 |
|
Marketing your website
Ways to Promote Your Web Site - Beyond the Search Engines
The Myth
One of the biggest
myths of owning a web site is “If you build it, they will come.” However, it doesn’t work that way.
You have to tell people it’s there and encourage them to visit it time and time again. Once your site is
built the marketing is just beginning. Unless you have a lot of money to pour
into marketing, it is not a simple, get-rich-quick
scheme. In fact, it often takes 6 months to a year to establish your market. Making success happen requires patience,
persistence and dedication, especially of time and
effort.
The Key
The key to a
successful Internet presence is getting noticed. People can’t visit your
site if they don’t know where you are.
Having a marketing strategy is important for your web site to succeed.
Make sure it supports your existing marketing strategy. Make it a
commitment and build on it. There are many ways to promote your web site
and increase the traffic, but it does take time and effort. Like other
marketing endeavors, making it on the Internet takes commitment.
Many people seem obsessed about their
ranking on the search engines. They believe that search engine
positioning is the only important type of web marketing. Not true. Remember that while
search engines are a primary way that people look for web sites, they are not the only way. People also find
sites through many traditional advertising methods. Quite often these alternative
forms are far more effective draws, in particular for local markets.
Here
are a few ideas that work…
1. Include your web site address (called URL)
on all your correspondence, including stationery, business cards,
literature, brochures, etc.
2. Put your URL on promotional items like T-shirts, baseball hats,
coffee mugs, pens… even your car
3. Use the signature attachment in your e-mail messages to list your
web site address.
4. Issue a news/press release.
5. Include your web site address in any future display or classified
ads you purchase in trade journals, newspapers, etc.
6. Develop a free service that you can market, especially online, to
pull customers to your site.
7. Capture visitor e-mail addresses and request permission to
send updates or future promotions.
8. Publish an e-mail newsletter.
9. Promote your web site in mailing lists and news groups.
10. List your business on Online Yellow Pages.
11. Announce a contest and mention that the details are on your web
site.
12. Offer “Internet only” discounts and coupons.
13. Advertise your URL on a billboard
14. Purchase Links, Banner Ads or Sponsorships on High Traffic Sites.
Choose sites that seem to attract the kinds of people who would be good
prospects for your business.
15. Use your telephone “hold message” to feature your company's web
site.
16. Spread the news of your site through word of mouth and networking
opportunities.
17. Send a post card to potential customers announcing your new (or
updated) web site.
18. Advertise on the radio or TV. It's a great way to stretch the
benefit of short TV or radio commercials. Commercials tout your main
message while your web site fills in all the details and takes the order.
19. Update your web site regularly to encourage repeat visits – daily,
weekly or monthly.
20. Read your web site demographics regularly to see where your
customers are spending their time…then expand those areas.
21. Choose multiple domain names. Use short phrases, which are
easy-to-remember that describes your company or organization.
22. Search for any complementary business web sites that would be
interested in hosting a link to your site and ask for a reciprocal links.
Links are what the web was built on and they remain one of the best
ways for people to find your site.
23. Try, Evaluate and Adjust – TRY different techniques, EVALUATE what
works for your business, and then make ADJUST your site accordingly. Do
not expect perfection at once. The Internet is evolving therefore we need to
continually find new ways to make it work for us.
About The Author Sue Methuen - www.prairiesuncreations.com
Copyright © 2005, Prairie Sun Creations Inc., P.O. Box 5285, Airdrie, AB, Canada, T4B 2P5
In need of commercial printing services?
NewMedia Consulting can assist with all of your needs!
Keep it simple...
contact us for further information and we will guide you through it
|
|
|
