requesting a link exchange, type the domain name followed by robots.txt into a Web Browser. If the pages containing links to other Websites are being hidden, it may not be an effective place to promote a Website.
Get more traffic or get more return visitors?
Often, webmasters loose a customer friendly mindset. Rather than being concerned with gaining customers, they are overly concerned with generating traffic. Having a lot of unique visitors is good. However, if there is nothing visitors appreciate, the advertising program will gain negativity.
Eventually a lot of people will recognize the name and URL, as site not to visit. Because of this, place more concern on attracting less unique visitors and more return visitors. The result will be avoiding the number one link on the Search Engine results page, and visiting the number two site. Rather then trying to trick the search engines into making a Website number, ensure the site is ready.
Submit to Website Directories
An easy way to have a Website categorized is adding it to a Directory. If a site is placed in the proper category, a link will be grouped with similar sites. Additionally, the text that Spiders will follow to retrieve the page is important. Most Directories will have modest recognition. This is because others link to them as a resource.
Identify the focus of the Website being promoted. Trying to add a Website to an improper category will certainly give the editors a bad impression. Take for example, a website that focuses on shopping for a home, being suggested to a Business Category. The Website must belong to a Realtor or financial institution. Otherwise it is not pointing people to a Real Estate Businesses Website. The identification is wrong, according to most directories. Improper focus will cause delayed listing or result in being declined.
In addition to identifying the sites focal point, place heavy consideration to a description. It does not have to list every single feature, item for sale, or benefit the site offers. Give a proper concise description. Rather then specifying all the towns where Real Estate business is offered, mention the county or major Metropolitan area. If the extra text is not needed, why have it there?
There is still potential on the Internet. Don’t get discouraged and keep an open mind towards changes and feedback.