Archive for: June 2007

Although there are millions and millions of web sites on the internet today, of course you want your site to be found when a potential customer searches for the products or services that you offer. After all, isn’t that one of the reasons you got a web site in the first place? 

But what are you doing to make sure that your web site isn’t lost in cyberspace? Can your site be found by people who are looking for what you have to offer? If the answer is no, here are some tips you can use to improve your web site’s chances of being found by the search engines:

1. Use Meta Data – Meta data is used behind the scenes, in the html code of your web pages.  Most search engines use at least some types of meta data, especially meta titles and descriptions.  Make sure that your web pages have the appropriate meta data included, and try to write unique meta tag information for each page of your web site.

2. Add a Robots.txt file – a Robots.txt file is a special file on a web site that acts like an invitation to the search engine spiders that visit your site.  In this file, you can specify the pages of your site that you want the spiders to crawl, and also specify the areas of your site that should be kept private, such as employee areas, non-public directories, or areas with duplicate content that could hurt your rankings or get your site banned altogether. 

3. Create Site Maps – One of the newer technologies available to business web sites is XML sitemaps, used by Google and other search engines to provide additional information about your web pages and to help control the discovery of the web pages and links on your site.  XML sitemaps can be created using the Google Sitemap Generator tool, a third-party tool, or can be created manually.

4. Submit to Online Directories – Submitting your web site to a variety of quality online directories is a good way to promote your business and also build inbound links to your web site.  You can submit your site to both paid and free directories, but make sure that they are either related to your industry or your location. Avoid the FFA (Free-for-All) directories that are too general, since these are considered “link farms” by most search engines and can get your site banned completely.

5. Optimize for Search Engines – Of course, there is no substitute for complete search engine optimization of your web site, which incorporates keywords and keyword phrases (among other things) to help your site get better search engine positioning.  This can be a more expensive option, but is ultimately the most successful and productive strategy for making sure your site can be found by users searching for what you have to offer.

6. Build High-Quality Inbound Links – One of the best ways to be found in the search engines is to have plenty of high-quality inbound links that point to your web site. Sending out press releases (using free web outlets to help keep costs down), syndicating your original articles on the web, and submitting your site to online directories are all great ways to build inbound links to your web site.

You’ve probably invested a lot of time and/or money in building a web site for your business, so protect your investment.  Make sure you’re doing everything you can to prevent your site from becoming lost in cyberspace!

When it comes to marketing your business, it’s always “campaign season.” Whether you’re creating awareness, implementing a promotion strategy, or building your brand, carrying out regular marketing campaigns is crucial to the success and health of your business.

Stick With the Winners

When planning your next marketing campaign, think about the strategies that have worked for your business in the past, and try to repeat them. Don’t be afraid to drop the activities that no longer work for you; instead, stick with the ones that bring in the best results. Also, try to include some new online marketing techniques in your marketing mix, like email marketing or web advertising. Online marketing is typically inexpensive to try, easy to track, and is very effective for most types of businesses. Remember to always test and measure all of your campaigns so that you can identify the winners and drop the losers.

Diversify Your Efforts

Using a variety of methods to promote your business is always a good idea, since experts tell us that consumers mentally integrate information better when they get it from many sources. Getting your message out by using several different techniques will help your customers “learn” your message and remember your company the next time they need your products or services.

Look for Lasting Results

Marketing your business is an ongoing process, so look for activities that have staying power. For instance, press releases stick around in news archives and on media web sites, providing inbound links to your web site long after the news was released.  You can also look for marketing strategies that lend themselves to repetition, like sending out monthly newsletters (or e-newsletters, which are less expensive to send), or renewing annual business memberships like Chambers of Commerce or professional associations. This type of consistency will help protect your business from sporadic marketing attempts that are often too short-lived to have much impact.

Consistency is Key

The most important part of marketing your business is to be consistent – make sure you are implementing marketing campaigns on a regular basis, not just every now and then. Try to reach your customers using a steady stream of marketing methods (e.g., your web site, email campaigns, direct advertising, e-newsletters, print, etc.), so that your customers and potential customers remember your message and your company the next time they shop.

Well, apparently there IS something new under the sun…..and it’s happening all over the web. New technologies, new applications, and new features are making all kinds of web sites more useful than ever before, including business web sites.   You may have heard it described as “web 2.0,” the “interactive web,” or the “content-driven web,” but all of these terms reinforce the same basic idea – the web has changed!

It used to be that small businesses could simply use their existing brochures and product sheets as content for their web sites, add a few keywords, and maybe add a contact form to create a pretty good small business web site.  But now, there’s a new web environment for business that’s based on multimedia, interactivity, and creative presentation techniques that make these old-school web tactics seem positively outdated.

So what’s a small business to do? 

Content Delivery

For starters, you’re going to have to actively communicate with your site visitors, not just provide them with a static “brochure-site” that they can read. For instance, what can your visitors expect to gain by visiting your site? Can they sign up for an e-newsletter? Do you have downloadable reports or e-books to offer them? Does your content offer them actual useful information, or is it just page after page of sales pitch? You may need to rethink the way in which you deliver your web content, and determine better ways to provide value to your visitors.

Meet New Expectations

You may also want to pay attention to the new technologies available on today’s web sites, because users are quickly becoming accustomed to them. Visitors often expect to see technologies such as RSS feeds, blogs, and podcasts available from business sites, as well as video “ads,” interviews, and tutorials. Even adding simple features can make a big difference for a web site. For example, adding an interactive calendar of events to your site (especially if you allow visitors to submit events for publication) can send a strong signal to your users that you are able to meet their expectations both on your web site and in your business, making you a natural choice over your competitors!

Make the Right Impression

If you’re a small business, the temptation might be to think that these new expectations don’t really apply to your business, or that your customers don’t really care about how sophisticated your web site is (or isn’t). Well, that’s simply not the case. Studies have shown over and over again that customers make decisions based on emotional “gut feelings,” often based on their impression of your business. If you present them with an old-fashioned, outdated web site, what do you think they will remember (if they remember you at all)?

Make sure your web site is an accurate reflection of your business, and give your visitors a reason to “click around” and get to know your company. Offer them a variety of interesting material that’s presented appropriately for today’s web users. Meet their expectations on your web site, and they will be less likely to move on to the next site (a.k.a. your competition!) and more likely to do business with you.